The City of San Marcos, in collaboration with Texas State University, has signed a pilot agreement with Spin electric scooters for an initial two-step deployment of 200 shared scooters beginning this month.
Spin has separate agreements with each entity which allows for initial deployments of 150 scooters on the Texas State campus beginning Wednesday, Sept. 23, and 50 scooters to be deployed in specified areas of the city starting Wednesday, Sept. 30.
“The scooter pilot program offers the opportunity to evaluate the feasibility of motor-assisted scooter use in the San Marcos community,” said City Manager Bert Lumbreras. “The pilot program will be measured, analyzed, and evaluated from the public safety and infrastructure limitation aspect as was planned through the recent Council adopted ordinance.”
The pilot also proactively addresses infrastructure limitations due to the restrictions placed on public transit in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and meets a need for additional transportation options following the exit of Veo-Ride bikes from the community in August.
“Collaboration with key city and university officials has been the driving force behind this partnership. It has allowed us to really work together to customize a pilot program that is focused on safety,” said Alex April, Spin’s Senior Manager of Government Partnerships. “This includes employing a local workforce to ensure the implementation of industry-leading COVID-19 safety protocols.”
Scooters will cost $1 to unlock and 29 cents per minute of use. The hours of scooter operation are 6:30 AM to 11:30 PM.
Riders should note that scooters must be parked in the designated scooter zone to end the ride and avoid accruing additional fees. To report issues with Spin scooters, email support@spin.pm or call 888.262.5189.
Spin will host safety and parking training events to give riders a chance to test the scooters in a safe and controlled environment. The first event will take place at Texas State University on Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 11 AM to 1 PM on the Bobcat Trail adjacent to the Campus Quad.
To get started with Spin scooters, download the Spin app to register and locate scooters. Spin’s COVID-19 safety and disinfecting protocols may be viewed here.
Spin is offering to mail a helmet (riders pay shipping only) to anyone who completes this safety quiz online. Free helmets will also be given away to participants on launch day and at subsequent safety events.
In addition to being a socially-distant transit option, Spin scooters also offer a sustainable way for residents and visitors to get around the city and university.
Earlier this year, Spin announced an industry-leading goal to become carbon negative by 2025, removing more emissions from existing transportation ecosystems than they produce in providing their service.
As the City’s liaison for downtown coordination, the Main Street program will assist downtown businesses with the introduction of this pilot program.
Riders are asked to wear masks and maintain social distancing while operating the scooters.
For more information on the Spin pilot, visit the City’s Bike Share and Multimodal Info page.
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MONEY QUOTE: "... following the exit of Veo-Ride bikes from the community in August. "
And why did Veo-Ride leave? Could it be that their equipment was being trashed and just dumped all over the place? What do they think is going to happen with these scooters? TXST is hilly. Lots of steps. Lost of opportunities for drunk students to seek distance records as they launch them off of high structures.
Really, all it takes is a 5 second Google search to see how these things get treated. Ford bought into Spin. But to grow market share is just giving them away. In the end, this is a losing proposition. I see massive lawsuits. See Lime and Segway for examples.
Woah! Edwards AFB (who foolishly bought 17 of these) are paying HALF of what they want to charge TXST & San Marcos.
Apparently, Ford/Spin have done their homework... They know the risks and are pricing accordingly. They know what is store for the downtown area. Good luck!
I applaud the helmet giveaway, I hope it is part of the agreement that riders must wear helmet, with all the hilly terrain around campus, a fall without a helmet could lead to major injury.
Probably just an insurance policy. You'll notice its only for people that took the training. They'll have a sticker on ever scooter saying "ride at your own risk." So people with the helmet were given proper training and disobeyed and everyone else accepted the risk.
The City of San Marcos holds no proprietary title to our public streets. The streets are owned by the public. The City's role is that of a trustee on behalf of the public. Accordingly, the Texas Supreme Court remains real clear that a municipality holds no authority to permit or grant use of our public streets used by private business for private purposes.
The last time someone tried raising that question was over ninety years ago. Well settled law. As opposed to well settled municipal corruption. The Ruling Elite say you're too stupid, lazy or timid to call them out on this. We'll see who does.
Was hoping Veo Ride would be the last. Someone having the cajones should whip the City reptiles back under their rock, otherwise known as their city attorney who cooks up these schemes. Uh, what's that guy's name ....? (And no, when a member of the public purchases goods from a private business while on public property, it does not convert the sale into a "public purpose").