Florida Law Would Take Regulatory Control of Bikeshare Operations

"The Florida legislature is considering a bill that would create statewide regulations for dockless bike-share systems," reports Katie Pyzyk.

The bill would bring uniformity to the implementation of dockless bikeshare around the state. "It would remove the need for municipal employees to conduct extensive research on best practices for liability, safety and land use, among other things," according to Pyzyk.

Jason Shueh also covers the legislation, with more information about the Florida House Republicans moving forward with the bill, HB 1033 [pdf]. As Shueh notes, the bill would give the state full authority over dociless bikesharing systems. Shueh also notes more of the controversies surounding dockless bikeshare—for instance, the problem of dumping, which is covered in detail in an article by Conor Wynn.

As Planetizen has noted in recent months, private dockless bikeshare companies have sparked controversy by launching operations in cities like San Francisco and New York City ahead of any regulation and in competition with municipally supported bikeshare systems.