San Francisco and Santa Monica finally decide which e-scooter companies can roll through

Bring on the scooters.

After months of scooter-less streets in San Francisco, city transportation officials finally broke their silence Thursday to announce which electric scooter companies would be allowed to rent out the battery-powered vehicles.

Of the 12 companies that applied for a year-long pilot program in San Francisco, only two were selected: Skip and Scoot. The two companies are allotted 625 scooters each available to riders starting Oct. 15. 

The final decision came as a bit of a surprise to some companies, seeing as the city originally said it could award up to five companies permits back in June. It comes off as a retaliatory move for Bird and Lime, scooter companies that came into the city early without collaborating with officials. Uber and Lyft were also vying for a spot in their hometown's scooter program, but may have paid the price for its past transgressions when ride-hailing apps arrived in the city unannounced years ago. Read more...