Will these electric scooters make a comeback? Fresno City Council debates the matter

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno city council is expected to decide soon if electric scooters could buzz along on city streets.

Two scooter companies Lime and Bird asked the city council to allow them to operate.

Both companies are seeking permits to provide what they call shared mobility devices.

Riders find and activate the scooters by cell phone.

Lime Scooters representatives says they provide cheap and clean transportation.

"Our scooters are a dollar per ride and 15 cents per minute so they are very cheap as it is, we say a standard scooter ride is under 3 miles," said Katie Stevens.

While scooters are showing up in many cities, they have already been a problem in Fresno.

Last month, the city forced the Bird scooter company to withdraw its scooters because they started operating without permits.

Still, the city council is willing to give scooters another chance.

A city ordinance setting rules for where people can ride scooters and park them will be acted on in two weeks.

City Council members want to get input from Fresno State University officials before making a deal because the campus is expected to be impacted by scooter traffic.