There is a new way to travel and Long Beach City College students aren’t aware about it. In the month of July, The City of Long Beach launched their pilot scooter share program where residents are able to rent scooters for the day.
According to the Press Telegram, Long Beach residents have three free rides with a maximum of 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes they will be charged 15 cents per minute. The city hopes that this program will service as an alternative way of travel.
Scooters are seen on sidewalks practically everywhere and many city officials have said that the scooters can be a hazard to pedestrians. Scooter riders have also ignored safety procedures such as wearing a helmet.
LBCC students travel to school in a variety of different ways but some students are unaware of this new way of traveling. LBCC student Kim Hart, uses the bus to get to school. Hart did not know of the scooter and said, “No I haven’t use the bikes. So I will not use the scooters.”
Long Beach is not the first city to implement the scooter share program. Cities that have already started the program in California such as Santa Monica, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
While this new way of transportation is being introduced into different places making it more convenient for people to travel around the cities have mixed signals of the program.
Some cities have ultimately banned the program all together. According to The Los Angeles Times, cities such as Beverly Hills,West Hollywood and San Francisco banned the scooters all together.
Student Cindy Covarrubias, who drives to school was asked if she was interesting in trying the scooters. Covarrubia said, “I am not willing to try it.”
Although Covarrubias was not open to trying the new way of transportation, other students were more open to the idea.
Nursing major Sarah Chhum, who gets dropped off at school was not aware of the scooters. Chhum was asked if she was open to the scooters. Chhum said, “I did not know of the program but I am willing to give it a try.”
Some cities have ultimately banned the program all together. According to The Los Angeles Times, cities such as Beverly Hills,West Hollywood and San Francisco banned the scooters all together.
The Long Beach scooter program is scheduled to end on October 31. Officials will vote to see if the program will continue.