As Hurricane Dorian continues to strengthen and barrel towards Florida’s east coast, it’s unclear exactly how hard and where the storm will hit. However, what is clear is that cities like Tampa are filled with scores of dockless scooters and e-bikes that could end up crashing through your front window.
As of now, Hurricane Dorian may not reach the Tampa Bay region until Monday evening, but Tampa’s dockless scooter companies have already already begun deactivating and removing their dockless scooter off the streets.
Representatives with Lime and Jump confirmed to Creative Loafing that their scooters are either being deactivated at the moment or are being removed from public use. Bird, on the other hand, was less clear and said that they’re “monitoring weather conditions,” and will pause service or remove the scooters if the “weather does not permit safe riding.”
City of Tampa communications director Ashley Bauman told Creative Loafing that once a hurricane watch is in effect, these companies will have 12 hours to remove the scooters.
Hopefully, that's enough time to clear the streets of loose scoots.
The City of Miami, which is currently not under a hurricane watch but is within the storm’s five day cone of uncertainty, has already ordered companies to remove their dockless scooters by Friday.
It’s uncertain how Dorian will impact the Tampa Bay region, but this afternoon President Trump did declare a federal state of emergency for the state of Florida.
According to the 11 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center, the storm is positioned about 480 miles east of the northwestern Bahamas and is heading northwest at a speed of 10 mph. The latest models show the path of Dorian shifting slightly South, with a hard turn North at the beginning of the week, says the agency.
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