Renting Scooters Is A Growing Trend In South Florida
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – They're zooming around all over Fort Lauderdale, about 1,200 scooters are on the streets with a another 800 on the way.
"You just download the app, scan the barcode and take off at 15 miles an hour down the beach," said Andrew Denton, who's visiting from Nashville. "It's pretty cool."
In the two and a half weeks they've been out there in Fort Lauderdale, the scooters have racked up more than 40,000 rides.
City officials say the goal is to make transportation simple and cheap.
"The idea is to be able to get around short distances without needing a vehicle, you don't need to worry about finding parking," said City of Fort Lauderdale spokeswoman Dayana Diaz. "It's easy to get around and get in and out of tight areas."
It costs a dollar to begin and 15 cents a minute. They're popular on the beach with visitors.
Cyndi Faraco is from Tennessee visiting family. Her sister-in-law made sure the scooter was part of the fun.
"For a fun thing to do we got into town and she said, 'I got a surprise for you, you're going to love it," Cyndi explained. "She got these scooters and we rode around town, super blast!"
For others, like local Lee Prevett and his friends, they found it convenient.
"We had breakfast, we could have come for a walk, maybe 45 minutes, which we do all the time until we start using these, now we're lazy and we just use these," he said.
In the days ahead, we could see other ways for folks to leave the car behind.
"There could be up to 2000 units in total including a mix of electric scooters, electric bikes and standard bikes," explained Diaz. "It would all be dockless, meaning they can be picked up anywhere and left anywhere."
Right now there's a pilot program going on in Coral Gables, the City of Miami is starting their pilot program soon. That would allow scooters for rent in Brickell, Coconut Grove and Downtown.
Other cities are South Florida are looking at getting similar technology there.
For more information at Fort Lauderdale's ordinance, click here.
