Bike Company Fined $40K For Illegally Operating In Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, CA – Wheels, a mini-bike rental company founded by the creators of dog-walking app Wag, was fined for illegally operating in Santa Monica. The company has been leaving its bikes around the city for the past few weeks, but it violates the City's shared mobility pilot program, which only allows Bird, Lime, Lyft and Jump to operate in Santa Monica.

Wheels founders Jonathan and Joshua Viner told the Santa Monica Daily Press the mini-bike is safer than scooters due to its "lower center of gravity and larger wheels."

City manager Rick Cole tweeted Tuesday that Wheels had been fined more than $40,000 for illegally operating in the city, calling it a "flagrant violation of the law."

The City selected Bird, Lime, Lyft and Jump to offer a combined 3,000 devices in the city last summer, but Wheels just launched in San Diego in January, expanding in Los Angeles by March, the news website reported.

Read more at the Santa Monica Daily Press.