They are here. The newest mode of transportation in downtown Wichita has arrived. About 2,000 people have already taken them for a ride within the first 24 hours.
Around 500 electric scooters are now available for you to pick up and of course we just had to try them.
To ride them, you need to download the Spin app and sign up for an account. The cost is $1 to start a ride and 15 cents a minute after that. If you’d like to help a blogger out dining around downtown, you can use the promo code EDDYEDDY so we can each get a free ride.
Some rules to keep in mind regarding the scooters:
▪ You will have to be 18 or older to rent a scooter. Although I’ve been seeing a TON of riders well under the age of 18 downtown.
▪ Scooters are not allowed on sidewalks or streets where the speed limit for cars is 40mph or more. We had a cop drive by and even made us aware of this rule as we were getting our scooters.
▪ Scooters will have to automatically shut down at dusk or 9 p.m., whichever comes first.
▪ No drinking and scootering. Riding these under the influence is against the law. I may have to go downtown this weekend late on Saturday night just to see the drunken stories that will come out of these scooters.
When you log into your account, the map will tell you how many scooters are and where. It’s very convenient.
We found a handful of them, scanned the barcode on the scooter and were on our merry way. We traveled from Old Town to Delano and back. Driving down Douglas was a breeze. I can only imagine the irritation of the drivers trying to hurry back to work when the scooters went a max of 15mph.
I wanted to take video but I wasn’t ready to risk dropping my phone or crashing and burning.
The ride to Delano and back was roughly around $5. They were a ton of fun though. The first 30 seconds riding them was getting situated but everybody got comfortable on them soon enough. The thoughts were all very positive and we are now ready to start a Scooter Gang complete with leather jackets with logos on the back.
I wish I had a big boombox to carry on my shoulders while playing “Riding Dirty” by Chamillionaire.
On the way back though, my scooter started to die down. I told the rest of them to go on without me like I was some martyr in a horror movie. I made note of it in the Spin app that the scooter had some issues and they refunded my ride back with no problem so the customer service was quick.
When you’re done riding, you just click End Ride on the Spin app and park it at any sidewalk. It’s very simple. I did see some people riding these scooters near 21st and Grove so it looks like it’s been parked way further than downtown.
While it’s not a mode of transportation I would take often, it was something fun and convenient for getting from one area of downtown to another. We would certainly do it again. If the day ever comes with Douglas changes to one lane, these would be even better.
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