A Lime scooter waits to be rented outside Smith-Steeb Hall. Lime announced on Monday that they were officially introducing their rental scooters on Ohio State’s campus. Credit | Zach Varda
As students come back to Ohio State, rental electric scooters have been seen everywhere around Columbus.
Now they will officially be on campus.
The company Lime announced Monday morning that it will be rolling out its rental scooters on Ohio State’s main campus.
“Lime is thrilled to bring multimodal mobility options to The Ohio State University as an expansion of our operations in Central Ohio,” Lime’s Operation Manager for Columbus Kyle Bivenour said in a press release. “We believe that students will greatly benefit from fast, affordable, and convenient options of getting around campus while reducing the university’s carbon footprint.”
Lime and its competitor Bird brought electric scooter rentals to Columbus at the end of July and they have been a strong presence since then up and down High Street.
Students have jumped on the opportunity to use the service from Lime which they can do via a smartphone app. The scooters cost one dollar to unlock and then 15 cents per minute after that.
“We are excited about Lime expanding the portfolio of affordable and sustainable transportation options available to students,” Shamina Merchant, Ohio State Undergraduate Student Government president, said in a statement. “These dockless scooters and bikes will help to increase connectivity between central campus and the greater Columbus community”
In addition to the roll out on campus Lime announced that all products will now be available to rent without a smartphone.
“Now, Lime Access riders can unlock any Lime product without a smartphone, purchase Lime credit with cash in partnership with PayNearMe and receive a 50 percent discount on every ride” the company said in a press release.
The rental scooter industry has exploded across the country this summer with a business strategy of showing up over night in cities and hoping to win over the community before dealing with city councils and regulation.
The scooters have been embraced by many, but have faced backlash in other areas; they have been heavily used in the off-campus area and will now hope to receive the same treatment on campus.
In a press release, Lime said it is dedicated to safety at Ohio State. The scooters will deployed at locations before the morning rush hour and then will move around during the day before being picked up at night, recharged and placed at their locations the next morning.
