Dockless vehicles and parking ambassador program set for discussion in council committee Monday

For Immediate Release: October 14, 2022

Press Release by:
Yuki Lei Sugimura, Chair
Infrastructure and Transportation Committee

Dockless vehicles and parking ambassador program set for discussion in council committee Monday

WAILUKU, Hawaiʻi—The Infrastructure and Transportation Committee will meet Monday at 9 a.m. on Bill 133, prohibiting a commercial system of short-term rentals of dockless vehicles, and Bill 151, authorizing the implementation of a parking ambassador program, Councilmember Yuki Lei Sugimura announced today.

Sugimura said Bill 133—introduced by Councilmember Tamara Paltin and discussed in committee Oct. 3—would make it unlawful to park or abandon dockless vehicles on public property, a sidewalk, a street or a highway. Sugimura said dockless vehicles, such as electric bicycles and electric scooters, left on sidewalks can create a tripping hazard and make sidewalks inaccessible to pedestrians with disabilities.

“This bill addresses the rapid growth of privately owned and on-demand dockless vehicle systems,” said Sugimura, who chairs the committee. “Commercial short-term rentals of these types of vehicles can create hazards for pedestrians, clutter and an unsafe environment when left undocked.”

“While I wholeheartedly support multimodal transportation options, it’s important that we regulate commercial rentals of e-bikes and e-scooters to require docking stations where someone can rent from and return to.”

Bill 151, proposed by the Department of Management, would authorize a parking ambassador program to assist the county Department of Transportation in enforcing county and state parking laws and create a payment system by establishing paid parking zones and permit parking zones, Sugimura said. As stated in the bill, revenue from parking fees would be used to “provide for the purchase, rental, acquisition, supervision, collection, use, protection, inspection, installation, operation, maintenance, control and regulation” of parking-related expenses.

In addition to receiving live testimony by phone or video conference, the committee will accept written testimony. For instructions on submitting testimony, please visit MauiCounty.us/testify.

The meeting will be available to view live online and on Akakū Channel 53. For more information on the bills and other agenda items, visit MauiCounty.us/agendas.

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