Lyft paid $15K to bring scooters to Indianapolis. Now it has paused its plans.

Lyft has paused its plans to bring its electric scooters to the streets of Indianapolis.

The company known for its ride-sharing service received a license to operate the dockless devices in April and paid a $15,000 up-front fee. Now it has put the brakes on those plans.

"We recently made the decision to pause our plans to bring scooter operations to Indianapolis," a Lyft spokesperson told IndyStar.

The company's decision to slow down plans for scooters in Indianapolis will not impact its ride-sharing operations in the city, the spokesperson said. 

Lyft has not responded to several emails requesting more information about why it's slowing down plans to bring scooters to Indianapolis or when those plans might resume.

1 year later:How scooters have changed Indianapolis

Under rules passed in May, six companies may receive a license to operate shared scooters or bikes in Indianapolis. So far, five companies have received a license: Pacers Bikeshare, Bird, Lime, Spin and Lyft. 

Lyft still holds its license, said Brandi Pahl, chief communications officer for the city's Department of Business and Neighborhood Services.

New rules: Limits on how many scooters, where they can be

Spin, a Ford-owned company that also received a license in April, has not yet brought its scooters to the city's streets, despite saying they would arrive in May. Spin did not immediately respond to a Monday afternoon email asking for an updated timeline.

Together, the four scooter companies applied for permission to bring more than 10,000 scooters to Indianapolis.

But when the rules passed in May take effect in the next month, scooter companies in Indianapolis will be limited to 1,000 scooters per company per day and only 65% of those scooters will be allowed Downtown.

Bird and Lime — which launched in June 2018 and came back after a hiatus while the city passed initial scooter regulations — have proven popular, providing more than 5,000 rides per day in September and October. 

Call IndyStar digital producer Ethan May at 317-444-4682 or email him at emay@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @EthanMayJ.