DENVER — The city and county of Denver is saying it will allow companies to put more electric scooters on the street. Since they arrived last summer, people have ridden nearly 1 million miles on scooters around Denver, logging more than 800,000 rides total.

“They’re fun and they’re fast, and it’s actually warmer than walking… so it’s just a quick way to get from dinner down here,” said rider Ashley Ruiz.

The scooters have faced controversy since their arrival. They were placed on streets and sidewalks without official authorization from the city. At one point, companies were told to remove them or risk confiscation.

But now, halfway through a pilot program, the city says it will allow companies to bring more of them to the city. In a survey, riders said they’d use scooters more often if more were available.

“For me, it’s been, ‘Hey, I need to get, you know, some place in the opposite side of downtown or from work without having to deal with parking and traffic and everything else,” said rider David Hassoun.

Several scooter companies will be able to grow their fleet sizes by 88 scooters, which the city describes as a gradual increase.