Now You Can “Scooter” Your Way Around Downtown

Driving downtown early in the morning this week, I looked to my left as I was stopped at a stoplight and saw some scooters. Not just any scooters, because I knew they were different. As I pulled away I thought to myself Grand Rapids is growing again because I'm pretty sure those were the rentable-scooters. Yep! They were.

A pilot program to make e-scooters available within a 12-square-mile area centered in Grand Rapids began yesterday, in a partnership of the City of Grand Rapids and Spin, a company owned by Ford Motor Company.

The scooters are set to go no faster than 10 mph, and after being used must be parked at designated areas marked by the city. They are also programmed to power down when entering pedestrian-only areas like Calder Plaza and college campuses.

Fox 17 reported that in order to use a scooter, it takes $1 to unlock it, then you’re charged 15 cents per minute, However, since the program is just beginning, you can use the e-scooter FREE this weekend for  60 minutes, from 6 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2, to midnight Sunday, Oct. 4. The weather should be much nicer by Friday and through the weekend, and with so much of Fall left, how exciting to be tooling around downtown on these scooters!

To get started, you download and sign into the Spin app, which currently is only available through iPhones. If you don't have an iPhone, you go to Spin Access, obtain a code, and text the code to get registered.

Other options are available to people with cell phones that are not smartphones but you have a credit card and for people with no smartphone and no credit card. Go to Spin Access.

If all else fails and you don’t have access to the internet, call Spin at 888-262-5189.