E-Scooters Arrive in Athens
By: Vince Damico
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One hundred Spin e-scooters are now available for use in Athens and at Ohio University. The 100 e-scooters were rolled out for rent on Tuesday and are available to rent from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily – weather permitting. The original plan was to introduce the electric two-wheelers in November 2019, but a supply shortage delayed that launch.
“I’m hopeful it’s successful,” Mayor Steve Patterson said. “I like this mode of transportation.”
Brennan’s Café Owner Josh Thomas said he is also excited about the launch of the e-scooters.
“If you’re down on campus, you can hop on a scooter and ride uptown to get something to eat, that can only be a good thing,” he said.
To rent an e-scooter you must download the Spin-Electric Scooters app. E-scooter rental costs one dollar to unlock it plus 29-cents per minute while operating the vehicle.
Spin, a property of Ford founded in 2017, has programmed “no ride zones” into the e-scooters to prevent riding on Court Street and College Green. Patterson said Spin may also program speed reductions into the scooters for use in other congested areas. “No ride zones” or slow zones will be indicated in the Spin app.
Designated parking areas are labeled around Ohio University for students looking to pick up or drop off an e-scooter, making them easy to locate and keeping unused e-scooters out of the way of pedestrians.
An event to celebrate the launch of the scooters will take place at Howard Park from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday. Spin recommends riders wear a helmet and will be passing out free helmets at the event. Spin will also hold a safety demonstration and to answer questions.
A news release from Spin offers advice for users: “E-scooter users are reminded to ride responsibly, obey the rules of the roadway, adhere to traffic signs and signals and yield to pedestrians. Riders are reminded that scooters should be operated for single occupancy use only and helmet use is strongly encouraged.”