* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
           
          [Quality of Life Committee on December 1, 2025.]
          [00:00:15]
WELL, CHAMBERS, MY NAME IS JULIAN RAMIREZ. 
          UM, HOUSTON CITY COUNCIL MEMBER AT LARGE POSITION ONE CHAIR OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMITTEE, AND I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. 
          WE HAVE PRESENT WITH US IN THE CHAMBER ARE MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER, AS WELL AS COUNCIL MEMBERS MARIO CASTILLO, UH, CAROLYN, EVAN SHABAZZ, SALLY ALCORN, UM, VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM, AMY PECK, AND MYSELF. 
          WE ALSO HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN'S OFFICE, AND AS WELL AS MY ALMOST ENTIRE STAFF HERE AS WELL. 
          SO WE HAVE AN AGENDA THAT WE'LL GO THROUGH TODAY, AND AFTER THAT, WE WILL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT. 
          IF YOU'VE SIGNED UP AND YOU'RE HERE, WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU, EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP AND WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, WE'LL GIVE YOU THAT OPPORTUNITY AS WELL. 
          WE'VE BEEN HAVING SOME TECHNICAL ISSUES, AND SO, UH, IF YOU'RE IN THE AUDIENCE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE SLIDE DECK ON THE SCREENS TO YOUR LEFT. 
          UH, UNFORTUNATELY, THEY WILL NOT APPEAR ON THE SCREENS, UH, MORE VISIBLE TO COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          HOWEVER, EACH, EACH, EVERYBODY WILL BE PROVIDED WITH A COPY. 
          AND SO THE, UH, FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA WILL BE A DISCUSSION OF THE RECENTLY PASSED MICRO MOBILITY ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS, AND WE HAVE A COUPLE OF FOLKS FROM, FROM THE ADMINISTRATION HERE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION. 
          UM, MARIA  IS HERE, I BELIEVE. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          WELCOME BACK. 
          AS WELL AS A REPRESENTATIVE FROM HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT. 
          HI, GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO RAISE THE PODIUM? YEAH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND RAISE THE PODIUM FOR YOU. 
          YOU WELCOME TO SIT OR STAND AS YOU PREFER. 
          ALL RIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME OKAY? JUST FINE, THANK YOU. 
          ALRIGHT, YOU CAN PROCEED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, THANK YOU CHAIR RAMIREZ. 
          UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TODAY, MYSELF AND CAPTAIN COUNTRYMAN FROM HPD WILL BE GIVING YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE MICRO MOBILITY ORDINANCE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 19TH, 2025. 
          I UNDERSTAND YOU ALL DO HAVE COPIES OF THE PRESENTATION. 
          CORRECT. 
          SO I'M GONNA GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THE NEXT PAGE. 
          SO ON OUR AGENDA FOR TODAY, UH, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE BACKGROUND TO THE ORDINANCE. 
          WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU AN EXPLANATION OF THE CHAPTER 45 PROVISIONS. 
          WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY SINCE THE PASSAGE OF THE ORDINANCE. 
          UM, WE'LL TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE NEXT PAGE. 
          SO ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE WANTED TO ADDRESS WAS WHAT IS A MICRO MOBILITY DEVICE? WHAT IS SUBJECT TO THE CURFEW? A LOT OF THE REPORTS THAT WE SAW THAT CAME OUT SHORTLY AFTER NOVEMBER 19TH WITH TALKS ABOUT, I CAN'T RIDE MY SKATEBOARD OR SKATES ARE NOW ILLEGAL AFTER 8:00 PM THIS IS ALL INCORRECT. 
          SO WE WOULD JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY WHAT IS ACTUALLY SUBJECT TO THE CURFEW. 
          SO THE MICRO MOBILITY DEVICE, THE DEFINITION THAT WE CREATED FOR MICRO MOBILITY DEVICE HAS A SELF PROPELLING COMPONENT TO IT. 
          SO THERE HAS TO BE A COMPONENT THAT IS LIKE ELECTRIC POWER IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE CATEGORIZED AS A MICRO MOBILITY DEVICE. 
          ON THIS PAGE, WE'VE GIVEN YOU THE DEVICES THAT FALL INTO THAT CATEGORY OF WHAT IS A MICRO MOBILITY DEVICE, AND WHAT IS SUBJECT TO THE 8:00 PM TO 4:00 AM CURFEW. 
          THAT WOULD INCLUDE ELECTRIC SCOOTERS, ELECTRIC SKATE SKATEBOARDS, ELECTRIC HOVERBOARDS, AND ELECTRIC SKATES. 
          NOW, WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE CURFEW, SO WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED IS ALSO LISTED ON THIS SLIDE. 
          AND THESE ARE DEVICES THAT ARE ALREADY REGULATED BY TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE. 
          UM, SO THEY DO NOT FALL INTO OUR CATEGORY OF MICRO MOBILITY DEVICE, AND THEY'RE NOT SUBJECT TO THE 8:00 PM TO 4:00 AM CURFEW. 
          UH, THE INCLUSION OF THE PHRASE HUMAN POWERED MAY HAVE CAUSED SOME CONFUSION IN OUR MICRO MOBILITY, UH, DEVICE DEFINITION. 
          UM, AND THAT WAS PUT IN THERE TO, UH, FOR LEGAL PURPOSES BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT AN ELECTRIC SCOOTER CAN BE RIDDEN WITH POWER, BUT IT CAN ALSO BE MANUAL. 
          SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN HPD WAS OUT THERE ENFORCING SOMEONE 
          [00:05:01]
IS NOT TURNING OFF THEIR ELECTRIC SCOOTER AND SIMPLY RUNNING IT MANUALLY AND THEN TRYING TO LIKE, KIND OF CARVE THEMSELVES OUT OF THE ORDINANCE. 
          SO THAT IS WHY THAT LANGUAGE IS IN THERE, BUT IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT SOMETHING THAT IS SOLELY POWERED BY HUMAN POWER IS SUBJECT TO THE ORDINANCE. 
          IF THAT IS, UM, PROVIDING SOME MORE CLARITY ON THAT. 
          UM, I'LL GO ONTO THE NEXT PAGE NOW. 
          SO IN JULY OF 2025, WE BROUGHT FORTH AN ORDINANCE THAT WOULD PROHIBIT THE OPERATION OF SCOOTERS, SCOTERS 24 7 WITHIN DOWNTOWN EAST, DOWNTOWN AND MIDTOWN, UH, WAS PRESENTED TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMITTEE WHERE WE RECEIVED PUBLIC FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC. 
          THE DRAFT ORDINANCE WAS ALSO POSTED ONLINE WHERE WE SOLICITED FURTHER FEEDBACK NEXT PAGE. 
          SO AFTER WE, WE DID THAT PRESENTATION, WE WENT THROUGH ALL THE FEEDBACK. 
          UM, AT THE QUALITY OF LIFE MEETING, THERE WERE 40 PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED, AND OF THAT 45% SUPPORTED A COMPLETE BAN, WHEREAS 55% WERE OPPOSED. 
          WE ALSO HAD AN ONLINE FORM THAT RECEIVED 304 RESPONSES, OF WHICH 82% OPPOSED AN OUTRIGHT BAN. 
          FINALLY, A SURVEY WAS PUSHED OUT VIA ZEN CITY, AND THERE WAS ABOUT 4,000 INTERACTIONS WITH THAT SURVEY. 
          AND THE GENERAL FUEL WAS THAT A COMPROMISE SOLUTION MADE MORE SENSE THAN THE COMMAND THAT WE HAD PROPOSED. 
          ON OUR NEXT PAGE, I WANNA REMIND YOU OF THE DATA THAT WE LOOKED AT TO, UM, SET UP THE INITIAL BOUNDARIES FOR THAT, UH, SCOOTER FREE ZONE. 
          WE LOOKED AT SCOOTER INCIDENTS, UH, CALLS TO EMS. SO FROM 2021 TO TWENTY TWENTY FIVE, FIVE HUNDRED AND THIRTY SIX EMS RESPONSES, UH, TO SCOOTER INCIDENTS HAPPENED IN DOWNTOWN OF THOSE, UH, SCOOTER INCIDENTS, 65% REQUIRED FURTHER TREATMENT AND, UH, TRANSPORT TO THE HOSPITAL. 
          SO THAT WAS 65% OF THOSE ACCIDENTS REQUIRED. 
          IT WAS NOT JUST EMS COMING AND HELPING ON THE SCENE AND THEN LEAVING. 
          THEY HAD TO TAKE SOMEONE TO A HOSPITAL FOR INJURIES. 
          A MAJORITY OF THESE EMS CALLS, AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE CHART ON THIS PAGE, UM, 78% OF THE SCOOTER CALLS, UH, WERE OCCURRING BETWEEN 8:00 PM AND 4:00 AM. 
          SO DEATHS DUE TO SCOOTER INCIDENTS IS MORE DIFFICULT TO TRACK. 
          WE KNOW THAT THE CHRIS, UH, DATABASE, UH, MANAGED BY TXDOT DOES TRACK SCOOTER RELATED DEATHS, BUT THESE ARE ONLY WHEN THERE IS ANOTHER VEHICLE OR PROPERTY INVOLVED. 
          IT DOES NOT INCLUDE ACCIDENTS WHERE SOMEONE FALLS OFF OF A SCOOTER AND GETS SERIOUS INJURIES OR, UH, DIES FROM FALLING FROM A SCOOTER. 
          SO THERE'S LIMITED DATA ON HOW YOU CAN TRACK DEATHS ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, THESE DEVICES. 
          WE DO KNOW THAT THERE WERE AT LEAST TWO, TWO DEATHS FROM PEOPLE JUST FALLING OFF OF A SCOOTER AND SUSTAINING, UM, HEAD INJURIES THAT CAUSED THEIR DEATH. 
          AND THIS WAS BECAUSE THESE, THESE WERE REPORTED IN THE MEDIA. 
          THERE'S REALLY NOT A DATABASE THAT TRACKS, UH, DEATHS RELATED TO SCOOTERS UNLESS THERE IS A VEHICLE INVOLVED. 
          ON THE NEXT PAGE, WE WENT BACK TO THE EMS DATA. 
          UM, WHEN WE WERE CONSIDERING ON HOW TO MOVE FORWARD, WE WANTED TO LOOK AT DATA FOR EMS CALLS, UM, FOR SCOOTERS CITYWIDE, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS CHART. 
          SO THE BLUE LINE IS THE NUMBER OF SCOOTER CALLS, SCOOTER RELATED CALLS TO EMS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN EVERY YEAR FROM 2021 TO 2025 YEAR TO DATE, OVER THE LAST FIVE YEAR SPAN, WE'VE HAD 1400 INCIDENTS INVOLVING SCOOTERS ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY OF HOUSTON IN THAT SAME TIMEFRAME. 
          SO WHEREAS PREVIOUSLY WE HAD 536 HAPPENING JUST IN DOWNTOWN CITYWIDE, WE WERE SEEING 1400, UM, SCOOTER RELATED INCIDENTS REQUIRING EMS TO COME TO THE SCENE. 
          IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHART, THE BLUE LINE ON THERE, YOU CAN SEE THE TREND IS IT'S INCREASING, IT'S GROWING AND IT'S GROWING FAST. 
          WE HAVE NOT EVEN ENDED 2025, BUT WE'VE ALREADY SURPASSED SCOOTER RELATED INCIDENTS. 
          UM, THAT HAPPENED IN 2024. 
          RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ON TRACK IF WE STAY AT THE SAME RATE TO HAVING ABOUT 424 SCOOTER RELATED CALLS FOR SCOOT, UM, EMS THIS YEAR ALONE. 
          WE ALSO WANTED TO KIND OF ESTIMATE HOW MUCH IS BEING SPENT ON EMS CALLS FOR THESE SCOOTER INCIDENTS. 
          AND LOOKING AT THE PAST FIVE YEARS, WE'RE ESTIMATING APPROXIMATELY $2.8 MILLION IN EMS EXPENDITURES RELATED TO CALLS SOLELY FOR SCOOTERS. 
          WE ALSO WANTED TO LOOK AT HPD COSTS AND SEE WHAT ARE THE COSTS BEING INCURRED BY HPD WHEN IT COMES TO ENFORCING SCOOTER ISSUES, UM, IN THE CITY. 
          SO WE LOOKED AT DATA FOR THIS YEAR. 
          SO THIS FISCAL YEAR, YEAR TO DATE, FROM JULY 1ST, 2025, HPD HAS SPENT ABOUT $185,000 ON SCOOTER RELATED INITIATIVES. 
          THAT'S JUST FROM JULY TO NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR. 
          SO WE'RE ON TRACK FOR 
          [00:10:01]
HPD IF THE SITUATION REMAINS THE SAME, TO SPEND ABOUT $400,000 THIS FISCAL YEAR JUST ON SCOOTER RELATED INITIATIVES. 
          IF YOU EXTRAPOLATE THAT OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, NOTHING REMAINS UNCHANGED, THAT'S $2 MILLION DISTANT ABOUT HPD COSTS. 
          AND THEN EMS COST IS 2.8. 
          YOU'RE LOOKING AT $5 MILLION A YEAR THAT THE CITY IS, UH, $5 MILLION OR A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR, I SHOULD SAY THAT THE CITY WOULD BE SPENDING JUST RELATED TO SCOOTER, UM, CALLED FOR EMS AND ENFORCEMENT FOR, UH, SCOOTER RELATED ISSUES. 
          ON OUR NEXT PAGE, WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SCOOTER RELATED ISSUES, UM, OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS. 
          SO WE'VE UPDATED THIS CHART, THIS WAS PRESENTED TO YOU IN JULY, AND WE'VE UPDATED IT WITH NUMBERS, UH, THAT HPD HAS BEEN, UH, WORKING ON SINCE JULY 1ST OF THIS YEAR. 
          UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT HPD AND A RA TARGETED ENFORCEMENT HAS RESULTED NOT ONLY IN CITATIONS TO RIDERS AND VENDORS, GUNS HAVE BEEN SEIZED, ARRESTS HAVE BEEN MADE. 
          UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF RIDER CITATIONS ISSUED, SO THERE'S 215 RIDER CITATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ISSUED OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, 166. 
          OF THOSE 215 CITATIONS WERE ISSUED FROM JULY TO NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR. 
          SO IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS IS WHEN, UH, 166 OF THE RIDER CITATIONS WERE ISSUED. 
          YOU CAN SEE ALSO ON THE CHART THAT THERE WERE 43 WEAPONS SEIZED. 
          UM, OF THE 43 38 WERE SEIZED IN THE SAME TIMEFRAME. 
          THAT'S JULY OF 2025 TO NOVEMBER OF 2025. 
          SO WE ALSO WANNA POINT OUT ON THIS CHART, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS, UH, THE CITATIONS ISSUED TO VENDORS IS LIMITED AND IT'S LOW. 
          AND THAT IS PRIMARILY DUE TO THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO AUTHORITY FOR HPD. 
          THERE WAS NO AUTHORITY PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 19TH TO ISSUE CITATIONS TO OPERATORS THAT WERE ON, ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. 
          SO THEY COULD PUT UP A TENT, THEY COULD BE ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, AND HPD LITERALLY HAD NO AUTHORITY OVER THAT. 
          SINCE NOVEMBER 19TH, THE ORDINANCE HAS CORRECTED THAT. 
          SO HPD HAS THE ABILITY TO ENFORCE THAT. 
          I WANT TO, UM, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU THE NUMBERS FOR THE PAST WEEK, UM, ON A, ON A FURTHER SLIDE, BUT OVER THE PAST WEEKEND, WE DID SEE HPD DO SOME MORE ACTIVITY WITH SCOOTERS AND VENDORS, UM, PARTICULARLY OVER THANKSGIVING WEEKEND. 
          AND I'LL GIVE YOU THOSE NUMBERS LATER ON TOO. 
          SO ON THE NEXT PAGE, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE PRIMARY ELEMENTS OF THE ORDINANCE THAT WAS APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 19TH. 
          SO TAKING IN ALL THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED BY KEEPING IN MIND THE EMS DATA, WE UPDATED THE ORDINANCE TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM HOURS. 
          REMEMBER, 78% OF SCOOTER CALLS FOR EMS ARE HAPPENING BETWEEN 8:00 PM AND 4:00 AM. 
          THIS IS WHEN OUR CITY RESOURCES ARE STRETCHED THIN. 
          UM, THIS IMPACTS OUR LIMITED RESOURCES AND DIRECTS THEM TO PROBLEMS THAT WE CAN BETTER MANAGE THROUGH OTHER MEANS. 
          WE ALSO THEN APPLIED THE CURFEW CITYWIDE BECAUSE WE KNOW IF WE SET BOUNDARIES, THERE'S GONNA BE SPILLOVER. 
          AND WE WANTED TO PREVENT THE PROBLEM FROM MOVING INTO OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS AND HAVING TO FIX THE SAME PROBLEM AGAIN. 
          SO WE EXPANDED THE SCOPE AND MADE IT A CURFEW THAT IS NOW 8:00 PM TO 4:00 AM CITYWIDE. 
          BESIDES THE CURFEW ON RIDING SCOOTERS AFTER 8:00 PM THE ORDINANCE ALSO PROHIBITS THE RENTAL OF THESE DEVICES BETWEEN THE CURFEW HOURS. 
          SO STORES CAN STAY OPEN, BUT AFTER 8:00 PM THEY CAN NO LONGER RENT OUT DEVICES AND ANY RENTALS MUST BE RETURNED BY 8:00 PM TO ADDRESS THE COMPLAINTS AND ALSO ASSIST HPD WITH CHALLENGES RELATIVE TO THE FLY BY NIGHT OPERATORS, WE INCLUDED A PROHIBITION AGAINST TEMPORARY STRUCTURES, UM, TO OFFER THESE DEVICES OUT FOR RENT AT ANY TIME. 
          SO THIS IS NOT JUST DURING CURFEW HOURS. 
          TEMPORARY STRUCTURES ARE PROHIBITED AT ALL TIMES, AND THAT CAN BE ENFORCED BEFORE 8:00 PM OR AFTER 8:00 PM. 
          SO, WHILE HPD ALREADY HAD THE AUTHORITY TO IMPOUND SCOOTERS THAT WERE ON THE BEING STORED ON THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY, OR PARKED ON THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY, THE ORDINANCE WAS STRENGTHENED TO AUTHORIZE THE IMPOUNDING OF DEVICES THAT WERE BEING OPERATED IN VIOLATION OF THE CURFEW. 
          SO NOW, IF THERE IS SCOOTERS OUT THERE AFTER 8:00 PM HPD HAS THE AUTHORITY TO IMPOUND THOSE SCOOTERS. 
          WE ALSO ADDED A PROVISION TO HAVE A HEARING PROCESS FOR IMPOUNDED SCOOTERS. 
          AND FINALLY, WE HAD SOME AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES, UH, TO PROSECUTION THAT I'M GONNA DETAIL ON THE NEXT PAGE SO WE CAN FLIP THE PAGE. 
          UM, AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE MEANS THAT SOMEONE IS TECHNICALLY VIOLATING THE ORDINANCE, BUT WE HAVE PRESCRIBED SPECIFIC LEGALLY RECOGNIZED CIRCUMSTANCES THAT EXCUSE 
          [00:15:01]
THEM FROM PENALTY. 
          SO THERE ARE FOUR AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES IN, UH, THE ORDINANCE THAT WAS APPROVED ON NOVEMBER 19TH. 
          AND THOSE INCLUDE FOR COMMUTERS GOING TO WORK. 
          YOU'RE GOING TO SCHOOL, COMING HOME, UH, FROM SCHOOL OR WORK. 
          THIS IS AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE. 
          IF IT HAPPENS DURING THE CURFEW, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO DO THAT. 
          UH, THE SECOND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE IS RESPONDING TO AN EMERGENCY OR A, YOU KNOW, AN URGENT MEDICAL SITUATION. 
          THIS IS ANOTHER AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE. 
          UM, WE ALSO HAVE AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, CITY OF HOUSTON PERSONNEL EMERGENCY RESPONSE PERSONNEL WHO ARE ACT WHO ARE ACTIVE IN THEIR OFFICIAL DUTIES. 
          THEY ARE EXEMPT FROM THE, THE AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE APPLIES TO THEM. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, WE WANTED TO HAVE A, A AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE FOR SPECIAL EVENTS. 
          SO IF SOMETHING IS PERMITTED, AN EVENT IS PERMITTED THROUGH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF SPECIAL EVENTS AND IS SANCTIONED CITY EVENT, THEY HAVE AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO HAVING MICRO MOBILITY DEVICES AT THEIR EVENT. 
          NEXT SLIDE, OR NEXT PAGE, PLEASE. 
          . 
          OKAY. 
          SO, UM, EARLIER I GAVE YOU A CHART THAT GAVE YOU, YOU KNOW, THE PAST FIVE YEARS OF ENFORCEMENT, BUT OF ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING ON SCOOTER RELATED ISSUES. 
          HERE WE WANT TO TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE NOVEMBER 19TH, TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA. 
          SO ON NOVEMBER 19TH, CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THE CURFEW. 
          ON NOVEMBER 20TH, WE DELIVERED COPIES OF THE ORDINANCE FAQS AND NOTIFICATION OF THE ORDINANCE EFFECTIVENESS TO EIGHT VENDORS ON 11, UH, NOVEMBER 21ST. 
          AND, UH, A VENDOR OPERATING OUT OF A TEMPORARY STRUCTURE WAS WARNED. 
          AND EIGHT BRICK AND MORTAR, UH, LOCATIONS WERE WARNED REGARDING THE ORDINANCE ON NOVEMBER 22ND. 
          FIVE MORE BRICK AND MORTAR VENDORS WERE WARNED REGARDING THE CURFEW. 
          ON NOVEMBER 27TH, WE HAD A BOX TRUCK THAT WAS FOUND, UM, OPERATING ILLEGALLY. 
          HPD SEIZED ABOUT 16 SCOOTERS, AND THERE WERE TWO CITATIONS ISSUED THAT DAY FOR, UH, VENDORS ON NOVEMBER 28TH, HPD SEIZED, UH, 14 SCOOTERS AND 19 MICRO MOBILITY DEVICE. 
          UH, CITATIONS WERE ISSUED FOR VIOLATION OF CURFEW. 
          SO THAT'S THE ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY. 
          WE LITERALLY SAW ALMOST OVERNIGHT, A, A DECREASE IN ACTIVITY EMS RESPONSE. 
          WE ALSO WANTED TO LOOK AT THAT. 
          THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE BASED OUR TIMINGS AND LOCATIONS ON. 
          SO, EMS RESPONSE TO SCOOTER INCIDENTS CITYWIDE FROM NOVEMBER 19TH TO DECEMBER 1ST WAS FIVE, FIVE RESPONSES. 
          THIS TIMEFRAME, ALL OF THEM WERE OUTSIDE CURFEW HOURS, AND ONLY ONE WAS IN DOWNTOWN. 
          SO THEY ALL HAPPENED BEFORE 8:00 PM NOTHING HAPPENED DURING THE CURFEW, AND ONLY ONE HAPPENED IN DOWNTOWN. 
          TO GIVE YOU A COMPARISON, LAST YEAR, NOVEMBER 19TH, 2024 TO DECEMBER 1ST, 2024, THERE WERE 11 SCOOTER INCIDENCES THAT EMS RESPONDED TO. 
          10 WERE IN DOWNTOWN AND ONLY ONE WAS OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN. 
          SO LITERALLY OVERNIGHT, YOU, YOU SAW THAT IN THAT ONE WEEK, THE NUMBER IS HALVED. 
          SO WE THINK THE ORDINANCE HAS MADE SOME GOOD, UH, PROGRESS AND EFFORTS TO CLEAR OUR PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY. 
          ON THE NEXT PAGE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS. 
          SO NOW THAT WE ARE WORKING TO CLEAR THE SIDEWALKS AND MITIGATE THE RISKS, PARTICULARLY, YOU KNOW, IN THE DOWNTOWN AND THE SURROUNDING AREA, WHAT ARE OUR NEXT STEPS? SO WE'RE LOOKING AT A FRAMEWORK FOR HOW DO WE MANAGE A, A SCOOTER PROGRAM THAT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT, YOU KNOW, THE SMART TECHNOLOGY THAT'S OUT THERE. 
          CAN WE TALK ABOUT GEOFENCING? CAN WE TALK ABOUT NO GO ZONES? CAN WE TALK ABOUT SPEED LIMITS? CAN WE TALK, CAN WE LOOK AT A FRAMEWORK THAT MAKES SENSE THAT PROTECTS OUR FOLKS IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY AND MAINTAINS THE INTEGRITY OF OUR PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY? SO SHOULD WE MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME SORT OF A PILOT OR A PROGRAM, THE DATA WOULD BE COLLECTED AND THEN ANALYZED TO LOOK AT A FRAMEWORK FOR A PLAN THAT MAKES SENSE IN THE LONG TERM. 
          UM, THE MAYOR HAS COMMITTED TO LOOKING AT A FRAMEWORK, UM, FOR A LONG TERM PROGRAM. 
          AND ON THE NEXT PAGE, I AM AT THE CONCLUSION OF MY PRESENTATION. 
          SO NOW HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. 
          AND, UM, THANK YOU CAPTAIN COUNTRYMAN FOR BEING HERE SO SHE CAN HELP WITH ANY HPD QUESTIONS. 
          GREAT, THANK YOU, MARIA. 
          BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT WE HAVE TWO ADDITIONAL COUNCIL MEMBERS WITH US. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ AND COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS HAVE JOINED US. 
          WE ALSO HAVE STAFF ONLINE FROM COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, THOMAS'S OFFICE COUNCIL, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM CASTEX, TATUM'S, OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER'S OFFICE, AND COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON'S OFFICE. 
          SO HAPPY TO HAVE EVERYONE HERE. 
          UH, MARI LET ME ASK YOU JUST A FEW QUESTIONS AND THEN WHEN WE HAVE, UH, SOME FOLKS 
          [00:20:01]
IN THE QUEUE. 
          FIRST OF ALL, ON SLIDE NUMBER FIVE, UM, AS PART OF THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, THERE WAS A SURVEY CONDUCTED AND, UM, ONLINE FEEDBACK RECEIVED REGARDING THE SURVEY. 
          UH, CAN YOU TELL US WHETHER THE QUESTION POSED WAS RELATING TO JUST A COMPLETE BAN OR WHAT WE HAVE NOW IN THE FORM OF A CURFEW? THE QUESTIONS THERE WERE, I THINK THERE WERE FIVE OR SIX QUESTIONS, AND I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT QUESTIONS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT IT WAS, THERE WERE SCALED QUESTIONS, SO IT KIND OF ASKED THEM HOW STRONGLY THEY FELT ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BANNING SCOOTERS OR, UH, LOOKING AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS. 
          BUT I CAN GET YOU THAT LIST OF QUESTIONS. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND ON SLIDE NUMBER SIX, PUBLIC SAFETY DATA, ONE OF YOUR BULLET POINTS SAYS HB DID REPORTED FOUR DEATHS RESULTING FROM SCOOTER COLLISIONS. 
          YOU REFERENCED TWO MEDIA REPORTS MM-HMM . 
          WHERE, UH, TWO INDIVIDUALS FELL OFF SCOOTERS THAT APPARENTLY DIDN'T INVOLVE MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISIONS. 
          IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT. 
          SO SO WOULD THAT BE THEN A TOTAL OF SIX? RIGHT, THE FOUR THAT HPD REPORT IS PART OF FROM THE TEXT DATABASE WHERE THERE IS ANOTHER VEHICLE OR, UH, PROPERTY INVOLVED. 
          GOT IT. 
          OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I HAVE AT THIS TIME. 
          WE DO HAVE SOME FOLKS IN THE QUEUE, UH, ONLINE. 
          WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN. 
          WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN CONNECT WITH HER. 
          ARE YOU THERE, COUNCIL MEMBER? THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          CAN YOU HEAR ME ALL RIGHT? WE CAN HEAR YOU. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, MARIA, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AND I, UH, I APOLOGIZE THAT I CAN'T SEE THE SLIDES AS THEY WERE PRESENTED. 
          SO THIS IS REPETITIVE. 
          UM, PLEASE FORGIVE, BUT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT HPD COVERAGE FOR ENFORCEMENT OF THIS, DO WE HAVE, AND THIS MAY BE A QUESTION TO HPD, A NUMBER OF HOW MANY HPD PERSONNEL, UM, HAVE BEEN WORKING, NOT THE PROPER TERM, BUT THIS BEAT RIGHT OF ENFORCEMENT AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, AND HOW MANY HOURS IN THE FIELD THAT HAS BEEN ACTUAL NUMBERS? WELL, IT CAN VARY. 
          YEAH. 
          I THINK, UM, HPD REPORTED THAT THEY SPENT $185,000 THIS FISCAL YEAR IN, UM, UH, OVERTIME. 
          THAT'S BASICALLY OVERTIME PROGRAM TO HANDLE ANY SCOOTER RELATED ISSUES. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA SPEAK TO HOW MANY OFFICERS THAT MIGHT MEAN, JUST A QUICK FOLLOW UP ON THAT. 
          I, I, AND YEAH, I WOULD MEAN IN TERMS OF ENFORCEMENT OF THE NEW ORDINANCE. 
          OF THE NEW ORDINANCE. 
          SO RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST BEEN MY HOTSPOT UNIT, WHICH CONSISTS OF ONE SERGEANT AND SIX OFFICERS. 
          AND THEN I DID HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL HELP ONE NIGHT FROM SOUTH CENTRAL DIVISION AND ALSO FROM CENTRAL DIVISIONS. 
          UM, THEIR CLUB UNITS, WHICH IS THE SAME AMOUNT. 
          SO LOOKING TOTAL, UM, SIX, EACH SQUAD IS SIX OFFICERS AND ONE SERGEANT. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT I SPENT ON THOSE, BUT NOT, THAT'S NOT INCLUDING WHEN WE ACTUALLY DID THE SERGEANT THROUGHOUT THE SUMMERTIME, WHICH WE COULD GET THEM UPWARDS OF SEVEN, UM, PROBABLY ABOUT 25 PEOPLE AT ONE TIME DURING THE SURGE. 
          SO YEAH, IT'D BE, UM, HELPFUL TO KNOW, AGAIN, AS WE GET FURTHER INTO THE ENFORCEMENT ASPECT OF THIS, UM, THE HOUR, HOW MUCH IN TERMS OF RESOURCE IT IS TO ENFORCE THE NEW ORDINANCE. 
          RIGHT. 
          UH, JUST TO COMPARE TO EVERYTHING WE WERE DEALING WITH PRIOR TO THE ORDINANCE. 
          UH, SO CHAIR, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A WAY FOR US TO COME BACK OR GET A QUARTERLY REPORT OR EVEN A, A REPORT IN FEBRUARY ON THAT, BUT I'D, I'D LOVE TO KNOW KIND OF WHERE THINGS STAND WITH THAT. 
          UM, MARIA, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE BEING OPEN TO A REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, UM, FOR, I'M ASSUMING A, A CONTRACT THAT WOULD GO OUT AN RFP BEFORE THAT, DO WE HAVE A TIMELINE ON THAT? SO WE'RE STILL LOOKING INTO THE DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT ARE, UH, AVAILABLE. 
          RFP IS ONE OF THEM WORKING WITH, UH, SPECIAL EVENTS. 
          YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE AFFIRMATIVE EVENTS FOR, UM, SPECIAL CITY EVENTS. 
          SO WE'RE LOOKING AT MULTIPLE OPTIONS RIGHT NOW. 
          WE'LL HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF A TIMELINE ONCE WE FIGURE OUT WHICH IS THE BETTER OPTION. 
          AND I CAN SHARE THAT WITH YOU GUYS AT A LATER DATE. 
          OKAY. 
          DO YOU KNOW WHEN, DO YOU KNOW WHEN WE'LL HAVE A BETTER IDEA? AND THE REASON I'M ASKING ALL OF THIS IS BECAUSE, ONE, WE DON'T HAVE A BIKE SHARE PROGRAM IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON THAT WAS ELIMINATED. 
          WE'VE NOW ELIMINATED, UM, SCOOTER RENTALS AND I FOR ONE, HAVE, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTED THE NEED FOR A REGULATORY FRAMEWORK. 
          RIGHT. 
          WE'VE HEARD FROM RESTAURANTS DOWNTOWN, WE'VE HEARD FROM PARKS DOWNTOWN ABOUT HOW OUT OF CONTROL AND UNSAFE THIS WAS. 
          BUT WITH ALL THE TECHNOLOGY THAT IS AVAILABLE 
          [00:25:01]
AND THE REVENUE THAT CAN BE CREATED IN A SAFE WAY FOR HOUSTONIANS AND VISITORS TO GET AROUND, UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE PROVIDING AS MANY MULTIMODAL OPTIONS AS POSSIBLE FOR, FOR FOLKS TO SAFELY ENJOY HOUSTON. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          SO DO YOU KNOW WHEN, YEAH, I THINK THE QUESTION CHAIR IS JUST WHEN WILL THEY HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT THE NEXT STEP IS? WE ARE CURRENTLY EXAMINING THE DIFFERENT OPTIONS, SO I DON'T HAVE A REALLY CLEAR TIMELINE, BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY GET YOU SOME IDEA IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS ONCE WE FIGURE OUT WHICH IS THE BEST OPTION. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH, IF WE COULD GET AN UPDATE IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH. 
          SURE, SURE. 
          THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN. 
          AND I WOULD NOTE THANK YOU THAT, UM, THE NEXT STEP SLIDES DO DOES INDICATE THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE COLLECTING DATA, UH, TO HELP INFORM FUTURE, UM, FUTURE EFFORTS. 
          SO JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON, ON WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN ASKED ABOUT, I, I HAD HEARD ANECDOTALLY THAT PRIOR TO PASSAGE OF THIS ORDINANCE, WE WERE INCREASING ENFORCEMENT IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA AND THAT WE MAY HAVE BEEN PULLING OFFICERS FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY IN ORDER TO, TO, TO, TO DO THAT EFFORT. 
          IS THAT CORRECT? YES. 
          YES IT IS. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          SO WE'RE PULLING OFFICERS FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY, AND, UM, NOW THAT THE ORDINANCE HAS PASSED, UM, I ASSUME THERE'S NO LONGER ANY NEED TO DO THAT AND THESE OFFICERS CAN RETURN TO WHERE THEY WERE NORMALLY ASSIGNED? THAT'S CORRECT. 
          IT, THIS ORDINANCE MADE, IT IS, IT'S A LOT EASIER NOW FOR MY OFFICERS TO ACTUALLY EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS THE SMALLER CROWDS BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT UNRULY LIKE THEY WERE BEFORE THE ORDINANCE WAS PASSED. 
          WE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABA, THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          AND CERTAINLY, UH, AFTER I, THIS WAS PASSED, UH, SOMEONE CAME TO ME WITH SOME QUESTIONS AND I REALIZED THAT THIS WAS A CITYWIDE BAN, WHICH IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T THINK THE DATA SUPPORTS THAT IT SHOULD BE A CITYWIDE BAND. 
          AND THEN I HAVE STUDENTS IN MY, UM, DISTRICT TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY, HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE, THAT USE SCOOTERS TO GET BACK AND FORTH. 
          AND SO CERTAINLY THAT'S A PROBLEM FOR THEM TO HAVE A CURFEW. 
          BUT THEN OF COURSE, I IMMEDIATELY REACHED OUT, YOU KNOW, TO THE MAYOR, YOU KNOW, VIA TEXT, WHICH IS MY WAY. 
          AND, UH, WE DID COMMUNICATE ABOUT IT, BUT I HAVE A CONCERN THAT THERE'S NOTHING THAT IDENTIFIES PEOPLE WHO ARE EXEMPT. 
          I DON'T THINK PEOPLE SHOULD BE STOPPED RIDING A SCOOTER THAT WILL INCREASE INTERACTION WITH HPD. 
          WE NEED TO DECREASE THE INTERACTION WITH HPD, ESPECIALLY SINCE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, INCIDENTS WHERE ISIS CALLED WHEN PEOPLE ARE STOPPED. 
          UM, SO MAYBE A HELMET OR SOMETHING THAT IDENTIFIES, I DON'T THINK PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE TO BE STOPPED AND THEN PROVE THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE ON THE SCOOTER WITHIN THE, OR PAST THE CURFEW. 
          SO AS A NEXT STEP, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO LOOK AT THAT, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT TRYING TO INCREASE INTERACTION. 
          UH, IF ANYTHING, WE NEED TO DECREASE INTERACTION, YOU KNOW, AND EVEN CARRYING IT OVER TO PEOPLE BEING STOPPED FOR VIOLATIONS SUCH AS A INSPECTION STICKER AND ALL OF THAT. 
          BUT THAT'S A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER CONVERSATION. 
          MM-HMM . 
          BUT CERTAINLY I DON'T WANT STUDENTS, I MEAN, PEOPLE HAVE A FEAR FIRST AND FOREMOST, AND YOU STOP THEM AND THEY'RE ON A SCOOTER, AND THEN YOU ASK THEM TO PROVE THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO, TO BE RIDING. 
          AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE WAY. 
          AND SO PERHAPS AS A NEXT STEP, WE CAN LOOK AT SOMETHING THAT'S IDENTIFIABLE, UH, WHERE PEOPLE CAN SEE THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE ON THAT SCOOTER OUTSIDE OF THAT EXEMPTION. 
          AND I WOULD LIKE TO EVEN SEE AN AMENDMENT TO SAY THAT IT DOES NOT INCLUDE CITYWIDE, BECAUSE THOSE AREN'T THE AREAS THAT HAVE REALLY BEEN THE CONCERN. 
          IT'S BEEN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. 
          AND I THINK THAT CERTAIN PEOPLE HAVE THANKED ME PROFUSELY ABOUT THAT PART, BUT I, I THINK PERHAPS WE DO NEED TO LOOK AT THIS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          DID YOU, DID YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT, MARIO? SURE. 
          UM, SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS DISCUSSED. 
          YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE, UH, HANDLE THE, THE PRIVATE USE? AND I THINK ONE THING IS CONDUCT, YOU KNOW, I SEE RESPONSIBLE SCOOTER RIDERS, AND THEN YOU SEE THE JOY RIDERS THERE, THERE IS A MATTER OF CONDUCT HERE. 
          AN HPD OFFICER CAN ASCERTAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO IS THE JOY RIDER AND WHO IS COMING TO AND FROM WORK. 
          SECOND, WITH, UM, MOVING FORWARD WITH SOME SORT OF A MEDALLION REQUIRES MORE WORK REGARDING THE AP REGARDING THE FEE STRUCTURE, REGARDING THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO PUT IN CODE. 
          [00:30:01]
AND RIGHT NOW, WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS REALLY CLEAR THE STREETS. 
          WE WANTED TO TAKE THIS STOPGAP MEASURE TO CLEAR THE SIDEWALKS AND PREP FOR WHAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE. 
          SO I HEAR YOU, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, RESPONSIBLE SCOOTER RIDERS BEING STOPPED. 
          I WOULD THINK, OR I WOULD HOPE THAT IF YOU SEE RESPONSIBLE SCOOTER RIDERS, THEY'RE WEARING SCOOTERS, THEY'RE BANG, THE TRAFFIC LAWS, THEY'RE FOLLOWING EVERYTHING. 
          THEY'RE NOT THE ONES THAT WE ARE TRYING TO CURB WITH THE, THE CURFEW. 
          IT IS THE JOY RIDERS, AND THEY ARE TYPICALLY RIDING AROUND IN, IN LARGE GROUPS. 
          AND IF WE, YOU KNOW, MEDALLIA IS SOMETHING TO CONSIDER MAYBE FOR THE FUTURE. 
          BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, WE WANTED TO LET HPD ENFORCE THE ORDINANCE AS IS AND SEE HOW IT WORKS OUT. 
          IF I COULD CHAIR, YOU KNOW, FIRST AND FOREMOST, ANYBODY WHO'S BEHAVIOR CREATES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HPD TO STOP THEM, THAT WOULD BE IN PLACE. 
          BUT I AGAIN, KNOW THAT SOMETIMES WE HAVE PROFILING AND PEOPLE ARE STOPPED FOR WHATEVER REASON. 
          AND YOU CAN CERTAINLY SAY, WE, UH, I STOPPED YOU AND I HAVE A RIGHT TO STOP YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE RIDING A SCOOTER AND YOU HAVE PASSED THE CURFEW. 
          I, I, I DON'T WANNA PUT PEOPLE IN A POSITION WHERE THEY HAVE TO DEFEND THAT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLY RIDING A SCOOTER. 
          I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND IN A PERFECT WORLD, WE COULD SAY, OH, THAT MIGHT WORK, BUT I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO BE PUT IN A POSITION THAT THEY HAVE TO DEFEND THAT THEY ARE THERE, AND THEN THEY END UP IN ANOTHER SITUATION. 
          THAT COULD MEAN, COULD I SEE YOUR ID? COULD I DO THIS? OH, THERE'S A WARRANT. 
          OH, YOU GOTTA GO. 
          AND SO I, THAT'S, I, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S WHAT WE ARE LOOKING TO HAPPEN. 
          WE WANT PEOPLE TO OPERATE THEM RESPONSIBLY. 
          MM-HMM. 
          BUT I DON'T WANT THEM TO BE IN A SITUATION WHERE, OH, THERE'S A STUDENT. 
          I THINK I'LL JUST, PEOPLE DO, LET'S JUST BE REAL. 
          PEOPLE DO HARASS PEOPLE FOR VARIOUS REASONS. 
          YEAH. 
          AND I DON'T WANT THEM TO, TO FALL SUBJECT TO THAT. 
          CAN I JUST FOLLOW UP REAL FAST ON ? SO, NO, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. 
          I TOTALLY, I UNDERSTAND THAT. 
          I SEE YOUR POINT OF VIEW COMPLETELY. 
          UM, ONE, IT, ONE CHALLENGE THAT WE ALSO STRUGGLED WITH IS IF YOU START PUTTING MEDALLIONS ON SCOOTERS, LIKE, DO WE HAVE OPERATORS NOW THAT ARE LOOKING TO, AT SOME SORT OF SCHEMES, LIKE TO TRANSFER OWNERSHIP TO CUSTOMERS, SO THEY GET MEDALLIONS FOR SCOOTERS, AND THEN MARIA TEMPORARILY OWNS THE SCOOTER WHILE I'M RIDING IT. 
          AND I HAVE A MEDALLION ON IT. 
          I HAVE, WE HAVE VENDORS THAT HAVE EIGHT SCOOTERS. 
          THEY COME DOWNTOWN WITH EIGHT SCOOTERS. 
          EVERY PERSON IN THEIR FAMILY COULD GET A MEDALLION AND THEY COULD PUT THOSE OUT THERE. 
          SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DIDN'T LEAVE ANY LOOPHOLES BECAUSE IN 2021 WHEN WE PASSED THE ORDINANCES THAT WE PASSED FOR SCOOTERS, THERE WERE LOOPHOLES. 
          SO I HEAR YOU ON THE MEDALLIONS. 
          UM, LIKE I SAID, THIS IS A MEASURE TO CLEAR THE SIDEWALKS, MITIGATE THE RISK, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW IT WORKS OUT FOR HPD BEFORE WE GO INTO NEXT STEPS INTO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          JUST WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, I DON'T THINK I SAID ANYTHING ABOUT MEDALLIONS, BUT CERTAINLY THERE NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE LOOK AT YEAH. 
          THAT CAN HELP PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO PEACEFULLY PASS WITHOUT HAVING TO BE STOPPED. 
          SURE. 
          AND SO WHATEVER MEASURE WE CAN COME UP WITH, I MEAN, WE GOT A LOT OF GOOD MINDS HERE. 
          AND SO CERTAINLY, I, I WOULD LOVE TO LOOK AT THAT. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO IN THE QUEUE. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATION TODAY. 
          I DO, UH, APPRECIATE HOW THIS STARTED. 
          AS A BAN ENGAGEMENT WAS DONE, FEEDBACK WAS, WAS SOLICITED, AND NOW WE ARE ON A CURFEW FROM 8:00 AM 8:00 PM TO TO 4:00 AM. 
          UM, BEYOND THE POSTCARDS THAT ARE BEING MAILED OUT AND THE WARNINGS THAT ARE BEING ISSUED BY HPD, HOW ELSE ARE WE LETTING FOLKS KNOW THAT THIS CURFEW IS NOW IN PLACE? WELL, WE HAVE BOOTS ON THE GROUND, SO PARKING OFFICERS HAVE BEEN OUT THERE. 
          UM, AND HPD HAS BEEN OUT THERE ON THE STREETS, ACTIVELY ENFORCING. 
          SO NOVEMBER 19TH, UM, I, CAPTAIN COUNTRYMAN. 
          DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO HOW MANY WARNINGS THAT Y'ALL DID? OR WHAT YOU SAW OUT THERE? ACTUALLY? 'CAUSE AFTER NOVEMBER 19TH, THERE WASN'T A LOT OF ACTIVITY. 
          IT, IT WAS REALLY, REALLY QUIET OUT THERE. 
          UM, FOR THE MOST PART, ONCE THE CURFEW WENT INTO EFFECT, IT WAS LIKE A GHOST TOWN. 
          AND SO YOU ACTUALLY HAD PEDESTRIANS THAT WERE OUT AND JOINED DISCOVERY GREEN. 
          UM, I RODE AROUND THAT NIGHT AND IT WAS, I MEAN, VERY MINIMAL ACTIVITY. 
          A COUPLE SCOOTER RIDERS THAT WERE ENCOUNTERED, THEY LIVED DOWNTOWN, SPOKE TO THEM. 
          THEY WEREN'T EVEN AWARE OF THE CURFEW. 
          SO ONCE THEY WERE MADE AWARE, THEY'RE LIKE, HEY, NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER. 
          UM, 
          [00:35:01]
AND THEN DURING THE DAY, I'VE HAD MY OFFICERS GOING OUT AS THEY ENCOUNTER SCOOTER RIDERS, WHEN IT IS LEGAL TO DO 'EM, TO LET THEM KNOW, HEY, JUST A REMINDER, 8:00 PM YOU HAVE TO PUT IT UP, TAKE IT BACK TO THE RENTAL PLACE. 
          WE'VE, IT'S BEEN REAL, EVERYBODY'S BEEN REAL RECEPTIVE ON IT, EXCEPT FOR THIS PAST WEEKEND. 
          IT WAS KIND OF LIKE SEEMING LIKE PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO TEST THE WATERS TO SEE WHAT THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH. 
          UM, BUT LIKE I SAID, IT WAS MORE MANAGEABLE 'CAUSE IT WAS A SMALLER CROWD. 
          SOME OFFICERS WERE ABLE TO HANDLE IT IMMEDIATELY. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          UM, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO, TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE AWARE. 
          UM, AND IF THAT'S A NOTICE IN A WATER BILL OR SOME TARGETED MESSAGING TO THE FOLKS THAT LIVE DOWNTOWN OR VICINITY OF DOWNTOWN THAT DO OWN SCOOTERS. 
          I KNOW A COUPLE OF MY CONSTITUENTS REACHED OUT, UH, WHEN THE BAN WAS BEING PROPOSED, AND THEY TAKE THE SCOOTER TO WORK. 
          THAT'S THEIR PRIMARY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION. 
          THEY LIVE CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN. 
          UM, MAKING SURE WE ARE DOING WHAT WE CAN TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW THAT THIS IS ON THE BOOKS. 
          ULTIMATELY. 
          I MEAN, I'VE, I'VE BEEN DOWN THERE, I WAS THERE WITH THE, THE MAYOR AND THE POLICE CHIEF I NIGHT LOOKING AT DISCOVERY GREEN, SEEING WHAT A LOT OF US HAVE SEEN ON VIDEOS, THE SAFETY ISSUES, THE, THE FOLKS GETTING, UM, HARASSED THAT ARE DRIVING, UM, SCOOTERS COMING DOWN THE OPPOSITE WAY. 
          ALL OF IT. 
          ULTIMATELY, I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED SOMETHING THAT'S MORE LONG TERM THAN THE CURFEW, WHICH YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE, UM, THE NEXT STEPS OF THIS BRINGING ON A VENDOR OR SOMEONE THAT HAS THE TECHNOLOGY TO REGULATE THIS IN A WAY THAT PREVENTS A LOT OF THE SAFETY ISSUES FROM OCCURRING THAT PREVENTS THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING, UM, SPECIFICALLY IN DOWNTOWN. 
          SO TO THAT POINT, AND I KNOW YOU'RE COLLECTING DATA, I KNOW YOU'RE LOOKING AT NEXT STEPS. 
          ARE WE LOOKING AT WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE TO ALSO GET IDEAS FROM ON, ON HOW WE PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER MOVING FORWARD? YEAH, YEAH. 
          THERE ARE. 
          CITIES HAVE DONE IT MULTIPLE WAYS, RIGHT? WE HAVE A REGULATORY FRAMEWORK THAT'S VIA PERMITTING. 
          WE HAVE CITIES THAT HAVE ISSUED RFPS. 
          SO WE'RE LOOKING AT BOTH OF THOSE. 
          AND, UH, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, ORDINANCE AND HOW DO WE MAYBE COORDINATE WITH THAT FOR A PILOT PERHAPS, BECAUSE I KNOW EVERYONE'S THINKING ABOUT THE WORLD CUP. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, WE ALSO HAVE THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC. 
          THAT'LL BE HERE. 
          YEAH. 
          EVEN BEFORE THE WORLD CUP. 
          UM, SO WE WILL HAVE ACTIVITY GOING ON DOWNTOWN WHERE WE MAY NEED SOME TYPE OF PILOT IN PLACE BEFORE JUNE OF NEXT YEAR. 
          RIGHT. 
          YEAH. 
          NO, THANK YOU. 
          I HEAR YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ IN THE QUEUE. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UM, FIRST I JUST WANNA SAY, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          UM, IT'S INTERESTING, SOME FOLKS WOULD CONSIDER THIS BEING SILLY US REGULATING A TIME, A CURFEW THAT IN AUSTIN, AND QUITE FRANKLY, THEY ALREADY HAVE ONE DALLAS, THEIR RENTALS ARE ALLOWED FROM 5:00 AM TO 9:00 PM SO THEIR CURFEW IS FROM NINE TO 5:00 AM ATLANTA, THEY REGULATE FROM 12:00 AM TO 4:00 AM SO WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. 
          UM, I THINK WHAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT IS THAT SOME FOLKS HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, THEY CONFUSE THIS WITH ANTI MICRO MOBILITY, WHICH IS NOT THE CASE. 
          I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, AND SOMEBODY THAT REPRESENTS DOWNTOWN THAT HAS RECEIVED THIS CALL, THESE CALLS, WHETHER THEY WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE IT OR NOT, ARE REAL PEOPLE ARE OUT, OUT THERE AT 9, 10, 11, 12. 
          QUITE FRANKLY, THE TIME, THE TIMELINE THAT YOU SHARED WITH US, WHERE WE GET THE HIGHEST CALLS, THERE'S A THOUSANDS OF SCOOTERS, WERE OUT. 
          THAT'S JOY WRITING. 
          THAT'S NOT MICRO MOBILITY. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY, UH, FOR COUNCILOR RAMIREZ TO HOST THIS, HAVE FOLKS TO COME AND SPEAK TO IT. 
          BUT I ALSO NEED TO THINK, I ALSO FEEL THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A REALLY HONEST CONVERSATION FROM FOLKS THAT CALL THIS SILLY TO WHEN WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY, FOLKS THAT HAVE ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN SHOT AT AND TAKE OFF ON SCOOTERS. 
          'CAUSE IT IS DOCUMENTED IN THE NEWS. 
          THIS IS REAL WORK. 
          THIS IS NOT SILLY WORK. 
          THIS IS REAL WORK THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING A, A, A SPECIFIC, VERY SPECIFIC ISSUE AT A VERY SPECIFIC TIME. 
          AND THEN MY HOPES IS THAT THIS FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER MAJOR CITY IN THE US AND QUITE FRANKLY, OTHER PLACES IN THE WORLD THAT HAVE THE SAME MICRO MOBILITY, UH, WITH SPEED GOVERNORS, WITH, UM, GEO-FENCING, EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED, AGE RESTRICTION, WHICH AGAIN, IN ATLANTA, THERE'S AGE RESTRICTIONS FOR 18, YOU HAVE TO BE 18 AND OVER. 
          UM, THERE'S SPEED GOVERNORS IN DALLAS, 10 MILES PER HOUR IN THE BUSY 
          [00:40:01]
DISTRICTS. 
          ALL OF THIS IS, IS WORK THAT WE ULTIMATELY WANT TO CONTINUE TO DO. 
          SO THIS IS NOT THE END. 
          I THINK THIS WAS A GOOD FIRST STEP. 
          IT'S A GOOD COMPROMISE FROM A FULL BAN, WHETHER PEOPLE WANNA SEE IT OR NOT. 
          UM, AND IF THEY DON'T WANNA BE ON BOARD TO HELP WITH THE SOLUTIONS, THEN QUITE FRANKLY, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO GET THE WORK DONE AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD. 
          SO EITHER COME WITH SOLUTIONS OR LET US CONTINUE TO DO THE WORK THAT WE'RE HERE TO DO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. 
          AND, UM, YEAH, TO YOUR POINT, UH, I THINK THE, THE, THE EFFORT WAS MADE TO ATTACK THE RECKLESS USE OF SCOOTERS. 
          CERTAINLY WE DO HAVE FOLKS WHO USE SCOOTERS TO GET TO WORK IN SCHOOL. 
          AND, UM, THIS WAS AN ATTEMPT TO STRIKE A BALANCE, I BELIEVE. 
          BUT AS YOU HAVE POINTED OUT, IT'S A FIRST STEP, RIGHT? WE'RE GONNA COLLECT DATA TO SEE, UH, WHAT SHOULD BE DONE NEXT. 
          WE'RE GONNA CONSIDER WHETHER, UM, A COMPANY WITH THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY, YOU KNOW, SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO, UH, TO OPERATE WITH WITHIN THE CITY, UM, TO COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABBAT'S POINT. 
          UH, IF AN OFFICER SEES SOMEONE ON A SCOOTER AFTER 8:00 PM UH, THAT IS REASONABLE SUSPICION TO DETAIN AND INQUIRE FURTHER. 
          UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD CONSIDER WHETHER, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE WANT TO BE. 
          NOW, IT IS AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO, TO PROSECUTION THAT THE SCOOTER RIDER WAS GOING TO WORK OR SCHOOL. 
          UM, BUT THAT, THAT, THAT IS, THAT IS A FACT. 
          SO WE HAVE ONE MORE COUNCIL MEMBER IN THE QUEUE AT THIS TIME. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. 
          THANK YOU BROTHER CHAIR. 
          TO OUR COLLEAGUES. 
          UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION CONCERNING THIS MATTER. 
          INTERESTINGLY, UH, WHEN THESE ISSUES COME UP OR WHEN THIS FIRST CAME UP, WE HEAR NOT A LOT OF CONCERNS. 
          AND CERTAINLY I'M NOT ONE FOR TRYING TO INTERRUPT PEOPLE, MAKING MONEY OR HAVING A BUSINESS, BUT IN ALL WE NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT THE BUSINESSES THAT WERE OFFERING SCOOTER RIDERS PARTICULARLY CENTERED AROUND DOWNTOWN, THAT'S OBVIOUS. 
          UM, SO THE OBJECTIVE, I THINK, UH, COUNCILMAN JOAQUIN WAS VERY CLEAR AND MANY DISCUSSIONS WE'VE HAD ABOUT IT WAS WHAT THE SCOOTER RIDERS WERE CREATING. 
          NOW WE ARE HEARING MANY PEOPLE MAKE THE STATEMENT ABOUT, WELL, WHAT IF THIS, AND WHAT IF THE POLICE STOP 'EM? AND WHAT IF WE, AND ALL THESE OBJECTIVE THING, WHICH IS CERTAINLY, BUT I DON'T THINK THE BUSINESSES CONSIDERED THAT WHEN THEY STARTED IT. 
          THEY DIDN'T TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. 
          THAT'S NOT A NEGATIVE STATEMENT UNTO THE BUSINESS OWNERS. 
          BUT I THINK IT IS PRETTY CLEAR THAT SINCE THE RIDERSHIP OF THESE SCOOTERS OF WHAT IT HAS CREATED, AND I REEMPHASIZE THIS AND I DO IT EVERY TIME, THAT THE, THE DISRESPECT OF PEOPLE DOWNTOWN, LET'S BE CLEAR, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT SCOOTER RIDERS THAT WAS ON THE WEST SIDE OR THAT CENTERED IN A MALL. 
          THERE ARE MANY MALLS AROUND. 
          YOU DON'T SEE THAT. 
          THEY MADE IT PURPOSELY TO COME DOWNTOWN. 
          AND THAT CREATED AN ISSUE. 
          AND I'D SAID BEFORE, ALMOST HIT THREE SCOOTER DRI RIDERS. 
          THEY DO NOT RESPECT THE LIGHTS, THEY DO NOT RESPECT THE VEHICLES. 
          SO NOW THAT PUTS THE DRIVER ON MANY OF US DOWNTOWN TO BE EXTRA CAREFUL IN YOU WATCHING SCOOTER RIDERS. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S THE WHOLE THING. 
          THAT'S A, IT'S A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE. 
          IT'S NOT THE INTENT OF STOPPING BUSINESS, NOT FOR ME TO STOP SCOOTER BUSINESSES FOR MAKING MONEY, BUT WHEN YOU, BUT IF YOU PUT THE BUSINESS NEAR DOWNTOWN, THAT ATTRACTS THE PEOPLE TO RIDE THEM TO COME DOWN AND TO RIDE THE SCOOTERS. 
          AND AS WE'VE BEEN DOWN THERE IN DISCOVERY GREEN, I HAVE MANY OCCASIONS LATE AT NIGHT, YOUNG PEOPLE WHO MY PERSPECTIVE SHOULD BE AT HOME. 
          BUT THEY CHOOSE TO DO IT BECAUSE IT'S FUN, IT'S HAVING FUN. 
          UH, SO I, I THINK THE DATA IS CLEAR. 
          AND, AND LET ME JUST SAY THIS AS I CLOSE, EVERY 
          [00:45:01]
CITY IS NOT LIKE HOUSTON. 
          IF YOU LIVED IN OTHER MAJOR CITIES AND YOU LOOK AT THE MAKEUP OF THEM, HOUSTON AIN'T LIKE CHICAGO. 
          CHICAGO AIN'T LIKE DALLAS. 
          DALLAS IS NOT LIKE ATLANTA. 
          SO WHEN WE MAKE THESE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHAT EVERY OTHER CITIES ARE DOING, THAT'S FINE IF YOU WANT TO COLLECT DATA, BUT UNLESS YOU DEMOGRAPHICALLY HAVE LIVED IN THOSE COMMUNITIES, AND SO, SO WHAT, HOW THEY'RE SET UP, THEN YOU HAVE TO THINK A LITTLE, BE CAREFUL ABOUT HOW ADJUSTING AND COMPARING HOUSTON TO EVERY OTHER SITTER CITY ON THIS MATTER. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BE, ALL OF THE OPTIONS, I THINK NEED TO BE CONSIDERED THE MOBILITY ABILITY OR HOW WE MANAGE THESE SCOOTER RIDERS ON BEHALF OF THE BUSINESSES. 
          I CERTAINLY SUPPORT THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT FOR CUTTING ANY PEOPLE OFF OF MAKING MONEY, BUT I THINK WE GOTTA BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT DIRECTION THAT WE'RE TRYING TO TAKE OUR CITY AND HOW WE WANT OUR CITY TO LOOK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. 
          UM, S MARIA, I WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT, UM, ANY DATA YOU HAD THAT MIGHT SUGGEST THERE'D BE A SPILLOVER IF WE ONLY WERE TO, UH, IMPOSE A CURFEW OR A BAN DOWNTOWN OR IN MIDTOWN. 
          SO THERE'S NO DATA AS SUCH, BUT TYPICALLY, I MEAN, SPEAKING FROM LIKE A PARKING PERSPECTIVE, IF WE SHUT DOWN PARKING ON, ON CERTAIN STREETS, IT ALWAYS SPILLS OVER ONTO THE STREETS THAT ARE SURROUNDING. 
          RPP DOES THIS IN ALL NEIGHBORHOODS. 
          SO YOU CAN EXPECT THAT BUSINESSES WOULD MOVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN STILL, YOU KNOW, GET THE SAME CLIENTELE THAT THEY WERE GETTING BEFORE. 
          SO YOU WOULD, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SEE MONTROSE HEIGHTS, UM, THESE NEIGHBORHOODS START TO GET IMPACTED, YOU KNOW, AROUND A RICE UNIVERSITY. 
          THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD START BEING IMPACTED BECAUSE THAT WOULD ALSO BE FUN TO RIDE AROUND ON A SCOOTER PERHAPS IF YOU COULDN'T DO IT IN DOWNTOWN. 
          MM-HMM . 
          OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE AT THIS TIME. 
          SO WE WILL SAY THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND, UH, HOPE TO HEAR BACK YOU FROM YOU SOON ABOUT WHAT THE DATA IS SHOWING. 
          YEAH, THANK YOU. 
          RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU CAPTAIN AS WELL. 
          SO WE WILL MOVE TO THE PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION OF THE MEETING. 
          AS IT STANDS NOW, WE HAVE ABOUT 15 FOLKS, UH, SIGNED UP TO SPEAK. 
          SO WHAT WE'LL DO IS GIVE EVERYONE A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO OFFER COMMENT, AND UH, WE WILL START WITH THE FIRST PERSON ON THE LIST, WHO IS AUSTIN SPEEDMAN? AUSTIN SPEEDMAN. 
          WOULD YOU COME FORWARD? WHICHEVER YOU LIKE. 
          THAT'S FINE. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          YES, WE CAN GO AHEAD. 
          OH, OH, HEY EVERYBODY. 
          IT'S, UH, NICE TO SEE A LOT OF FAMILIAR FACES AGAIN. 
          UH, JUST FOR EVERYBODY'S REFERENCE, MY NAME IS AUSTIN SPEEDMAN. 
          I'M HERE REPRESENTING BIRD, WHICH IS ONE OF THE LARGEST MICRO MOBILITY COMPANIES, BOTH SCOTERS AND E-BIKES IN THE UNITED STATES. 
          WE OPERATE IN AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO, AND DALLAS. 
          UH, WHAT I'M GONNA SAY, I HOPE DOESN'T SURPRISE YOU, BUT I'M ACTUALLY IN FAVOR OF, UH, WHAT THE A RA PRESENTED TODAY. 
          I THINK YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE, UH, A FRAMEWORK THAT'S YIELDING RESULTS, BUT, UM, THERE'S A NEXT STEP AND, AND MARIO AND THE AR A RA OUTLINED THAT NEXT STEP. 
          I JUST WANTED TO TALK WHAT THE FUTURE COULD LOOK LIKE IN HOUSTON AND, UH, FORGIVE ME FOR DOING A COMPARISON. 
          UH, BUT DALLAS, UH, IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHAT, UH, HOUSTON COULD USE TO INCREASE THE LEVERS OF CONTROL ON THESE DEVICES. 
          UM, SO THE, THE WAY THE PROCESS WORKS IN DALLAS IS THERE'S A COMPETITIVE, UH, PROCESS WHERE VENDORS NEED TO OUTLINE THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE CAN OFFER. 
          UH, IT'S EVERYTHING THAT COUNSELOR MARTINEZ OUTLINED GEO-FENCING. 
          SO THE ABILITY TO CONTROL CAN THEY GO INTO DOWNTOWN AT A CERTAIN TIME, YES OR NO. 
          WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT TECHNOLOGY AND PROVE THAT THAT TECHNOLOGY WORKS. 
          UH, THERE'S OTHER THINGS LIKE JUST WHERE ARE THE DEVICES AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT? GPS INFORMATION, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO BOTH HAVE THAT AND ACTUALLY SHARE IT WITH THE CITY. 
          AND THAT BECOMES, UH, A DATA FEED THAT'S AVAILABLE. 
          UM, SO ANYHOW, UH, IT, THE, THE CITY GOES THROUGH IT, SEES OUR TECHNOLOGY LIVE, WE PROVE THAT WE CAN DO THINGS LIKE GEOFENCING SIDEWALK, MEANING THE DEVICE CAN'T RIDE ON THE SIDEWALK. 
          IT WILL EITHER SLOW DOWN OR PROVIDE AN AUDIO ALERT OR BOTH. 
          UM, AND WHAT THAT BECOMES IS, UH, AN ISSUANCE OF A PERMIT. 
          SO IN, IN DALLAS, THERE'S THREE 
          [00:50:01]
PROVIDERS ALLOWED IN THE CITY. 
          WE'RE ONE OF THOSE THREE. 
          AND, UH, WHAT YOU GET IS A LOT OF CONTROL. 
          SO CURFEW WAS MENTIONED AND COUNCILOR MARTINEZ MENTIONED THAT DALLAS DOES HAVE A CURFEW. 
          WHAT WERE TO HAPPEN IF ONE OF OUR DEVICES WERE BE, UH, TO BE RIDING AFTER CURFEW, THE CITY DOESN'T NEED DPD TO LOOK AT THAT INFORMATION. 
          UH, THEY HAVE THE DATA FEED SO THEY CAN SEE THAT THAT SCOOTER'S RIDING AFTER CURFEW, WHAT THAT WOULD BECOME IS, UH, SUSPENSION OF OUR SERVICE. 
          AND AFTER THAT, UH, A POTENTIAL REV VOCATION OF OUR PERMIT TO OPERATE. 
          ALRIGHT, AUSTIN? YEAH. 
          UH, DO YOU WANT TO FINISH UP? UH, YEAH. 
          SO ALL THAT IS TO SAY, UM, YOU GET LEVERS OF CONTROL AND ALTHOUGH THE, IT'S GOTTEN BETTER FOR HPD, I THINK HPD SHOULD BE EVEN LESS INVOLVED WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF SCOTERS. 
          SO, UH, DATA TO THE CITY THROUGH A SHARED PERMIT, UH, WOULD ENABLE, UH, LESS POLICE RESOURCES TO BE SPENT ON MANAGING THESE DEVICES. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM DOMINIC MAZO HERE. 
          DOMINIC MAY, I AM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS. 
          WELCOME. 
          YOU CAN GO AHEAD, DOMINIC. 
          THIS MORNING I GOT ON THE 96, WENT TO THE RED LINE, WALKED OVER TO SEE A FRIEND AT HOUSTON CENTER, THEN TOOK THE 40 OVER HERE. 
          AND COMING INTO DOWNTOWN, I DID VOTE. 
          I DID MYSELF A DUTY. 
          SO I WAS LISTENING TO THE PERSON HAD ME, AND, AND HERE I THINK ONE SATURDAY NIGHT I WAS AT THE FLYING SAUCER AND I DECIDED TO TAKE METRO 40 HOME, THE HEIGHTS, UH, TELEPHONE ROUTE. 
          AND IT WAS SATURDAY NIGHT. 
          AND IT, WITH ALL THESE SCOOTERS ON THE SIDEWALKS, I FELT IT LIKE IT WAS THE SCENE AT THE BEGINNING OF, UH, MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME. 
          AND I REALLY FELT SCARED. 
          'CAUSE THESE, THEY WERE RIDING FASTER THAN A CAR. 
          I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER THING. 
          YOU NEED REGULATORS OR GOVERNORS. 
          UH, SPEAKING OF METRO, I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING THAT THESE, THIS NEEDS TO BE, UH, TALKED ABOUT. 
          AND I THINK METRO NEEDS TO BE PART OF THIS CONVERSATION. 
          THIS COULD BE FIRST MILE, LAST MILE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE CURB TO CURB SERVICE. 
          WE HAVE THE GOLF COURTS AROUND, WHICH ARE WONDERFUL THINGS. 
          I'M, I'M, I'M VERY MUCH FOR THAT. 
          BUT MAYBE THIS COULD ALSO BE, UH, USED AS, AS LIKE A BICYCLE ADJUNCT OR A, UH, YOU KNOW, FIRST MILE, LAST MILE. 
          UH, AND IF, IF THAT'S THE CASE, I THINK AS THIS IS GOING ON, MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM METRO AT THESE MEETINGS, EX OFFICIO THAT CAN, MAYBE THEY HAVE SOME IDEAS, MAYBE SOME OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES AROUND THE COUNTRY. 
          AND AS AN EXAMPLE, WE CAN'T TAKE IT COMPLETELY INTO, INTO HOUSTON LIKE THAT. 
          BUT I THINK, UM, WE NEED TO HAVE, AGAIN, YOU WANT COLLABORATION. 
          THAT'S GREAT. 
          ALSO TOO, I WAS GONNA SAY ON THE, ON THE METRO SIDE, THE BUSES ARE CLEANER, THE OPERATORS SEEM TO BE MORE FRIENDLY, THE AIR CONDITIONERS ARE WORKING AND THE HARRIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE HAS OFFICERS NOW AT NORTHLINE. 
          SO THE, ALL THOSE COLLABORATIVE THINGS ARE HAPPENING. 
          WITH THAT. 
          I HAVE NO GREAT, THANK YOU DOMINIC. 
          LILY KRAUS TO BE FOLLOWED BY BRETT HIGHTOWER IS LILY KRAUS HERE. 
          GREAT. 
          YOU CAN GO AHEAD. 
          ALRIGHT, YOU CAN HEAR ME? OKAY. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE AND SPEAK WITH YOU TODAY. 
          MY NAME'S LILY KRAUS AND I'M RE REPRESENTING LYME, UH, THE WORLD'S LARGEST MICRO MOBILITY COMPANY, UH, WITH OPERATIONS IN MORE THAN 280 CITIES WORLDWIDE. 
          FIRST, I REALLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORK OF THIS BODY AND THIS THE, THE CITY HAS DONE OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS. 
          WE FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY COUNCIL FELT COMPELLED TO PASS THE WREATHS IN ORDINANCE, RESTRICTING SCOOTER OPERATIONS. 
          THINGS HAD BECOME UNSAFE AND OUT OF CONTROL. 
          AND PUBLIC SAFETY SHOULD ALWAYS COME FIRST. 
          WE ARE ALIGNED THERE. 
          UM, WE APPRECIATE THAT YOU ACTED DECISIVELY TO PROTECT HOUSTONIANS. 
          UM, AT THE SAME TIME THOUGH, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, WE'VE SPOKEN WITH RESIDENTS, COMMUNITY LEADERS AND MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. 
          AND WHAT WE'RE HEARING CONSISTENTLY IS THAT PEOPLE DO WANT MICRO MOBILITY OPTIONS. 
          UM, IN HOUSTON. 
          THEY JUST WANT IT DONE RESPONSIBLY. 
          THEY WANT OPERATORS TO USE REAL TECHNOLOGY, REAL ACCOUNTABILITY, AND REAL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP. 
          UM, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY NOW REQUIRE, AND IT'S THE STANDARD THAT LYME OPERATES UNDER EVERY DAY. 
          SO WITH TOOLS LIKE AR AGE VERIFICATION, UH, ENSURING NO ONE UNDER 18 CAN RIDE SIDEWALK RIDING DETECTION AND DETERRENCE, WHICH REDUCES CON CONFLICTS WITH PEDESTRIANS, ADVANCED GEOFENCING, WHICH PREVENTS RIDING OR PARKING IN SENSITIVE AREAS. 
          AND PROGRAMS 
          [00:55:01]
LIKE OUR LYME ACCESS, WHICH PROVIDES, UH, DEEPLY DISCOUNTED FARES FOR LOW INCOME RIDERS. 
          UM, THESE ARE THE TABLE STAKES IN WELL-RUN MICRO MOBILITY PROGRAMS TODAY. 
          UM, HOUSTON'S IN A UNIQUE POSITION BECAUSE THERE'S NO CURRENT PERMITTED PROGRAM, YOU HAVE A REALLY RARE OPPORTUNITY HERE TO BUILD SOMETHING WORLD CLASS FROM THE START, YOU CAN TAKE THE BEST PRACTICES FROM OTHER MAJOR CITIES AND DESIGN A PROGRAM THAT MEETS YOUR MOBILITY GOALS, PROTECTS PUBLIC SAFETY, AND EXPANDS ACCESS ACROSS THE CITY. 
          OUR ASK IS SIMPLE THAT THE CITY MOVE FORWARD IN DRAFTING AND RELEASING AN RFP FOR A REGULATED RESPONSIBLE PROGRAM. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. 
          ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. 
          AND WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ IN THE QUEUE. 
          THANK IF YOU COULD HOLD ON FOR A SECOND, LILY. 
          OH, SORRY. 
          YEAH, NO WORRIES. 
          JUST HAD A QUESTION AND, AND I WAS GONNA ASK, UH, ADAM AS WELL, BUT, UM, IN OTHER CITIES, AND ONE OF THE NOTES, UH, I HAVE DOWN IS, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, IN AUSTIN, I THINK, UH, IN 2023 THERE WAS ABOUT 14,000 DEVICES THAT WERE BEING, UM, UH, PERMITTED. 
          UM, IN THIS, THIS THIS YEAR OR IN 2024, THEY REDUCED IT TO 6,700. 
          WHAT, WHAT IS THE REASON FOR THAT, DO YOU THINK? UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE REASON, I MEAN, AGAIN, PUBLIC SAFETY, THERE WERE, UM, THERE WERE, THERE USED TO BE MANY, MANY OPERATORS THERE. 
          MANY MORE THAN THE TWO OR THREE THAT KIND OF ARE, UM, NOW OPERATING IN MOST CITIES, UM, IN THE COUNTRY. 
          SO, UH, I THINK JUST TO KIND OF IN INCREASE PUBLIC SAFETY, INCREASE TIDINESS, UM, WE WORKED REALLY CLOSELY WITH THE CITY ON, UH, PERMITTED PARKING AREAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE JUST CONTINUALLY PARTNERING TO MAKE THIS PROGRAM, UM, WORK EFFECTIVELY. 
          WE ALSO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, RIDERSHIP DATA TO MAKE SURE THAT THE VEHICLES ARE ACTUALLY BEING UTILIZED. 
          UM, AND I THINK ALL OF THOSE, UH, CONSIDERATIONS, DO YOU SEE THAT AS A COMMON THEME AT IN OTHER CITIES AS WELL? UH, OR THERE'S BEEN A REDUCTION IN NO, NO, THAT'S ACTUALLY PRETTY UNIQUE. 
          . 
          UM, AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, STARTED OFF WITH A, A LOT OF DEVICES, UM, AS DID, AS DID DALLAS BACK IN LIKE, YOU KNOW, 2018 THERE WERE LIKE 40,000 BIKES OR SOMETHING THAT, THAT GOT TO DALLAS. 
          UM, I THINK A LOT OF CITIES KIND OF STARTED SMALLER AND WE'RE SEEING THEM CONTINUALLY GROW, BUT IN A FRAMEWORK WHERE BOTH THE CITY AND THE OPERATORS ARE INCENTIVIZED TO DO SO RESPONSIBLY. 
          SO, UM, YOU KNOW, USUALLY THERE'S A PER TRIP FEE, UM, WHEREBY IF A OPERATOR IS EXPERIENCING MORE TRIPS, THE, THE CITY'S ALSO SEEING REVENUE, INCREASED REVENUE THERE. 
          SO IT'S, THEY'RE THE ALIGNED WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE AVERAGE MORE OR LESS, UH, IN AN ESSENTIAL BUSINESS DISTRICT FOR NUMBER OF SCOOTERS, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY OF COURSE OPERATORS YOU HAVE AS WELL. 
          UM, I MEAN, I WOULD SAY WE'VE LOOKED INTO WHAT WE THINK IS APPROPRIATE FOR HOUSTON. 
          UM, AND WE THINK STARTING, YOU KNOW, WITH A COMBINED FLEET, AND ALSO I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT LIME IS MICRO, I MEAN, MULTIMODAL. 
          SO WE HAVE SCOOTERS, BIKES, AND SEATED SCOOTERS, AND WE WOULD BE THINKING ABOUT AN APPROACH WITH ALL THREE COMING TO THE CITY. 
          SO, UM, I THINK STARTING WITH A, YOU KNOW, AROUND A 3000 SCOOTER, UM, CAP MAYBE TO BEGIN WITH AND SEE HOW THINGS GO, UM, WOULD BE APPROPRIATE AT THIS TIME. 
          OH, SO, AND, AND I THINK YOU MENTIONED IT, BUT I THINK TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE MICRO MOBILITY AND, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WE, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE ENTIRE CITY, BUT MY FOCUS IS, YOU KNOW, IN DISTRICT I, WHICH IS EAST, DOWNTOWN AND DOWNTOWN. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? I, I APPRECIATE BEING ABLE TO CREATE SOMETHING FROM SCRATCH. 
          YEAH. 
          THAT WORKS BEST IN, YOU KNOW, THROUGH, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCES THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HAD, UH, THAT OTHER, OTHER MICRO MOBILITY, UM, ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTING IN OTHER CITIES AS WELL. 
          UH, SO I DEFINITELY AM INTERESTED IN, IN SEEING HOW WE CAN MOVE THAT FRAMEWORK AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. 
          WE ARE TOO, THANK YOU. 
          OH, NO. 
          OH, I'M SORRY. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS IS IN THE QUEUE AS WELL. 
          THANK, THANK YOU. 
          BUT CHAIR, I JUST WANTED TO ASK, UM, SOMETHING I LOOKED INTO WITH LIME OPERATING. 
          DO YOU, IN, IN SOME OF THE CITIES THAT YOU OPERATE IN, IS IT TRUE THAT I SAW WHERE THE SCOOTERS THAT ALLOWED DOWNTOWN, BUT THEY RIDE IN A STREET LANE AND NOT ON SIDEWALKS LIKE CHICAGO AND SOME OF THE OTHER CITIES. 
          IT IS A DESIGNATED LANE FOR SCOOTER RIDERS, BUT NOT ON THE SIDEWALK, SIDEWALK. 
          IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH, GENERALLY IN, IN THE VAST MAJORITY OF OF US CITIES, UM, THERE ARE THE REGULATIONS, UH, STATE THAT SCOOTERS SHOULD BE RIDDEN. 
          SCOOTERS, BIKES, AND ALL MICRO MOBILITY DEVICES SHOULD BE RIDDEN IN THE STREETS OR BIKE LANES WHERE THEY'RE PRESENT. 
          I THINK A LOT OF CITIES HAVE ACTUALLY ALSO, UM, WE ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE A LOT OF DATA TO CITY PLANNERS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, WHICH HAS REALLY HELPED INFORM FUTURE IN, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE DECISIONS IN CITIES AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          GOOD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM . 
          THANK YOU. 
          BRETT. 
          HIGHTOWER IS NEXT. 
          HE'LL BE FOLLOWED BY PATRICK SAILOR. 
          [01:00:02]
I'M GONNA STAND FOR MOMENT. 
          THAT'S FINE. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          ALRIGHT, Y'ALL TODAY, THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR TIME. 
          UH, I'M BRETT, I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE LEGAL SCOOTER COALITION, WHICH IS MADE UP OF BUSINESS OPERATORS, WHICH ARE THE LARGEST OPERATORS HERE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          ARE LOCAL BUSINESSES, UH, NON-NATIONAL BRANDS. 
          UH, ALL OF THE COMPANIES ARE WITHIN THE COALITION SUPPORT THIS, UH, SAFETY INITIATIVE. 
          THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE PRIME TALKING POINTS AMONGST ALL OF THE BUSINESS OWNERS IS HOW DO WE INCREASE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. 
          UH, ONE OF THE MAIN, UH, SOLUTIONS FOR THAT IS THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY. 
          SO WE HAVE GEO-FENCING, WE HAVE, UH, VETTED RIDER PROCESSES, UM, COMMERCIAL INSURANCE THAT TAKES THE CITY AWAY FROM THE LIABILITY. 
          A LOT OF FACTORS PUT IN PLACE TO INCREASE THIS, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVE. 
          SO ALL THE COMPANIES ARE ALIGNED WITH IT. 
          NOW YOU HAVE YOUR GOOD OPERATORS AND YOU HAVE YOUR BAD OPERATORS. 
          SO I THINK THE ORDINANCE THAT WE ALSO SUPPORT IS, IT'S REALLY JUST TERMINATED THE BAD ACTORS. 
          SO YOU CAN'T JUST POP UP A TENT ON A PRIVATE LEASE AND THEN START OPERATING AND, YOU KNOW, YOU DO. 
          SO WITH THE ILL INTENT JUST TO, FOR PROFITEERING, WHAT THE, WHAT THE OPERATORS WITHIN THE LEGAL SCOOTER COALITION, ONE OF THE MAIN CONCERNS FOR US IS FEASIBILITY AND SURVIVING PRETTY MUCH. 
          SO A LOT OF THESE LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS FROM HOUSTON ALREADY HAVE LEASES. 
          THEY ALREADY HAVE THE INVESTMENT IN THE TECHNOLOGY, THEY HAVE THE INVESTMENT IN THE DEVICES AND ARE WILLING TO PUT AN ADDITIONAL CAPITAL INFUSION IN INTEGRATING THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'VE PRESENTED TO THE A RA, WE'VE PRESENTED TO, UH, SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND WE'VE ALSO, UH, SENT THE PRESENTATION TO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. 
          THE, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE TURNAROUND LOOKS LIKE FOR THIS AMENDMENT, IF THERE'S AN AMENDMENT TO THIS ORDINANCE, THE CURFEW IS KIND OF THE MAIN ISSUE. 
          MAJORITY OF THE BUSINESS IS COMING FROM, REALLY FROM 6:00 PM IS WHEN DOORS ARE REALLY OPENING AND PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO BE INTERESTED IN, IN RENTING THE, THE RIDES REALLY TO ABOUT MIDNIGHT. 
          AND SO WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU CREATE THIS CURFEW FOR TO EIGHT PMM, YOU'RE, IT'S NOT AN ALL RIGHT BAND, BUT ESSENTIALLY IT IS BECAUSE THERE'S NO MORE REVENUE IN THE MODEL FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE. 
          FOR INSTANCE, UH, ONE OF THE OPERATORS, EIDE HAS A SE A SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL COMMITMENT JUST STAYING OPEN. 
          SO THEY, THEY OPERATE UNDER A PUPPET MODEL, BUT ALSO BASED BASICALLY PRIMARILY ON THE HEADQUARTERS MODEL. 
          SO DEPENDING ON THE TURNAROUND WITH THE CITY, WE'RE ABLE TO KEEP IT TO BE LOCAL BUSINESSES BECAUSE ON THIS TRAJECTORY RIGHT NOW, WE'RE GONNA CLEAR OUT THE LOCAL PROVIDERS AND REALLY MAKE ROOM FOR A NATIONAL BRAND TO COME IN, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK WOULD GO AGAINST THE, THE WISHES AND DIVISION OF A LOT OF LOCAL COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THIS AREA. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT PERSPECTIVE, BRETT. 
          WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ IN THE QUEUE. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UH, BRETT, YOU, YOU SPOKE ABOUT A TIMELINE. 
          WHAT'S, WHAT'S A FEASIBLE TIMELINE? BECAUSE I THINK ONE OF THE LAST THINGS THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN IS, UH, LOCAL BUSINESS, UM, PULLED AWAY FROM AN OPPORTUNITY THAT Y'ALL BEEN IN. 
          UH, SO WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? WE ARE IN CRITICAL TIMING, SO WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOMETHING AT LEAST IN ON THE CALENDAR OR AN AGENDA AND SOMETHING THAT SHOWS THAT THERE'S A PROMISING FUTURE IN THE FUTURE. 
          PROBABLY BY THE, AT LEAST BY THE END OF DECEMBER, BECAUSE COME JANUARY, WELL, AFTER DECEMBER AND JANUARY, YOU HAVE TWO MONTHS OF RENT. 
          YOU HAVE LABOR FORCES THAT ARE EMPLOYED, YOU HAVE SCOOTER, UH, FINANCING THAT, THAT HAS TO BE PAID FOR, BUT IS NOT HAVING A ROI ON IT. 
          UM, AS COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO SAID, A HUGE IMPORTANCE IS PREPARING FOR THE WORLD CUP. 
          UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS WHERE WE CAN TAKE A HIT. 
          NOW WHILE WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER A PILOT PROGRAM THAT IS ACCEPTABLE BY COUNCIL AND IS VOTED IN, BUT IF WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE A, A PILOT PROGRAM IN TO ALLOW OPERATIONS AND DO SOME SORT OF AMENDMENT ON THE CURFEW BEFORE WORLD CUP REVENUE CAN BE MADE UP DURING WORLD CUP. 
          SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE IN PLACE AND ACTED AND OPERATIONAL WITH ENFORCEMENT PRIOR TO, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY MARCH. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, THAT GIVES US A BETTER UNDERSTANDING. 
          'CAUSE I, I, I'LL JUST BE QUITE FRANK, I'VE, I'M ACT BEEN BEFORE A FRAMEWORK AS OF, YOU KNOW, EARLY THIS YEAR. 
          YES, SIR. 
          UM, I KNOW THE TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE FOR MANY OF YOU ALL. 
          SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANNA MAKE SURE LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE DOING WELL, UH, ARE A PART OF THIS PROCESS TO WHATEVER EXTENT THEY CAN BE. 
          UH, BUT THEN SECONDLY, I, I THINK WE JUST IS, WE'RE LONG OVERDUE. 
          I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE'RE, UM, NOT JUST FOR FIFA, BUT FIFA IS A, A HUGE CONCERN OF MINE. 
          WE HAVE FOLKS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD THAT, UH, IT'LL BE HARD FOR US TO BUILD A CULTURE OF WHAT HOUSTON MICRO MOBILITY LOOKS LIKE IN DOWNTOWN AND EAST DOWNTOWN WITH THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE COMING INTO HOUSTON. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND SO, THE QUICKER, THE BETTER. 
          I'M WITH, I'M WITH YOU ON THAT. 
          UM, I'M GONNA LEAN INTO, OF COURSE, UH, THIS, THIS, THE ADMINISTRATION, THE CITY STAFF, UH, TO HELP, UH, PRIORITIZE THAT AS WELL. 
          UM, I'D LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING, QUITE FRANKLY, THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS AS WELL. 
          SO AM I, AM I ALLOWED TO RESPOND? SURE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO JUST IN RESPONSE TO THAT, SO ON THE OPERATOR SIDE WHERE WE, WE WERE READY YESTERDAY. 
          SO THE MAIN THING THAT WE'RE WAITING ON, AND THE ONLY REAL SIGNIFICANT DELAY IS GONNA BE WORKING WITH THE CITY OR SOME SORT OF PILOT PROGRAM FROM THE CITY IF IT WERE JUST MAGICALLY TO HAPPEN TOMORROW. 
          WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY AND WE HAVE THE, THE SCOOTERS WITH THE TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION READY ALREADY. 
          [01:05:01]
RIGHT NOW. 
          I THINK THE CHALLENGE IS GONNA BE, IT'S AN RFP, RIGHT? SO IT'S AN OPEN PROPOSAL FOR FOLKS AND I, AND I THINK WE ALSO HAVE TO BE COGNIZANT OF THAT AS WELL, UH, THAT IT IS OPEN TO, TO ALL. 
          UM, WE'VE, WE'VE TAUGHT IT, UH, HOUSTON FIRST ON A WHOLE BUNCH OF THINGS. 
          RIGHT? UH, SO I THINK Y'ALL NEED TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE AT THE TABLE AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          PATRICK SAILOR TO BE FOLLOWED BY VERONICA JUAREZ. 
          WELCOME. 
          YOU CAN GO AHEAD. 
          WELCOME. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          UM, SO I'M ACTUALLY A RESIDENT OF DOWNTOWN HOUSTON AND HAVE BEEN FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS, AND, UH, LIVED IN SEVERAL BUILDINGS DOWNTOWN. 
          RIGHT NOW I'M AT THE STAR ON THE CORNER OF FANON AND RUSS. 
          SO, UH, I SEE GROUND ZERO OF, UH, THE SCOOTERS. 
          I, I, I MEAN ALL THE HORROR STORIES, JUST, JUST WANNA SAY IT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, ISSUE THAT I'VE SEEN IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON, IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD IN 20 YEARS. 
          AND TO HEAR THAT THE CURFEW MAY, MIGHT POSSIBLY BE LIFTED IS JUST LIKE WE'D BE HEARTBREAKING. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, IN IN, IN REBUTTAL TO THE VENDORS, THEY WERE GIVEN A CHANCE, WASN'T THERE A CITY ORDINANCE WHERE THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE SURE THAT NONE OF THE KIDS WERE RIDING THE SCOOTER ON THE SIDEWALK THAT DIDN'T, HAD NO TEETH AT ALL. 
          THERE WAS ZERO ENFORCEMENT TO IT. 
          THE PROBLEM WITH THE SCOOTERS IS THEY GO 20 MILES AN HOUR, YOU CAN'T HEAR 'EM. 
          'CAUSE THEY'RE ELECTRIC. 
          THEY'RE ALL OVER THE SIDEWALKS. 
          AND IT'S, IT'S FRIGHTENING TO TURN A CORNER AND HAVE A 200 POUND 12-YEAR-OLD DOING 20 MILES AN HOUR DOWN THE SIDEWALK. 
          I HAVE A FAMILY. 
          UM, I'VE SEEN SEVERAL BUSINESSES HURT AND, UH, GO OUTTA BUSINESS DOWNTOWN HOUSTON. 
          UM, AND TO BE HONEST, THE SCOOTERS JUST HAVING BEEN DOWN IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FOR 20 YEARS, UM, IT HAS LED TO AN OVERALL, UH, UH, MINDSET OF LAWLESSNESS AND A DISORDER THAT HAS, I THOUGHT, I THINK, UH, INCREASED THE LIKELIHOOD OF THE, UH, OF THE BIKER MEETUPS, YOU KNOW, THE DIRT BIKES THAT COME THROUGH, WHICH, WHICH HONESTLY, I THINK HPD HAS DONE A VERY GOOD JOB OF, OF HANDLING LATELY. 
          UH, BUT, UH, LAST THING I WANNA SAY IS, UM, WHEN CONSIDERING BRINGING IN LIKE A NATIONAL VENDOR, SOMEONE WITH LIKE THE TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY, UH, I HEARD THE LAST LADY SAY, COUNCIL MEMBER ASKED IF, IF THERE'S THE TECHNOLOGY TO KEEP THE SCOOTERS FROM RIDING ON THE SIDEWALK, WHICH SHE ANSWERED WAS, IN MANY OF THE CITIES, THERE ARE REGULATIONS PREVENTING THE SCOOTERS FROM RIDING ON THE SIDEWALK. 
          SHE DIDN'T ANSWER IF THE TECHNOLOGY WOULD ACTUALLY KEEP THE SCOOTERS FROM RIDING ON THE SIDEWALK. 
          IF THE SCOOTERS AREN'T ON THE SIDEWALK, I'M COOL WITH IT, BUT IT'S JUST SO, SUCH A, A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU, PATRICK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OH, WE HAVE, UH, EXCUSE ME, PATRICK. 
          PATRICK, CAN YOU COME BACK? WE'VE GOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ IN THE QUEUE. 
          NO, I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, YOU BEING HERE FIRST AND FOREMOST, UH, WHEN WE HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, SOMETIMES THEY, THEY FALL INTO SILOS AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S TRYING TO PIT FOLKS AGAINST EACH OTHER. 
          I I'M HEARING YOU AS A DISTRICT I RESIDENT. 
          I APPRECIATE YOU SHARING 20 YEARS IN DOWNTOWN. 
          UM, MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, SINCE THE ORDINANCE, HAVE YOU SEEN ANYTHING POSITIVE? I, UH, I WANT TO ALSO THANK, UH, CITY COUNCIL MILLER RAMIREZ'S TEAM FOR REACHING OUT TO ME AFTER SEVERAL EMAILS. 
          UM, I TOLD 'EM IT'S LIKE BEING ON CLOUD NINE. 
          I MEAN, IT, IT, IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CITY. 
          UM, IT'S VERY QUIET. 
          I WAS OUTTA TOWN DURING THE THANKSGIVING BREAK, BUT JUST THOSE FEW DAYS, THOSE FEW NIGHTS, UH, THAT I, WE GOT TO SPEND WALKING AROUND THE SIDEWALK AND, AND BEING OUT THERE AND BEING ABLE TO RELAX. 
          UM, I MEAN, I LITERALLY FEEL LIKE I'M LOOKING OVER MY SHOULDER CONSTANTLY WHEN THE, WHEN THE SCOOTERS ARE OUT THERE. 
          SO, I MEAN, IT'S, IT, I I, AND THEN WITH THE, THE NEW MAIN STREET PROGRAM COMING UP AND WITH, WITH THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE THERE, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE SUCH A, A, SUCH A SHAME TO, TO, UH, TO BRING, AND IT IS 99% JOY RIDERS TO, TO CALL IT MICRO MOBILITY, I THINK IS, UH, INSINCERE BECAUSE YES, THE KIDS TRYING TO GET FROM HOME TO SCHOOL, THAT'S ONE THING. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          BUT, BUT IT'S JUST JOY RIDING. 
          AND AT ONE POINT, THE, THE, UH, THE, THE, THE VENDORS WERE, HAD MARIO KARTS OUT ON THE STREET, LITERALLY GO-KARTS, LIKE ON THE CITY STREETS OF DOWNTOWN HOUSTON. 
          I MEAN, THAT WAS STOPPED QUICKLY, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AND JUST MY LAST, YES, MY LAST QUESTION. 
          UM, SO YOU WOULD BE OKAY WITH US HAVING SOME KIND OF FRAMEWORK THAT HAD SPEED GOVERNORS, THAT HAD GEO-FENCING, THAT PROVIDED US WITH AGE RESTRICTIONS, THINGS THAT WE PROBABLY SEE WORK IN OTHER MAJOR CITIES IN THE STATE. 
          DEFINITELY MORE OPEN TO THAT THAN JUST AN OUTRIGHT FREE FOR ALL. 
          MAD MAX WAS LIKE THE PERFECT EXAMPLE. 
          UM, I WOULD SAY BE BEWARE BECAUSE I, I DO TRAVEL TO DALLAS AND AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO, AND THERE ARE SCOOTERS 
          [01:10:01]
ALL NOT RIDING, BUT JUST DERELICT SCOOTERS ALL OVER THE SIDEWALK. 
          IT'S KIND OF AN EYESORE. 
          AND AGAIN, I THINK EVEN DURING THE, THE, THE TIME THAT IT IS GEOFENCE AND ABLE TO, UH, USE IT, IT'S STILL MOSTLY DONE FOR JOY RIDING. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          APPRECIATE IT, PATRICK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU PATRICK. 
          VERONICA JUAREZ TO BE FOLLOWED BY PETER ECCLES. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THANK YOU FOR CREATING SPACE FOR US TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION TODAY. 
          MY NAME IS VERONICA JUAREZ TRANSPARENTLY. 
          I REPRESENT THE COMPANY LYME, BUT I'M ALSO HERE TO MAKE MY COMMENTS AS A PROUD AND NATIVE HOUSTONIAN. 
          I MOVED BACK TO HOUSTON TO START MY INVESTMENT FIRM. 
          I INVEST IN COMPANIES FOUNDED BY HOUSTONIANS. 
          I HIRE HOUSTONIANS, I INVEST IN SOCIAL ENTERPRISES. 
          I SIT ON THE SIT CENTER FOR HOUSTON'S FUTURE VISION 2050 BOARD. 
          I GIVE GRANTS TO NONPROFITS FROM MY FAMILY FOUNDATION. 
          YOU COULD SAY I'M LONG ON HOUSTON AND HOUSTON'S FUTURE. 
          EACH YEAR WE LOSE 60% OF ALL TECH COMPANIES THAT ARE STARTED IN HOUSTON, AND WE LOSE THEM TO OTHER COMPETITIVE MARKETS. 
          ONE WAY THAT WE CLOSE THAT GAP IS BY OFFERING SERVICES AND BENEFITS THAT OTHER CITIES OFFER, LIKE MICRO MOBILITY OPTIONS, LIKE MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION. 
          COUNCILOR DAVIS, I HEAR YOU THAT HOUSTON IS NOT LIKE EVERY OTHER CITY, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, I THINK THE ONLY EXAMPLE OF SCOOTER USE THAT WE'VE SEEN IN HOUSTON IS JOY RIDING. 
          WE HAVE NOT SEEN A TRUE MICRO MOBILITY PROGRAM. 
          70% OF ALL RIDES THAT HAPPEN ON THE LINE PLATFORM ARE NON RECREATIONAL. 
          THAT MEANS THAT THEY'RE BEING USED TO GO TO WORK TO HOME FOR, TO AN APPOINTMENT. 
          AND I THINK THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE CAN, WE CAN REGULATE FOR THAT. 
          I ALSO KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE BECAUSE I LIVE IN MONTROSE AND EVERY NIGHT I WALK MY DOG, I SEE PEOPLE USING BIKES. 
          AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE NIGHT SHIFT WORKERS LEAVING THEIR RESTAURANT JOBS TO GET HOME. 
          SO WE SHOULD ALSO PROVIDE REGULATION FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO USE THAT SERVICE. 
          I RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ALL HAVE TO MAINTAIN PUBLIC SAFETY FOR THE ENTIRE CITY. 
          AND I ALSO THINK WE'RE IN A REALLY UNIQUE POSITION AND OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE REGULATION THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, ALLOW FOR SOME PILOTS IN CERTAIN CITIES WITH VEHICLE CAPS AND GPS, UM, GEOFENCING SO THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR RESIDENT HERE DOESN'T HAVE TO STILL EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, WHAT HE HAS EXPERIENCED DOWNTOWN. 
          AND I JUST WANNA SAY I'M PERSONALLY COMMITTED TO STAYING AT THE TABLE WITH YOU AS YOU CONTINUE TO CREATE THIS POLICY. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. 
          UM, WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS IN THE QUEUE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND MM-HMM . 
          EXPLANATION OF THAT. 
          AND I, I CERTAINLY EMBRACED THE FACT THAT THERE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN BRING TO THE TABLE BECAUSE CERTAINLY I'M FOR EXPANDING TECHNOLOGY. 
          'CAUSE IT DOES DRAW AN ECONOMY INTO OUR CITY. 
          AND IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE SUBMITTED, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT, LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT IT. 
          SURE. 
          AS WELL AS SOME OF MY OTHER COLLEAGUES. 
          AND, AND, UH, I, I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD, IT'S BEEN THIS FOR OUR CITY, BUT, UH, YOU MADE THE POINT ON IT THAT IT'S SOMETHING TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC SAFETY, NOT JUST MAKE IT JOY RIDING. 
          MM-HMM . 
          AND I THINK THAT THAT'S VERY, UM, UM, AMENABLE. 
          SO I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT IF YOU WOULD, YOU KNOW, CONTACT ME OR I'LL TALK TO YOU. 
          SURE. 
          I LIKE TO LOOK AT SOME OF THAT. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          TECHNOLOGY. 
          RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS, PETER. 
          ECKELS TO BE FOLLOWED BY ABE LEVITZ. 
          WELCOME. 
          YOU CAN GO AHEAD. 
          AFTERNOON, UH, CHAIR RAMIREZ. 
          UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          MY NAME IS PETER ECKLES AND I'M HERE REPRESENTING LINK HOUSTON. 
          WE ADVOCATE FOR A ROBUST AND EQUITABLE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK SO ALL PEOPLE CAN REACH OPPORTUNITY. 
          AND MICRO MOBILITY DEVICES LIKE SCOTERS ARE A GROWING PART OF THAT TRANSPORTATION NETWORK. 
          THEY'RE AFFORDABLE, THEY HELP RELIEVE PRESSURE ON OUR CONGESTED STREETS AND POLLUTED AIR, AND THEY HELP PUT MORE JOBS, SCHOOLS, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES IN REACH FOR HOUSTONIANS. 
          UM, MICRO MOBILITY IS SOMETHING TO EMBRACE, NOT TO BAN OR UNDULY RESTRICT. 
          WE ENCOURAGE THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO WORK TOWARDS MAKING MICRO MOBILITY SAFER AND MORE EFFECTIVE FOR EVERYONE BY DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK FOR THEIR OPERATION TO REQUIRE SAFETY FEATURES LIKE SPEED GOVERNORS AND GEOFENCING, UH, TO INVITE A WORLD-CLASS WELL-REGULATED MICRO MOBILITY SHARE SYSTEMS SUCH AS THOSE OFFERED BY THE PREVIOUS SPEAKERS. 
          UM, AND TO HELP KEEP SCOOTERS OFF OF OUR SIDEWALKS AND BUSY THOROUGHFARE BY BUILDING A COMPLETE NETWORK OF LANES FOR BIKE SCOOTERS AND OTHER MI MICRO MOBILITY DEVICES. 
          WE APPRECIATE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO HAVE MADE SIMILAR SUGGESTIONS AND ARE HOPEFUL THAT DISCUSSIONS LIKE THIS ONE AND THE CURRENT CIVIC DISCOURSE AROUND SCOOTERS WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, UM, FOR 
          [01:15:01]
SCOOTER RENTALS IN HOUSTON. 
          ONE THAT ENSURES THEIR SAFE OPERATION AND THAT THESE RENTED SCOOTERS CAN BE USED FOR ACTUAL MOBILITY TRIPS FROM POINT A TO POINT B. 
          UH, BUT IN THE IMMEDIATE TERM, THERE ARE SOME GLARING ISSUES WITH THE ORDINANCE, UH, THAT WAS PASSED ON NOVEMBER 19TH THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED WITH THE SAME URGENCY THAT THIS WAS PASSED IN THE FIRST PLACE. 
          AS CURRENTLY ENACTED, THESE RESTRICTIONS ARE FAR TOO BROAD BY INCLUDING SCOTERS THAT ARE OWNED BY INDIVIDUALS UNDER THE SAME BLANKET REGULATIONS. 
          THIS ORDINANCE SUBJECTS TO MANY HOUSTONIANS, LOW INCOME HOUSTONIANS, IN PARTICULAR, TO A BRAND NEW FORM OF PROBABLE CAUSE FOR SIMPLY MAKING ROUTINE TRIPS AT OFF HOURS BY APPLYING THESE RESTRICTIONS TO THE ENTIRE CITY. 
          THIS ORDINANCE SUBJECTS COMMUTERS ALL OVER TOWN TO INDISCRIMINATE EN ENFORCEMENT OF SOMETHING THAT BY ALL INDICATIONS IS A DOWNTOWN PROBLEM. 
          THIS ORDINANCE RAISES SERIOUS CIVIL LIBERTIES CONCERNS THAT WILL DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT LOW INCOME HOUSTONIANS WHO RELY ON SCOOTERS TO GET AROUND, HOPING IT WILL BE ENFORCED RESPONSIBLY, IS NOT SUFFICIENT. 
          I URGE THIS COUNCIL TO RESOLVE THEM BEFORE ANY UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OCCUR. 
          THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THESE FEEDBACKS AND THANKS IN PARTICULAR TO COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ FOR RIGHTFULLY POINTING OUT HOW LITTLE TIME THERE WAS TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL FEEDBACK ON THIS ORDINANCE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, PETER. 
          I I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          UM, QUESTION. 
          SO THERE'S BEEN DISCUSSION ABOUT SPEED GOVERNORS AND, AND USUALLY THAT'S IN RELATION TO A NATIONAL COMPANY COMING IN. 
          UM, BUT WE, WE HAVE THE, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE OWN THEIR OWN SCOOTERS, RIGHT? AND SO HOW, HOW DO WE RECONCILE THE, THE SPEED GOVERNOR WITH THE PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF SCOOTERS? DO YOU HAVE ANY, ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? UH, UH, I WOULD START BY SEEING, I'M SAYING I'M YET TO SEE ANY EVIDENCE THAT SCOOTERS THAT ARE PRIVATELY OWNED BY INDIVIDUALS FOR THEIR PERSONAL TRANSPORTATION TO BE INVOLVED IN THE SORT OF JOY RIDING THAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT. 
          UM, SECONDLY, UH, I MEAN THEY'RE, THE REGULATIONS AROUND SPEED FOR PERSONALLY OWNED VEHICLES, I THINK ARE GENERALLY UNDER STATE REGULATIONS RATHER THAN THE CITY. 
          THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE SETS ASIDE THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF DEVICE AND HOW FAST THEY'RE ALLOWED TO GO AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE FOR THEM. 
          UM, AND YEAH, THAT'S THE REGULATIONS THAT ARE PROBABLY TO DEFER TO ON THAT MATTER. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, AND, AND I DO AGREE WITH YOU THAT I THINK MOST OF THE RECKLESS BEHAVIOR THAT, OR MAYBE ALL OF IT, THE RECKLESS BEHAVIOR THAT PEOPLE WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT WAS RELATED TO, UH, SCOOTERS THAT THAT HAD BEEN RENTED. 
          AT LEAST THAT WAS MY PERCEPTION. 
          I DON'T KNOW HOW OTHERS FEEL ABOUT THAT, BUT MM-HMM . 
          I APPRECIATE YOUR PERSPECTIVE. 
          THANKS VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ABE LEVITS TO BE FOLLOWED BY EDGAR GONZALEZ, US GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY. 
          UM, I WANT TO FIRST START BY SAYING ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS REALLY UNIQUE ABOUT HOUSTONIANS IS THEY TAKE CARE OF OTHER HOUSTONIANS. 
          UM, WE'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS, UH, SINCE 2019 AND BEEN SUCCESSFULLY OPERATING IN HOUSTON. 
          I THINK WE'RE PROBABLY ONE OF THE LARGEST OPERATORS IN HOUSTON. 
          WHEN THE TOPIC CAME UP ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BAN AND THE SAFETY CONCERNS, WE TOOK IT VERY SERIOUSLY. 
          UH, SINCE THAT TIME, UH, WE'VE IMPROVED SAFETY MEASURES WITHIN OUR STOREFRONT. 
          WE'VE FLOWN OUT LARGE, UH, COMMERCIAL, UH, COMMERCIAL SCOOTER DEVELOP, UM, UH, MANUFACTURERS FROM CHINA AND SPENT CONSIDERABLE TIME WITH THEM ABOUT CREATING AN INFRASTRUCTURE IN TOWN THAT WILL CREATE GEO-FENCING AND ALSO ALLOW FOR SPEED REGULATION. 
          AND TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR, UH, SCOOTER SCOOTER INVENTORY THAT WE'VE INVESTED HEAVILY IN ALREADY IS ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY MEET, UH, ANY KIND OF, UH, REGULATION THAT THE, THE COUNCIL AND THE CITY IS LOOKING AT. 
          UH, OUR TEAM ALSO FLEW TO CHINA AND JUST SPENT 45 DAYS THERE TALKING TO THE DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE SCOOTERS AND THE PRODUCTION LINES ARE AVAILABLE TO US SO THAT WE COULD IMMEDIATELY IMPLEMENT, UH, ANY TYPE OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK THAT IS CURRENTLY IN DISCUSSION. 
          I WANNA START BY SAYING A NATIONAL COMPANY COMING IN HERE WILL PUT US OUT OF BUSINESS AT THIS CURRENT BAN. 
          CURRENTLY, THE WAY THAT IT'S, UM, IT'S FRAMED WITH THE, WITH THE TIME CONSTRAINTS AND THE CURFEW IS PUTTING US OUT OF BUSINESS. 
          WE WANNA STAY IN BUSINESS, WE WANNA SAVE, UH, MICRO MOBILITY FOR HOUSTON, BUT WE WANNA DO IT SENSIBLY. 
          AND OBVIOUSLY WITH SAFETY AT THE FOREFRONT, I THINK WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU AND GOING ALONG ANY KIND OF RFP FORMAT OR SOME REAL DISCUSSION ABOUT MAINTAINING THE BUSINESS, BEING IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS A HUNDRED PERCENT POSSIBLE. 
          WE HAVE THE SAME TECHNOLOGY AS THEY DO. 
          WE HAVE THE SAME SCOOTERS THAT THESE NATIONAL COMPANIES DO, BUT WE'RE LOCALS AND WE CAN KEEP OUR 50 PLUS EMPLOYEES, PLUS THE OTHER SCOOTER RENTAL COMPANIES IN IN TOWN THAT CAN ADHERE TO THESE REGULATORY, UM, UM, INTENTIONS. 
          I THINK WE CAN MAINTAIN A SENSE OF BUSINESS AND, AND STAY ALIVE. 
          SO I'D ASK THAT THE COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR PLEASE CONSIDER KEEPING THE BUSINESS LOCALLY. 
          WE CAN MEET ANY OF THESE, UM, FRAMEWORKS AND, AND, AND REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS, AND WE CAN BE PROACTIVE AND GET SOMETHING IN PLACE BEFORE THE, UH, HOUSTON WORLD CUP. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU ABE, UH, FOR SHARING YOUR PERSPECTIVE. 
          AND, AND I HOPE YOU'LL SHARE WHAT OTHER, WHATEVER INFORMATION YOU GATHERED, UH, WITH 
          [01:20:01]
A RA. 
          YES, SIR. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          EDGAR GONZALEZ TO BE FOLLOWED BY ROBERT GROBE. 
          GOOD EVENING COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          MY NAME IS EDGAR. 
          I AM THE MANAGER FOR EIDE SCHOOL RENTALS, AND I'M HERE TO, AS A, AS A REPRESENTATIVE FOR 50 EMPLOYEES WHO WORK WITH OUR, UH, IN OUR COMPANY. 
          UM, I AM SPEAKING AS A WORKER AND, UH, SPEAKING FOR OTHER WORKERS WHO ARE SCARED TO LOSE THEIR JOBS, RIGHT? FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS, BECAUSE OF THE CURFEW, OUR HOURS AND OUR INCOMES HAVE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY THAT THE COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH TO PAY FOR YOUR PAYROLL. 
          RIGHT. 
          BASICALLY, THEY ARE PAYING OUT OF POCKET TO KEEP OUR 50 EMPLOYEES WITH US. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US. 
          50 IS NOT JUST A NUMBER. 
          IT IS, UM, 50 FAMILIES, 50 CAR PAYMENTS, 50 RENTS, 50 GROCERY BILLS. 
          UH, MOST OF US ARE LIVING FROM PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK. 
          SOME OF OUR COURT WORKERS ARE SUPPORTING KIDS, PARENTS, FAMILIES BACK HOME. 
          WHEN OUR HOURS ARE CUT BACK, IT LEAVES US WONDERING, CAN I PAY MY RENT THIS MONTH? CAN I AFFORD TO EVEN GO TO WORK, RIGHT. 
          TO PAY GAS? WHAT AM I, AM I GOING TO DO? WHAT, WHAT IF I'M GOING TO DO, IF I LOSE MY JOB? 90% OF OUR CUSTOMERS COME AFTER 8:00 PM THAT IS WHEN DOWNTOWN IS ALIVE, IS OPEN, AND, UM, FAMILIES COME OUT AFTER DINNER, AFTER GAMES, AFTER EVENTS, RIGHT? RIGHT NOW WITH THIS CURFEW, IT IS BASICALLY FORCING THE DECISION ON US. 
          AND YOU EITHER, YOU, WE OPERATE RESPONSIBLY AFTER EIGHT, OR WE HAVE TO EFFECTIVELY FIRE 50 PEOPLE. 
          AND NO ONE WANTS TO SAY, WE DECIDED TO PUT 50 PEOPLE OFF OF WORK. 
          BUT THAT'S THE REAL IMPACT OF THIS, UM, POLICY. 
          RIGHT. 
          YOU, WE ARE NOT AGAINST THE RULES. 
          WE CARE ABOUT THE SAFETY TOO. 
          WE ARE THE ONES OUT THERE EVERY SINGLE DAY EXPLAINING TO CUSTOMERS, UM, THE SAFETY OF THE SCOOTERS. 
          WE'RE EXPLAINING TO THEM WHERE THEY CAN RIDE, WHERE THEY CANNOT RIDE. 
          AND, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE KEEPING THE SIDEWALKS CLEAR FROM THE FRONT OF OUR STORE. 
          RIGHT. 
          UM, WE'RE, AGAIN, WE WANNA BE PART OF THE SOLUTION. 
          WE DON'T WANT TO BE TREATED AS A PROBLEM. 
          AND IF YOU GUYS DO LET US OPERATE AFTER THOSE CERTAIN TIMES, WE ARE, WE WILL EFFECTIVELY KEEP ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT PERSPECTIVE. 
          I'M, I'M JUST KIND OF CURIOUS. 
          UM, SO OBVIOUSLY DOWNTOWN HAD BEEN INUNDATED WITH SCOOTERS PRIOR TO THE COUNCIL ACTING, AND THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF BUSINESSES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA RENTING SCOOTERS IN A NUMBER, NUMBER OF PARKING LOT OPERATIONS. 
          UH, HOW LONG HAVE HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE BUSINESS? UH, I'VE BEEN ALMOST SINCE THEY STARTED. 
          SO, UM, BEEN OVER A LITTLE BIT FOR OVER THREE OR FOUR YEARS NOW. 
          SO HOW DID, HOW DO YOU THINK THIS ALL GOT STARTED? WHICH, WHICH CAME FIRST? THE, UH, THE VENDORS OFFERING THE SCOOTERS FOR RENT OR WHAT, HOW, HOW DID THIS GET STARTED? UM, CAN YOU REPHRASE YOUR QUESTION? WELL, I MEAN, 10 YEARS AGO, WE PROBABLY DIDN'T HAVE ANY SCOOTERS IN DOWNTOWN MORE RECENTLY. 
          YOU KNOW, WE HAD THOUSANDS OF SCOOTERS CORRECT. 
          E EVERY WEEKEND NIGHT. 
          HOW DID THAT, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? WELL, YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT. 
          UH, PEOPLE SEE SCOOTERS OUTSIDE PEOPLE QUESTION, HEY, WHERE'D YOU GET THOSE SCOOTERS? RIGHT? AND THEN THEY MENTIONED, WHERE DO YOU GET THEM FROM? PEOPLE THAT COME AS TO, UH, THEY'RE TOURING THE CITY. 
          PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT FROM HERE. 
          THEY DO STOP SOME OF OUR CUSTOMERS TO ASK THEM, HEY, WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR SCOOTERS FROM? AND THEY REDIRECT THEM TO US. 
          THEY SHOW 'EM, UM, THEY GO TO OUR STORE AND THEN THEY BASICALLY HOW THAT'S HOW THEY FIND US. 
          HMM. 
          AND, UM, YOU, YOU GUYS WERE ACTIVE HERE, DOWNTOWN. 
          WERE THERE OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY WHERE YOU THINK, UH, PEOPLE WOULD'VE RIDDEN SCOOTERS OR, OR NOT? UM, SO THE DOWN, TYPICALLY FROM WHAT I SEE THE DOWNTOWN IS IN ANY CITY, DOWNTOWN IS BASICALLY THE FIRST PLACE THAT THEY GO TO, RIGHT. 
          BECAUSE IT IS WHAT REPRESENTS HOUSTON OR WHATEVER MAJOR CITY. 
          THE DOWNTOWN IS THE, BASICALLY WHAT IS, WHAT POPS OUT MOST OF THE TIME. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO, UM, AND NOT, I HAVEN'T NECESSARILY SEEN ANY OTHER LOCATIONS WHERE THE SCOOTERS RENT THE SCOOTERS ARE AS BIG AS THE DOWNTOWN AREA. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ROBERT GROBE TO BE FOLLOWED BY KEVIN STRICKLAND. 
          WELCOME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, MY NAME'S ROBERT GROBE, AND I'VE LIVED IN EAST DOWNTOWN 
          [01:25:01]
FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS NOW, AND I WORK IN DOWNTOWN. 
          TWO OF THE AREAS MOST HEAVILY IMPACTED BY SCOOTER USAGE. 
          UM, ON NOVEMBER 19TH, THE MAYOR WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT THE CITY CANNOT YIELD TO SPECIAL INTERESTS. 
          AND I AGREE, 2.3 MILLION HOUSTONIANS SHOULD NOT BOW TO THE INTEREST OF HOUSTON. 
          FIRST, MY NEIGHBORS, MY FRIENDS THAT LIVE IN THIRD WARD, SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DEFEND HOW THEY MOVE AROUND BECAUSE OF THE INTEREST OF THE BUSINESSES IN HOTELS DOWNTOWN. 
          THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER. 
          IF THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING OUTSIDE OF A HOTEL DOWNTOWN, WE SHOULD ADDRESS IT, BUT WE SHOULD NOT FORCE THE REST OF THE CITY TO BOW DOWN TO THESE SPECIAL INTERESTS. 
          AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL OF US TO REJECT THE NOTION THAT MOVING AROUND FOR RECREATION MAKES YOU ANY LESS DESERVING OF THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE HOW YOU DO. 
          SO WHEN I WALK AROUND DOWNTOWN, I DON'T HAVE TO DEFEND WHY I'M THERE. 
          WHY, IF I'M ON A SCOOTER, DO I HAVE TO DEFEND WHERE I'VE COME FROM OR WHERE I'M GOING TO? I'M NOT HERE TO DEFEND RECKLESS BEHAVIOR. 
          I'M HERE TO DEFEND JOY AND THE RIGHT TO ENJOY THE CITY. 
          IF WE NEED TO ADDRESS RECKLESS BEHAVIOR, LET'S USE THE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S AVAILABLE. 
          SPEED, GOVERNORS, GEOFENCING, WHATEVER SORT OF REPUTABLE BUSINESSES Y'ALL MIGHT DETERMINE TO BE REPUTABLE. 
          BUT LET'S NOT PUNISH THE WHOLE CITY. 
          UH, IF THERE'S SOME REALLY ACUTE AREAS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED, LET'S FOCUS ON THOSE AREAS. 
          I APPRECIATE THE, THE REVISIONS THAT WERE DONE, GETTING RID OF THE BLANKET BAN FOR THE, THE AREAS THAT I LIVE AND WORK. 
          UM, I DON'T PERSONALLY USE A SCOOTER, BUT I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE DO. 
          UM, AND THEY WERE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE, THE OUTRIGHT BAN. 
          AND SO I APPRECIATE THE POSITIVE STEPS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE Y'ALL TO CONTINUE THIS ENGAGEMENT. 
          UM, I, I RECOGNIZE THAT Y'ALL SAID IT'S A FIRST STEP, BUT Y'ALL HAVE ALREADY PUT THESE RULES IN PLACE, AND SO IT'S HARD TO REALLY ACCEPT THAT THIS IS A FIRST STEP AS OPPOSED TO THE STEP. 
          AND NOW WE'RE HAVING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ELSE IS TO BE DONE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU ROBERT. 
          KEVIN STRICKLAND TO BE FOLLOWED BY RICKY CARDENAS. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          I'M KEVIN STRICKLAND, CO-FOUNDER OF WALK AND ROLL HOUSTON, A NONPROFIT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION WORKING TO CREATE A CITY WHERE HOUSTONIANS CAN WALK AND ROLL SAFELY AND EASILY AS WE NEED. 
          I BIKED HERE. 
          I WASN'T ENTIRELY SURE IF IT WAS LEGAL. 
          UH, FULL DISCLOSURE, I BIKED ON THE SIDEWALKS DOWNTOWN BECAUSE IT'S NOT SAFE TO BIKE IN THE STREETS DOWNTOWN. 
          SO LET'S KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN ALL YOU HAVE IS A HAMMER. 
          EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE A NAIL. 
          THE SCOOTER BAN IS RIDICULOUS FOR THE MAYOR TO CLAIM IT'S AMONG THE CITY'S NUMBER ONE, SECURITY RISK IS RIDICULOUS FOR CITY COUNCIL TO GO ALONG WITH. 
          YET ANOTHER ONE OF HIS BANS IS ALSO RIDICULOUS FOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO SAY THE ORDINANCE HAD BEEN DISCUSSED AT LENGTH WITH NO PUSHBACK IS COMPLETELY FALSE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ TAGGED THE ORDINANCE FOR EXACTLY THIS REASON. 
          IT WAS DROPPED ON A FRIDAY AND THEN VOTED ON WEDNESDAY. 
          THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THIS TIME. 
          UM, FOR A CITY COUNCIL, WHICH IS MINORITY MAJORITY, TO IGNORE THE MAYOR'S DOG WHISTLES TO JUSTIFY THE BAN IS EMBARRASSING. 
          HE SAYS THINGS LIKE, THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT FROM HERE. 
          THERE ARE DRUGS AND GUNS. 
          NO FACTS TO SUPPORT THAT. 
          A REMINDER THAT TEXAS IS AN OPEN CARRY STATE. 
          MOST OF THE PEOPLE ON THE SCOOTERS DOWNTOWN ARE BLACK AND BROWN KIDS. 
          EACH MONTH, 30 HOUSTONIANS ARE KILLED IN CAR CRASHES. 
          ONE THIRD OF THOSE PEOPLE WERE WALKING, NONE OF THEM WERE KILLED BY KIDS ON MICRO MOBILITY DEVICES. 
          HUNDREDS OF HOUSTONIANS HAVE COME TO CITY COUNCIL TO DEMAND THAT HPD STOP NON-SAFETY TRAFFIC STOPS. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER EVEN PROPOSED AN ORDINANCE TO DO THAT. 
          YOU'VE NOW TURNED AROUND AND DONE THE OPPOSITE. 
          YOU'VE GIVEN HPD MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SEND HISPANIC PEOPLE TO EYES. 
          I DIDN'T THINK THE DAY WOULD COME WHEN COUNCIL MEMBER SHABAZZ AND I WOULD AGREE ON SOMETHING, BUT I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE  VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOU POINTING OUT THE RISK TO PEOPLE. 
          AND AS PETER ECKLES SAID, THE CIVIL LIBERTY RISK, THE CITY'S OWN ENFORCEMENT DATA SHOWED YOU ALREADY HAVE THE ABILITY TO REGULATE THE SCOOTERS. 
          UM, THE, AS OTHER PEOPLE HAVE POINTED OUT, THE LEGALITY OF THE BAN SEEMS VERY QUESTIONABLE. 
          SO I ENCOURAGE Y'ALL TO REVISIT WHAT YOU'VE DONE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU KEVIN. 
          RICKY TO BE FOLLOWED BY ADE BTI. 
          [01:30:06]
STOP THERE. 
          UH, HELLO. 
          MEMBERS OF THE QUALITY OF BLACK COMMITTEE, UM, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THE SCOOTER BAND AND THE SAFETY OF HOUSTONIANS. 
          MY NAME IS RICKY CARDENAS, AND I ARRIVE HERE BY METRO RAIL. 
          UM, IT HAS BEEN STATED BY MANY THAT HOUSTON GROWS BY ROUGHLY 700,000, 700,000 COMMUTERS EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEKDAY. 
          THE VAST MAJORITY OF THEM CURRENTLY ONLY HAVE THE OPTION TO GET AROUND OUR CITY BY CAR OR TRUCK. 
          IF WE FOCUS SOLELY ON RESTRICTING E SCOOTER USAGE, WE'RE MISSING THE BIGGER PICTURE OF SAFETY FOR ALL HOUSTONIANS. 
          SCOOTERS ARE ONLY DANGEROUS WHEN THE STREETS THEMSELVES ARE UNSAFE. 
          LIMITING THEIR USAGE DOES NOT PROTECT PEOPLE FROM RECKLESS DRIVERS SPEEDING VEHICLES OR UNSAFE STREETS. 
          SINCE 2023, THERE HAVE BEEN EITHER TWO, THREE OR FOUR, UH, DEATHS DUE TO SCOOTERS DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LOOK, UM, COMPARED TO 635 FATALITIES AT THE HANDS OF DRIVERS IN THE HOUSTON AREA DURING THAT SAME PERIOD. 
          MOST THESE SCOOTERS ARE CAPPED AT 15 TO 20 MILES PER HOUR. 
          YET, UH, TRAFFIC DEATHS FROM DRIVERS CONTINUE TO REACH RECORD HIGHS, EVEN OUTPACING HOMICIDES. 
          CLEARLY, THE PROBLEM ISN'T SCOOTERS. 
          IT'S UNSAFE STREETS AND DRIVERS WHO IGNORE THE RULES OF THE ROAD. 
          THE CITY NEEDS A RELIABLE AND RESPONSIBLE SHARED SCOOTER AND BIKE VENDOR. 
          BUT SECURING SUCH A PROGRAM ONLY WORKS IF OUR STREETS ARE SAFE FOR PEOPLE TO USE THESE DEVICES FOR COMMUTING. 
          WITHOUT SAFE STREETS, SCOOTERS AND BIKES ARE RELEGATED TO RECREATIONAL USE RATHER THAN A TRUE ALTERNATIVE FOR EVERYDAY TRAVEL. 
          THE WORLD CUP IS COMING AND MANY FANS VISITING THE HOUSTON, VISITING HOUSTON ARE USED TO ATTENDING MATCHES WITHOUT RELYING ON MASSIVE PARKING LOTS. 
          THEY EXPECT TO WALK, BIKE, OR TAKE TRANSIT TO STADIUMS. A DEPENDABLE MICRO MOBILITY SYSTEM ONLY WORKS IF WE PRIORITIZE THE SAFETY OF PEOPLE OVER THE SPEED OF DRIVERS. 
          IF WE WANT REAL SAFETY, WE SHOULD REGULATE, UH, VEHICLE SPEEDS IN HIGHER PEDESTRIAN AREAS, HOLD SPEEDING AND DISTRACTED DRIVERS ACCOUNTABLE AND CREATE DESIGNATED SAFE SPACES FOR SCOOTERS AND BIKES. 
          RESTRICTING SCOTERS IS A BANDAID SOLUTION THAT DOES NOTHING FOR THE PEOPLE AT RISK, UH, EVERY DAY ON HOUSTON STREETS. 
          UH, IN CLOSING, I'D LIKE TO ASK THAT YOU PRIORITIZE THE SAFETY OF PEOPLE OVER SIMPLY BANNING MICRO MOBILITY. 
          UH, HOUSTONIANS DESERVE IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          RICKY ADE BDI TO BE FOLLOWED BY MYAM PEREZ OR PEREZ. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          MY NAME IS ADI BAGHDADI AND I RUN A LOCAL SCOOTER BUSINESS HERE IN HOUSTON. 
          WE WOULD LIKE TO COOPERATE WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO PURSUE ITS PUBLIC SAFETY GOALS AND WORK ON A MANDATE SAFETY MEASURES SUCH AS HELMETS, ADVANCED GEO-FENCING, TECHNOLOGY AND DATA SHARING. 
          SO HOUSTON AND CAN ENJOY SCOOTERS, UH, AND STILL HAVE A SAFE STREET. 
          I'M ASKING FOR SIMPLE AMENDMENTS TO THE OPERATING HOURS. 
          IF THIS BLANKET CURFEW STAYS AT IS, IT WILL SHUT DOWN LOCAL BUSINESSES LIKE US AND PUT PUSH OPERATORS TOWARDS BANKRUPTCY AND PUT MANY OUR EMPLOYEES OUTTA WORK. 
          OUR SCOOTERS CAN BE FULLY CONTROLLED WITH THE TECHNOLOGY. 
          WE CAN GEOFENCE THEM. 
          THIS IS JUST FOR THE REFERENCE YOU GUYS CAN SEE. 
          IT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE. 
          UH, UH, WE CAN, WE CAN FULLY UH, WE CAN GEOFENCE THEM SPEED LIMITS AND CONTROL EXACTLY WHERE AND WHEN THEY CAN BE USED. 
          WE CAN ALSO SHARE DATA WITH THE CITY FOR ANY PUBLIC CONCERNS OR ANY, LIKE IMPROVING THE, UH, SAFETY MEASUREMENTS. 
          APPLYING A BLANKET CURFEW IS NOT A COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO HANDLE THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE STILL REQUIRES HPD OFFICERS TO BE ON THE GROUND. 
          DON'T PUT LOCAL BUSINESSES AND LOCAL EMPLOYEE OUT OF BUSINESS. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MYAM PERVEZ TO BE FOLLOWED BY ASHTON DELSEY. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          UM, SORRY. 
          UH, I OWN A LOCAL BUSINESS IN HOUSTON. 
          UH, BOTH SCOOTERS. 
          WE'VE BEEN RUNNING BUSINESS SINCE 2021. 
          UH, WE HAVE A COUPLE LOCATIONS WE ARE UNDER LEASE. 
          UH, WHEN THIS BAN WAS, UH, ANNOUNCED THAT DAY, 89% OF OUR BUSINESS REVENUE GOT TAKEN AWAY. 
          UH, OF COURSE WE COMPLY WITH THE CITY. 
          WE, WE MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THERE'S NO RENTAL OF THE SCOOTERS. 
          UH, FROM THAT DAY WE HAVE CURRENTLY 17 EMPLOYEES THAT'S ASKING LITERALLY EVERY DAY, HEY, CAN I GET MY HOURS BACK? ARE WE NOT ABLE TO AFFORD AND GIVE THEM THOSE HOURS? WE HAVE. 
          UH, THE THE ONLY THING, UH, UH, I WOULD LIKE ASK THE CITY THAT THIS 
          [01:35:01]
IS GONNA BE A, A DEBATE BETWEEN THE NATIONAL BRAND AND THE LOCAL BUSINESS, RIGHT? UM, NATIONAL BRAND LIKE BIRD AND LIME, THEY'VE BEEN HERE, UH, EVERY SINGLE MEETINGS, THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH MAJOR CITIES LIKE DALLAS. 
          THEY WERE SHUT DOWN FOR, FOR TWO YEARS 'CAUSE THEY COULDN'T CONTROL THEMSELF. 
          SAN ANTONIO, AUSTIN, THE FLEET HAS SHUT, HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY BY 50% OR MORE. 
          UM, SOLUTION, IT'S NOT THE NATIONAL, NATIONAL BRAND. 
          'CAUSE THEY HAVE ABOUT 200 DEBT IN THE MICRO MOBILITY BUSINESS SINCE 2018. 
          AND IF YOU LOOK AT HOUSTON AND WITH THE NUMBERS, THE DATA THAT THAT'S BEEN SHARED, IT'S ABOUT SIX, RIGHT? WHICH IS STILL BAD. 
          UH, THE ONLY THING IS WITH CONTROLLING WHO WE RENT THE SCOOTERS TO AND WHO CAN GET IT FROM OUR, FROM OUR STORES, HELPS PREVENT THOSE NUMBERS COMPARES TO THE NATIONAL BRAND. 
          'CAUSE NATIONAL BRAND IS GONNA COME IN. 
          ANYONE CAN SCAN THE APP, GET THE SCOOTER AND GET GOING. 
          IF IT'S A KID, THEY CAN ASK THEIR PARENTS TO SCAN THE APP OR OR THEIR FRIEND TO SCAN THE APP AND GET GOING. 
          UM, SO THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY, ANY SIGHTING OFF THE OF THE SCOOTERS. 
          BUT WE AS A LOCAL BRAND, AS A LOCAL STORE, WE DO HAVE THAT. 
          WE CONTROL WHO COMES IN, WHO GOES OUT, AND WE CONTROL WHO WE RENT THE SCOOTERS TO. 
          THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY. 
          YEP. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          APPRECIATE IT. 
          ASHTON. 
          DELSEY, GET AFTERNOON. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          MY MESSAGE HERE TODAY IS GONNA BE JUST VERY BRIEF. 
          UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THE NORTH STIFLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN HOUSTON. 
          YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS AGO I HAD MY CORPORATE JOB HAVE MBA FINANCE WORKING FOR ONE OF THE LARGEST ACCOUNTING FIRMS IN THE WORLD. 
          UNLIKE MANY FOUNDERS IN HOUSTON. 
          YOU KNOW, I DECIDED TO TAKE A RISK AND GOT OUT OF MY CORPORATE JOB THREE YEARS AGO. 
          I ALSO HAD THE TECHNOLOGY THAT MANY OF THE BIGGER COMPANIES YOU SEE SITTING, UM, REPRESENTED RIGHT HERE TODAY. 
          UH, TALK ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, I WAS ABLE TO GEOFENCE. 
          I WAS ABLE TO DO LANE DETECTION, I WAS ABLE TO VERIFY A RIDER'S AGE, AND I STILL HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TODAY. 
          SO ANOTHER PART OF MY MESSAGE IS ALSO BEFORE ALL OF THE MAJOR COMPANIES ARE CONSIDERED LIKE THE LIMES AND THE BIRDS, THEY DON'T FORGET THE ENTREPRENEURS IN HOUSTON, LIKE ME WHO HAVE INVESTED, WHO HAVE MADE THE SACRIFICE AND GIVE US A, A PIECE OF THE PIE. 
          DO NOT MAKE THE PERMITTING FEES OR WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO SO EXORBITANT THAT IT LITERALLY PUTS US OUT OF BUSINESS. 
          AND LIKE, UM, ONE OF THE YOUNG LADIES SAID HERE TODAY, HOUSTON LOSES SO MANY BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, TO OTHER CITIES WHO MAKE IT MORE FRIENDLY TO OPERATE. 
          SO LET'S NOT START THAT PRECEDENCE IN HOUSTON BECAUSE I'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING, I AM ADD THE ION ALWAYS, EVERY DAY WE HAVE SO MANY STARTUPS AND FOUNDERS IN THE TECHNOLOGY SPACE IN THE OIL AND GAS SPACE. 
          AND IF THAT IS THE SITUATION WE'RE CREATING IN HOUSTON, WHERE AS A FOUNDER YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE CITY COUNCIL COMING DOWN WITH A HARMONIUM, WE ARE GONNA TAKE OUR BUSINESSES TO ELSEWHERE. 
          LIKE PEOPLE LIKE ME HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE MY BUSINESS OUT OF THE COUNTRY AND INTO OTHER CITIES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, HOLD ON A MINUTE, UH, SIR, THANK YOU FOR THAT PERSPECTIVE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. 
          THANK YOU CHAIRMAN. 
          THANK YOU SIR FOR COMING. 
          AND, AND FOR THE, THE PEOPLE, UH, FROM THE SMALLER COMPANIES, SCOOTER COMPANIES COMING, UM, DOES, I MEAN, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY GATHERING DATA AND WE'RE GONNA COME UP WITH A FRAMEWORK TO, TO HAVE MICRO MOBILITY. 
          THAT'S WHAT A LOT OF US WANT. 
          UM, THERE WAS A SITUATION DOWNTOWN THAT HAD GOTTEN OUTTA CONTROL AND, AND THERE WAS THE NEED TO DO SOMETHING. 
          BUT NOW WE'RE TAKING THIS TIME TO ANALYZE DATA AND TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE. 
          WHAT, WHAT WOULD, YOU SAID SOMETHING INTERESTING TO ME ABOUT THE CITY MAKING SURE THERE WAS A PIECE OF THE PIE GIVEN TO LOCAL VENDORS. 
          HOW, HOW DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? I MEAN, IS THAT DONE IN OTHER CITIES WHEN, WHEN A LIME OR A BIRD COMES IN, IS THERE, IS THERE A, A PIECE THAT CAN GO TO LOCAL BUSINESS OR, OR IT, I THINK WHAT I HEARD, THE OTHER, UM, THE PER SPEAKER BEFORE YOU SAY IS IF LYMAN BIRD COME IN, WE'RE DONE. 
          LIKE PEOPLE WILL JUST PICK UP THE SCOOTERS AND DO THE APP AND THEY WON'T, THEY WON'T COME TO, TO RENT FROM US. 
          BUT, BUT HOW, WHEN YOU SAID A PIECE OF THE, A PIECE OF THE PIE TO THE LOCAL VENDORS, AND I DO APPRECIATE LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS AND LOCAL BUSINESSES. 
          SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? OR HOW COULD THAT LOOK? I THINK PART OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS, I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER CITIES, THE, THE PERMITTING FEES ARE SO EXORBITANT. 
          YOU REALLY HAVE TO HAVE THE POCKETS TO EVEN START, RIGHT? YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE IN SO MANY DIFFERENT CITIES IN TERMS OF MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS TO OPERATE. 
          SO ALL I'M SAYING IS WHEN WE LOOK AT MAYBE AMENDMENTS TO THE ORDINANCE OR WHEN WE LOOK AT FUTURE STEPS, AND I KNOW WE SAID WE'RE JUST HAVING A DISCUSSION. 
          THIS IS JUST A, A, A FIRST STEP. 
          DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT IMPLEMENT ANY SOLUTION IN SUCH A WAY THAT STARTUPS STIFLE. 
          RIGHT? I MEAN AS OF AS OF RIGHT NOW, EVEN JUST THE HOURS AND I'M, I I COULD, I COULD SPEAK FOR OTHER BUSINESSES TOO, AND THEY'RE QUITE RIGHT. 
          YOU KNOW, EIGHT 
          [01:40:01]
O'CLOCK CUT OFF BASICALLY YOU, YOU'RE PUTTING PEOPLE OUT OF BUSINESS, YOU KNOW. 
          SO, BUT I WANNA ADDRESS YOUR QUESTION BY SAYING REMEMBER THE SMALL BUSINESSES AND THAT IS MY POINT TODAY. 
          WHETHER IT'S 5,000, DO NOT MAKE IT 50,000 OR A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO PAY THE CITY TO GET A PERMIT, YOU KNOW? UNDERSTOOD. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. 
          YEAH, I JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION. 
          YOU SAID THAT YOU HAD THE TECHNOLOGY TWO, THREE YEARS AGO TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. 
          HAVE YOU BEEN USING IT OR? YES. 
          SO I HAVE HAD THE TECHNOLOGY FOR, FOR A LITTLE OVER THREE YEARS NOW. 
          I HAVE BEEN OUT AROUND DISCOVERY GREEN. 
          A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO KNOW ME HAVE SEEN ME TESTING MY GEOFENCING TECHNOLOGY. 
          MY TECHNOLOGY IS READY TO GO. 
          IT'S READY TO GO THE LAST TWO TO THREE YEARS OR THIS YEAR? CORRECT. 
          HAVE YOUR SCOOTERS BEEN BEEN UTILIZING THAT TECHNOLOGY GEOFENCING SPEED GOVERNORS? YES. 
          SO MY SCOOTERS HAVE BEEN UTILIZING THAT TECHNOLOGY, UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN SO ADVANCED COMPARED TO WHERE THE CITY IS. 
          I HAVE HAD TO REMOVE A LOT OF THEM FROM MY FLEET. 
          SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN UTILIZING THEM THEN CORRECTLY? I HAVE BEEN USING SOME OF THEM, BUT I HAVE HAD TO TAKE A LOT OF THEM OUT OF MY FLEET BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE CITY OF HOUSTON OPERATES. 
          UM, THE CITY OF HOUSTON DOES NOT ALLOW SCOOTERS TO BE DROPPED OFF ON THE SIDEWALKS. 
          UM, MY BUSINESS MODEL IS NOT DESIGNED TO BE AS, UM, HOUSED IN A BRICK AND MORTAR. 
          MY, MY BUSINESS MODEL IS DESIGNED TO BE SIMILAR TO WHAT LYMAN, HOW BIRD OPERATES. 
          OKAY. 
          AND I HAVE THE VERY SAME TECHNOLOGY. 
          I HAVE THE APPLICATION. 
          I CAN LITERALLY BRING MY SCOOTER INSIDE OF HER AND, AND, AND, AND, AND LET SOMEBODY RIDE IT AND LET YOU SEE THAT IT, IT WON'T EVEN CROSS INSIDE OF HER. 
          WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY, WE NEED THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO CATCH UP WITH US AND, AND, AND FACILITATE, YOU KNOW, AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE COULD OPERATE AND BE PROFITABLE AS, AS BUSINESSES. 
          SO, UH, I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS, AND THE REASON WHY WE ARE WHERE WE ARE IS BECAUSE THERE'S HASN'T BEEN SPEED GOVERNORS REALLY, THERE HASN'T BEEN GEO-FENCING BEING USED 'CAUSE THEY'RE EVERYWHERE. 
          WRONG SIDE OF THE STREET, SIDEWALKS, DISCOVERY GREEN. 
          UH, SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE WHERE WE ARE. 
          I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, AND I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE BECAUSE I, I AGREE WITH YOU. 
          I THINK WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT LOCAL BUSINESSES HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ALSO PARTICIPATE IN WHATEVER, WHATEVER WAY POSSIBLE. 
          UM, THE, SO HOW, HOW QUICKLY, WHAT DOES THAT TURNAROUND LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? I HAD TO ASK A QUESTION FOR THE OTHER LOCAL, UH, VENDOR. 
          WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN BUSINESS? UH, WHAT IT WAS GONNA LOOK LIKE FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN BUSINESS IS ONE, IS TO EXTEND, UM, THE HOURS. 
          I DO NOT THINK, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO, UH, YOU KNOW, SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE ALLUDED TO THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO RESPONSIBLY RIDE SCOOTERS AS A BUSINESS. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU CANNOT HAVE SUCH HOURS. 
          THE PEAK TIME FOR SCOOTERS HAPPENS AROUND A LITTLE AFTER SIX. 
          SO LITERALLY THIS IS, THIS AMENDMENT HAS LITERALLY KILLED BUSINESSES. 
          THAT IS JUST, JUST THE HONEST TRUTH. 
          THERE'S NO WAY ANY OF THOSE BUSINESSES GOING TO SURVIVE IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THOSE HOURS. 
          SO IT IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME. 
          YEAH. 
          YOU KNOW, AND, UM, YOU, YOU MENTIONED SPEED, SPEED GOVERNORS. 
          I'VE HAD THAT TECHNOLOGY FOR THREE YEARS. 
          WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY READY TO GO, MY STARTUP COMPANY, BUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON DOES NOT ALLOW US TO OPERATE. 
          I COULD, I COULD PUT STALLS WHERE PEOPLE COULD UNLOCK, LOCK THE SCOOTERS. 
          IF YOU UNDER 18 YOU HAVE, THE WAY MY TECHNOLOGY WORKS, YOU HAVE TO SCAN YOUR ID, SCAN YOUR FACE. 
          BUT AT THE CURRENT, CURRENTLY YOU HAVE A BRICK AND MORTAR. 
          NO, CURRENTLY I DO NOT HAVE A BRICK AND MORTAR. 
          YOU A POPUP IS WHAT YOU WERE DOING. 
          CORRECT? CORRECT. 
          AND, AND, AND AS OF NOW, I CANNOT OPERATE AND LIKE MANY PEOPLE MENTIONED, HEY, EVERYBODY HAS BILLS. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU'RE BASICALLY CLEANING, KILLING PEOPLE, LIVELIHOODS, YOU KNOW, AND WE WANNA WORK WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, BUT AT LEAST WE NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WHERE WE COULD ALL COME TO AN AMICABLE, UM, SOLUTION. 
          THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, ASHTON, I'VE GOT A QUESTION FOR YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. 
          SO IF, UM, IF THE RESTRICTIONS IN THE CURFEWS WERE ONLY DOWNTOWN, WOULD YOU MOVE YOUR OPERATION TO ANOTHER PART OF THE CITY OR NOT? WELL, AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, YOU ALWAYS TRY TO FIGURE OUT CREATIVE WAYS TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS. 
          UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE A, A QUESTION OF WHETHER THERE, THERE'S GONNA BE A, A SPILLOVER AND OBVIOUSLY I WILL OPERATE MY BUSINESS WHERE THERE ARE MORE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS. 
          UM, I I DON'T THINK IT'S A MATTER OF JUST REMAINING IN, IN ONE LOCATION. 
          MM-HMM . 
          HAVE YOU IDENTIFIED ANY PARTICULAR OTHER AREAS WHERE THE CONDITIONS WOULD BE FAVORABLE? I, I'D RATHER NOT DISCLOSE THAT AT THIS TIME. 
          AT THIS TIME. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WE DO HAVE ONE, UH, JEFF KAPLAN ONLINE. 
          ARE YOU THERE WITH US, JEFF?  JEFF. 
          ALRIGHT, WE'LL, WE'LL COME BACK. 
          IS THERE ANYONE HERE IN THE CHAMBER WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK BUT WHO HAS NOT SIGNED UP? OKAY. 
          [01:45:01]
UH, JEFF KAPLAN. 
          WE'LL GIVE YOU ONE MORE CHANCE. 
          ARE YOU ONLINE? JEFF? OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          UM, THAT IS ALL OF OUR FOLKS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, SO APPRECIATE EVERYONE BEING HERE AND ESPECIALLY A RA FOR THEIR PRESENTATION. 
          AND, UH, WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER QUALITY OF LIFE MEETING THIS THURSDAY UNRELATED TO, UH, SCOOTERS. 
          BUT WELCOME, WELCOME, UH, ENCOURAGE YOU TO, TO, TO, UH, TUNE IN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          BYE NOW.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.