April 18, 2026, 5:03 a.m. ET
- A Tallahassee landlord has requested the town for 5 years to help hold e-scooters off his properties.
- The metropolis and the scooter firm, Spin, have pledged to work on an answer, together with improved geofencing.
- The landlord is searching for over $1 million from the corporate for prices related to amassing and storing the scooters.
For 5 years, Erwin Jackson – a neighborhood landlord, businessman and frequent civic activist – has requested the town of Tallahassee to help him hold dozens of electrical scooters off his properties.
On April 15, he lastly bought the town’s pledge to help that he is been ready for.
Jackson has come earlier than the town fee quite a few occasions to complain in regards to the e-scooters that litter his properties. He stated he is then left to spherical up and retailer them till the businesses that lease them out come to retrieve them – which he says has price him a shocking sum of $1 million.
“I’ve had it with scooters,” he stated.
Apparently, so have many Tallahasseeans: Data included in metropolis agenda supplies reveals ridership has declined precipitously over the final two years. At the identical time, there’s nonetheless sufficient customers leaving scooters to vex Jackson.
After listening to a standing report on the scooters and the state of affairs with Jackson’s property, Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey requested the e-scooter firm Spin and metropolis workers to work collectively to return to a decision. (Another firm, Veo, additionally offers scooters within the capital metropolis however wasn’t talked about.)
“Dr. Jackson, I hear you loud and clear,” Dailey stated on the fee assembly.
Scooters OK’d within the capital six years in the past
The metropolis adopted an official “micromobility” program in 2020, giving e-scooters a everlasting place in Tallahassee. Micromobility refers to short-distance journeys utilizing small, light-weight autos like bikes, e-bikes or scooters, typically in city areas, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
As Tallahassee’s rollout started, Jackson stated officers agreed to designate a number of scooter-free areas throughout the town, together with Cascades Park and native college campuses.
“I don’t want them on my property either,” Jackson stated. “The city says it’s a great idea, but then they exempt themselves and they don’t have to deal with these scooters.”
In an effort to easy out the difficulty, Dailey requested the town to look into public locations the scooters could be parked which might be within the neighborhood of Jackson’s property and for Spin, the e-scooter firm, to proceed refining the “geofencing” round Jackson’s properties to maintain the scooters from reaching them.
It’s a know-how that pulls a digital boundary round a real-world place so software program can set off actions like alerts or restrictions when a GPS-enabled car goes into or out of that zone. Spin makes use of geofencing to make the scooters shut down after they enter zones the scooters aren’t permitted in.
“Let’s see if we can get creative with some parking facilities on our property around his student housing,” Dailey stated. “I think we can come up with a solution.”
Bruno Lopez, Spin’s supervisor of presidency partnerships for the East Coast, spoke to commissioners at that very same assembly to tout the advantages the corporate has delivered to Tallahassee.
Since the inception of the micromobility program, it has supplied 663,870 rides over 822,000 miles and introduced in over $650,000 in income for the town, the worker stated, which can be mirrored in metropolis agenda supplies.
“We continue to ask for your support,” stated. “We think by most metrics in the industry it is pretty clear that the city has taken well to it, and it’s been a successful program.”
Without any help over the years, Jackson stated he was compelled to create his personal answer that has subsequently price him cash he is hoping to recuperate.
Jackson desires over $1 million for storing scooters
Jackson pays individuals to gather any scooters that get left on his property so somebody does not journey on or run over them and sue him. In doing this, he is additionally incurring bills to retailer them and pay for legal responsibility insurance coverage.
He additionally pointed to a stipulation within the settlement between the town and scooter firms that claims every day a scooter is on personal property, the scooter firm should pay $200 per day. Under this stipulation, Jackson says he is due $1,137,980.
City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow requested when geofencing was utilized to Jackson’s property and whether or not scooters have been left on his property since.
Mike Alfano, the Tallahassee-Leon County planning division director, stated the geofencing went into impact in 2024 and that the variety of scooters Jackson has encountered “has diminished significantly” since then.
“It’s impossible for the vendor to comply with, ‘Hey, you have to go pickup this scooter,’ when the scooter is being collected and withheld from the vendor,” Alfano stated.
A letter supplied by Spin to the town says the corporate believes Jackson is “unlawfully holding their property,” as he’s not a licensed tow enterprise and so can’t take the e-scooters and cost a price for his or her launch.
City Attorney Amy Toman stated the town cannot do something in regards to the cash Jackson is searching for to be repaid or impose any penalties or fines on the corporate for the scooters.
“I believe that’s a legal issue between Dr. Jackson and Spin,” Toman stated.
Even although the town declined to intervene, Dailey closed out the dialogue assuring Jackson the town would work with him.
“I am a big fan of micromobility,” Dailey stated. “I am a fan of the scooters. I do think overall it’s been successful in the CollegeTown (area), but I am very well aware of the issues that you’ve been dealing with and we want to help.”
Rides by the years
Over the final six years, e-scooters have carried residents and guests to locations almost 664,000 occasions. The variety of rides has decreased roughly 43% annually since 2024.
- 2020: 111,531 rides
- 2021: 183,288 rides
- 2022: 120,960 rides
- 2023: 129,924 rides
- 2024: 74,522 rides
- 2025: 43,645 rides
Elena Barrera could be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
