They’re here! After months of anticipation, electric scooters from the companies JUMP, Lime, Bird and Spin hit the streets of Downtown Tampa over Memorial Day weekend as part of the city’s one-year pilot program. Scooters can be rented through each company’s app and can go a speedy 15 miles per hour or higher. Prices vary per minute, but the scooters typically cost $1 to start. Scooters are geo-fenced so they cannot be used on the Tampa Riverwalk, Bayshore Boulevard or Seventh Avenue and, as of the time this issue went to press, they are only allowed on sidewalks. However, a new law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis legalizes electronic scooters across Florida and gives cities the authority to allow scooters to be used on bike paths and streets, so the rules could be changing soon. Each app shows the location of nearby scooter corrals (read: designated parking spaces), or users can hop on any available scooter they happen to find parked on the sidewalk. Though the companies politely request you return scooters to corrals (the number of which is expected to multiply in the weeks to come), you do not have to. However, you must park your scooter in a place that does not block the sidewalk and upload a photo to the app before your ride can come to an end. Scoot on, Tampa.
WHAT TO KNOW:
Scooters from JUMP, Lime, Bird and Spin available around Tampa | More scooters and corral locations coming soon | Prices vary | Apps available in the App Store or Google Play store
