Lime's restraining order denied; electric scooters back on San Francisco streets Monday
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Scooters are coming back to San Francisco on Monday.
"We're really excited we have 625 skooters ready to go out on Monday," said Sanjay Dastoor, who is Co-Founder and CEO of Skip.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency issued permits to scooter companies Skip and Scoot.
RELATED: Scooter company Lime says SF permit process was biased
"Our approach has been to work with governments and cities to make sure the process the programs are serving all members of the community," said Dastoor.
Scooter company Lime questioned whether SFMTA's choice was fair. Lime, whose scooters are all over Oakland, filed a temporary restraining order against the SFMTA in an attempt to halt the process.
A judge denied the temporary restraining order Friday.
The San Francisco City Attorney's Office says the permit program has been fair and transparent. Also that San Franciscans deserve scooter services that are safe, equitable and accountable.
In Oakland, councilmember Noel Gallo says the city is working out practices and policies that will come back to the city council for final approval in the coming weeks.
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"People that use them will just leave them throw them on the corners," said Gallo.
An ABC7 News producer took pictures of discarded scooters in Lake Merritt.
"They all have kickstands but people are just lazy. I've never seen a broken one," said Oakland resident Jesse Vernon.
John Cote, the communications director for the City Attorney's Office, released a statement saying: "We're pleased the court denied Lime's request for a temporary restraining order. The bottom line is the judge said he would not stop the permits from being issued on Monday. The SFMTA's permit program has been both fair and transparent. Lime just didn't like the outcome. The reality is that Lime's application fell notably short of its competitors. That's why it didn't get a permit. San Franciscans deserve scooter services that are safe, equitable and accountable, which is exactly what this pilot program was designed to do."
Skip says they are happy with the decision and focused on the future. You can expect to see those scooters out on the Embarcadero come Monday.
Lime released a statement saying it considers Friday's hearing a victory for the people of San Francisco and Lime. "We look forward to having our preliminary injunction request heard in the coming days -- to ensure that the people of San Francisco receive a transparent, fair and equitable process that best serves the entire City and County. Our decision to file this lawsuit was not about preventing other operators from going forward; it was about exposing the biased and flawed process of the SFMTA, standing up for the rule of law, and serving Lime's hometown."
