Scooters make landfall in Omaha
October 1, 2019
While cruising through downtown Omaha, people are offered a wide range of choices when it comes to transportation. People can drive, walk, ride bicycles, and even take the city bus to wherever they need to go. However, there is one mode of transportation that has captured the attention—both positive and negative—alike here: scooters. Earlier this year, mayor Jean Stothert had approved of a pilot program to test out Lime and Spin scooters both downtown and midtown until November 2019. Until then, the Parking and Mobility Division will be observing people riding these scooters so they can test out the reliability and safety of scooters before fully integrating them into the city streets. Bird scooters are also available in the United States and other countries, but they have not reached Omaha at this time.
Lime and Spin scooters are relatively similar, with a few distinctions. All riders must be at least 18 years old, as a requirement agreed by both Lime and Spin companies. A driver’s license isn’t required; however, all traffic laws must be obeyed. In addition, wearing a helmet is strongly recommended. These scooters are not allowed by the downtown riverfront, TD Ameritrade Park, most of the Old Market, the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge, and the campuses of UNO, Creighton, and UNMC. People can park their scooters near or even across the street of these forbidden areas, but the scooters stop riding after the boundary has been crossed. Furthermore, a session cannot be ended while in a prohibited area, so people will continuously be charged for their session if their scooter is left in the area, until the scooter has been removed. Both Lime and Spin scooters cost $1 to activate and 29 cents per minute of use.
Lime Scooters:
- Green, black, and white
- Maximum Speed: 14.8 mph
- Maximum Stolen Scooter Fee: $1500
- People—”Juicers”—can get paid for charging scooters overnight
- Independent business (founded Jan 2017)
- About 400 scooters in Omaha
Spin Scooters:
- Orange and Black
- Maximum Speed: 15 mph
- Maximum Stolen Scooter Fee: $1300
- People can get paid for collecting, charging, and putting scooters back out on the streets
- Owned by Ford Motor Company (founded Oct 2016)
- Unknown how many scooters are in Omaha