IU Impounds Almost 150 Electric Scooters For Improper Parking

Indiana University has impounded almost 150 of the Bird and Lime scooters just weeks after the new service became available in Bloomington.

Director of Parking Operations Amanda Turnipseed says many scooters are simply left in the middle of the sidewalk and the street, prompting safety and aesthetic concerns.

"We want to keep them out and available for use, but we also want to impart to the companies that we’re taking a serious approach to making sure that the needs and safety of our students is first and foremost," Turnipseed.

Parking operations stores the scooters and notifies the company they belong to, who must then pay the fine for the scooter’s release.

Turnipseed says that parking operations employees try to avoid impounding the scooters and move them to nearby bike racks if possible.

She estimates that Bird and Lime have brought 850 scooters to Bloomington.