E-scooter bill to be discussed Thursday in Madison

NOW: E-scooter bill to be discussed Thursday in Madison
NEXT:

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- There's a rush to get a bill passed that would legalize e-scooters statewide before Summerfest gets underway. 

Sources at the Capitol confirmed to CBS 58 that the Assembly does plan on taking up the e-scooter bill for a vote on Thursday. It's expected to pass where it will then go to Governor Evers' desk for his signature. 

There's a push to get the law in place in time for Summerfest which begins June 26. 

The bill legalizes e-scooters in the entire state and leaves it up to each municipality to create their own rules and regulations or even ban them outright. 

CBS 58 has learned the City of Milwaukee has its pilot program written and ready to go as soon as the bill is signed into law. 

The author of the bill, State Representative Cindi Duchow, said that by not having a 'one-size fits all" bill, cities can adjust to what suits them. 

"We've worked with the different companies, we've worked with Bird and Lime and Uber and so we've seen what's working and not working but that's why Milwaukee is going to do a pilot and they're going to see what works for them. They may limit the scooters, they may say you can only drive it on certain roads and Madison is going to have a different parking ordinance than Milwaukee is going to have so they're all going to just fit it to their cities," State Rep. Cindi Duchow R - Delafield said. 

CBS 58 reached out to Bird, Lime, and Uber to see if they're ready to deploy their fleets of scooters, but did not hear back. State Rep. Duchow says they're ready to go as soon as the bill becomes law. 

Share this article: