CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — There are some changes about to take effect into how rental scooters are used along the Bayfront.
Residents can't take a drive along the Bayfront without spotting one, two or even a few dozen of the scooters. Tre Casso is an avid user and said that he likes them for their easy accessibility.
"I can ride them home, to work, friends house, maybe to the store," Casso said.
This week, the city of Corpus Christi is installing specific drop-off zones to prevent them from being left all over the place and in the way.
"Drop zone! I don't want to drive it somewhere and then take it back, I want to leave it where I leave it," Casso said.
The scooters first started showing up in the city back in 2019 and have taken off since. On average, there are 670 scooter rides per day. The peak is over the summer at 750 per day. Heather Hurlbert is Director of Finance for the city. She said that the scooters are being used more than people would think.
"We have noticed it's not just tourists, we have seen them at the medical center area, medical staff do ride the scooters from the medical center to downtown apartments," Hurlbert said. "So we are seeing true mobility benefits from having those scooters downtown."
While the scooters have gained popularity over the years, she also added that the scooters have created, what she calls, visual clutter.
"By having designated areas, that will keep them contained in those areas instead of having them dropped whenever the ride ends," Hurlbert said.
Albert Hernandez is a frequent runner along the Bayfront and said that he often has to dodge them on his run along the Bayfront.
"Sometimes they are thrown on the ground, they are in the way, sometimes we have to jump over them or put them on the side so no one will fall," Hernandez said.
The scooters will be programed to require riders to park them in drop zones if there is one within a 1000-feet of where the ride ends. The drop-off spots will first be installed along the seawall where there is the highest concentration of scooters. The zones will be in line with light poles to help keep them out of the walkways.
"It will be a green outline with a big sticker in the middle that says scooter drop zone. We'll use geo fencing technology, so the scooter companies will use when you start that scooter," Hurlbert said.
Over the next six weeks you'll also start to see the zones pop up in places like downtown and the sea district.
"We are also looking at some on North Beach because they have become more popular over there," Hurlbert said.
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