Traffic News

Rideshare company Lyft will pull its scooters off Dallas streets

Get a good look at them now because soon they shall be gone.

Photo courtesy of Lyft

Dallas will have one less set of scooters in town. On November 22, rideshare company Lyft is pulling the plug on its scooter program, and will remove its scooters from city streets.

According to a spokesperson, the company initially imported 350 scooters in Dallas when it introduced the program in March 2019.

"We're grateful to our scooter riders in Dallas as well as our partners in Dallas city government," the spokesperson says. "We look forward to continuing to provide riders with other modes of reliable transportation."

Those other modes include its recent debut of eco-friendly hybrid rental cars for its drivers in Dallas-Fort Worth.

In addition to Dallas, Lyft will cease its scooter operations in five other markets: Atlanta, San Antonio, Phoenix, Columbus, and Nashville.

According to a Lyft spokesperson, the company is shifting resources, and focusing on other cities and markets where they'll have a bigger impact. Cities that will still have Lyft scooters include San Diego, Austin, Denver, LA, Miami, Minneapolis, Washington DC, and San Francisco. The cool cities.

Dallas has not always successfully wrapped its head around alternative modes of transportation, despite the benefits they bring. The city reacted like a cranky baby to bikesharing, rendering it obsolete, while its response to scooters has been more like an old man shaking his cane at kids on his lawn.

Scooter riders have also not always approached their rides by dutifully observing the ordinance against riding them on sidewalks, in city parks, and along trails.

The Dallas City Council nonetheless recently extended the city's scooter ordinance, and about 15,000 scooters remain in Dallas from companies that include Bird, Lime, Jump, Ojo, and Spin, according to NBCDFW.

transportation traffic

Weed News

Texas Rep. Jessica González of Dallas files bill to legalize marijuana

Redheaded Blackbelt

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Texas Rep. Jessica González of Dallas has filed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in Texas. House Bill 1208 would legalize the cultivation, manufacturing, transportation, and sale of cannabis.

The bill would allow adults 21 and older to use, possess, and transport up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for personal use. Adults could also keep up to 10 ounces of cannabis in their residence, as long as it is stored in a secure location.

Smoking or consuming cannabis while in a public place or in a car on a public road would not be allowed.

Gonzalez filed the bill in mid-November, one in a suite of bills that also included expanding insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization for LGBTQ couples; and requiring landlords to disclose all fees before a rental lease is signed.

Her bill was filed prior to an initiative launched by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on December 4 to ban THC products in Texas entirely.

In addition to legalizing recreational use, the bill also makes provisions for its production and sale including requiring that the packaging be child-resistent and clearly labeled, so that it's not confused for candy.

Businesses looking to grow, transport, test, or sell cannabis would need to be licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. A 10 percent tax would be imposed on the sale of all cannabis and cannabis products. Some of the profits would go towards funding public schools.

If passed, the bill would take effect on September 1, 2025.

Medical cannabis is currently legal in Texas under the Texas Compassionate Use Program, which allows low-THC cannabis to be prescribed for conditions such as epilepsy, MS, autism, cancer, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Some cities have also approved decriminalization for the possession of four ounces or less of marijuana, including Austin, Bastrop, Dallas, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and Lockhart.

politics marijuana