News
E-Scooters Company Spin Arrives in Athens
By: Vince Damico
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ATHENS, Ohio — A popular mode of transportation has arrived for certain parts of Athens and Ohio University.
One hundred Spin electric scooters rolled out for rent Tuesday and are now available to from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, weather permitting.
Some local business owners hope the e-scooters encourage more traffic Uptown.
“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,” Brennan’s Café Owner Josh Thomas said.
“E-scooter users are reminded to ride responsibly, obey the rules of the roadway, adhere to traffic signs and signals and yield to pedestrians,” a press release from Spin said. “Riders are reminded that scooters should be operated for single occupancy use only and helmet use is strongly encouraged.”
Spin, a property of Ford founded in 2017, programmed “no ride zones” into the e-scooters to prevent riding on Court Street and College Green.
Athens Mayor Steve 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.
“I’m hopeful it’s successful,” Patterson said. “I like this mode of transportation.”
The scooters operate off of the Spin-Electric Scooters app an cost one dollar to unlock, plus 29 cents per minute while riding.
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.
The original plan was to introduce the electric two-wheelers in November 2019, but a supply shortage delayed that launch.
Vince Damico is a student journalist working with WOUB’s Media Lab and Ohio University’s News at Noon production.