Prohibited conduct; equipment.
Winston-Salem Code of Ordinances § 78-369
in effectSec. 78-369. - Prohibited conduct; equipment.
(a) Permittees shall not discriminate against low- and moderate-income persons in connection with the deployment and rental of the permittee's micromobility devices. Permittees must deploy and maintain a sufficient number of micromobility devices to satisfy customer demand within census tracts of low- and moderate-income areas of the city, as defined in the permit. Conversely, permittees must limit the excessive concentration of devices in congested areas, as the city manager shall determine. Permittees must communicate their strategies for deployment of devices to the city, including information pertaining to the type of work force employed, staffing levels, and general re-balancing schedules.
(b) Each permittee shall implement a program to reduce barriers to the rental by low- and moderate-income persons of the permittee's micromobility devices. Permittees shall do this by providing diverse payment options, including options for persons who possess neither a smart phone nor a credit card. These options shall be made accessible to low- and moderate-income persons at multiple locations throughout the city.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, no person or business may:
(1) Use, display, proffer or make available for rent any electric stand-up scooter or new mode of dockless, shared transport upon any greenway, public park, or city parking deck, or within Old Salem;
(2) Display, proffer or make available for rent any electric, stand-up scooter or electric-assisted bicycle that is capable of traveling at more than 20 miles per hour;
(3) Ride any electric, stand-up scooter upon any public sidewalk;
(4) Use any new mode of dockless, shared transport upon any public sidewalk; or
(5) Deploy, station, leave, abandon, or park a micromobility device in any public right-of-way or any public area in a manner that:
a. Obstructs pedestrian or vehicular travel upon or blocks pedestrian or vehicular access to a public right-of-way (including, but not limited to, parking a device in anything other than an upright position or in a manner that blocks crosswalks, crosswalk activation buttons, ADA ramps, or otherwise violates ADA accessibility requirements or impedes ADA access);
b. Blocks ingress or egress from a vehicle lawfully parked at the curb of a public right-of-way;
c. Is nearer than 36 inches to a fire hydrant;
d. Poses a public safety hazard; or
e. Is otherwise prohibited by applicable laws or administrative regulations, all as the city manager shall, in his or her sole and absolute discretion, determine.
(6) Display, proffer, or make available for rent any micromobility device that is inoperable or unsafe to operate.
(7) Display, proffer, or make available for rent any dockless bicycle upon any city parking deck or within Old Salem.
(d) The holder of a micromobility device permit issued pursuant to section 78-371 shall be responsible for the abandonment by any customer of any micromobility device operated pursuant to the permit and abandoned in contravention of subsection (c)(5) above. Said device shall be subject to immediate impoundment by the city, under section 78-376 below, and the permittee shall be subject to the imposition of both impound fees and civil penalties, per sections 78-376, 78-378, and 78-379 below.
(e) Each permittee must have the ability to discover when its devices are being used in restricted areas, and must communicate that information electronically to customers during or at the conclusion of a trip.
(f) Each electric, stand-up scooter must be equipped with always-on front, side, and rear lights that emit white or red light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front, side, and rear.
(g) Each micromobility device must be equipped with functional, durable, and effective brakes.
(h) Each micromobility device must prominently display a unique and conspicuous serial number or other identifier, legible from a distance of ten feet.
(i) Each micromobility device must be equipped with state-of-the-art shared mobility technology, such as GPS, which allows the device to be located and tracked, in real time, by its permittee, at all times, which records trip origin, destination, and usage, and which is capable of location-based speed regulation and parking restriction, which shall be employed at the city's request.
(j) Each micromobility device must be clean, safe, and in good working order, and meet applicable safety standards outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations and as propounded by the International Standardization Organization.
(k) Each micromobility device must be designed and manufactured to withstand the demands of outdoor and shared use.
(l) Each micromobility device must be equipped with a warning bell or horn and security hardware.
(m) Each micromobility device must be regularly inspected for wear and tear and for stress-based damage. Each micromobility device must be regularly maintained and repaired, in accordance with manufacturers' recommendations. Worn or damaged parts must be immediately replaced. Unsafe or inoperable devices must be removed from the public right-of-way within one hour of notification to, or discovery by, the permittee, and devices that are unsafe to operate must immediately be made unavailable to the public, by the permittee, via remote device lock-down.
(Ord. No. 2019-7, § 1, 3-25-19; Ord. No. 2024-4, § I, 3-4-24)
Source: City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Code of Ordinances, City Charter and Related Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/nc/winston-salem/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIICOOR_CH78VEHI_ARTXIVMIDE_S78-369PRCOEQFetched: 11/1/2026