By: Jonathan Teal
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Veoride and Spin each have 500 scooters in the Fayetteville area. About 900 of them are put on the street for use everyday.
The U of A’s Active Transportation Coordinator Ammen Jordan said during COVID, ridership has not gone down.
“They’ve supplemented Razorback transit usage, so people aren’t necessarily wanting to ride the bus so they’re riding the e-scooters more,” said Jordan. “Scooter usage is stable if not high.”
Because more people are riding scooters, Veoride and Spin made sure their scooters are safe enough to ride.
Spin wipes down the front and back of the handlebars everyday. They also wipe down the mast of the scooter.
Jordan said the companies are doing what they need to keep the scooters clean. He also said riders can do their part to make sure they are safe from COVID-19.
However, U of A student Christian Arnold said he does not see why he must take precautions to ride their scooters.
Arnold said, “I don’t see how I can contract it from a scooter even with other people touching it.”
Spin and Veoride suggested that riders should wipe down the scooter before and after use. They also suggested riders wear masks and gloves when riding the scooter.
Both companies urged riders to only have one person per scooter. This is for safety and social distancing reasons.
Jordan said he spoke with Campus Safety Officer Danielle Best, and she said there have been no complaints regarding COVID and e-scooters. Jordan said this is possibly because of the decreased number of people on campus.