In response to unsafe “joyriding,” city council enacted a nighttime curfew on micromobility
Houston city council has banned the rental of micromobility devices — including electric and footpowered scooters from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. across the city. As reported by Dominic Anthony Walsh for Houston Public Media, Houston Mayor John Whitmire argued that scooters represent "one of our number one security risks in the city right now" due to unsafe operation.
The ban, which exempts "personally owned vehicles" was met with resistance from the scooter rental industry, which argued that night is the safest time to ride.
“According to a coalition of scooter rental companies that advocated against the ban, total rentals across three leading brick-and-mortar vendors soared from about 86,000 in 2021 to more than 176,000 in 2024. According to the city, from 2021 through 2025, 51 riders received citations, about 3,000 received warnings, five guns were seized and eight people were arrested,” Walsh reports.
FULL STORY: Houstonians can no longer rent scooters late at night
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