University of Maryland students living in residence halls, university-owned fraternity and sorority houses and South Campus Commons apartments will no longer be able to bring their own electric micromobility vehicles onto campus starting this fall, the Department of Transportation Services announced Wednesday.
Effective Aug. 1, resident students will not be able to register their electric micromobility vehicles with DOTS. Vehicles that are not registered could be booted or impounded, and the students who own them may be fined, according to the announcement.
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This restriction is necessary to protect resident students from the fire hazard posed by electric micromobility vehicles’ lithium-ion batteries, the announcement read. Multiple micromobility vehicles caught fire at this university in 2024, The Diamondback previously reported.
“These updates aim to promote safe riding, reduce fire risks and more effectively integrate electric micromobility vehicles into the campus transportation scene,” DOTS wrote in an email to campus community members about the announcement.
DOTS also announced a new annual $35 registration fee for all personal electric micromobility vehicles. Money from the fee will go toward improving campus road safety.
The department shared Wednesday that it is set to launch a new and larger fleet of Veo scooters this fall and is expanding its Capital Bikeshare service. The new fleet of Veos have enhancements such as brake lights, helmet detection and an intoxicated rider quiz.
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University of Maryland Police are going to increase enforcement of moving violations to ensure that users are following traffic laws, according to the announcement.
A micromobility workgroup made up of staff members, students and university leadership worked over the past year to develop recommendations for the changes.
This university did not provide comment in time for publication.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated DOTS’ new $35 registration fee applies to all micromobility vehicles. It only applies to electric micromobility vehicles. This story has been updated.
