OSU gets Lime bikes, scooters
Lime introduced 125 dockless bicycles and an unknown number of scooters to the Ohio State University campus Monday, as thousands of students are returning to the area for the start of fall semester classes Aug. 21.
The move is part of Lime’s expansion into central Ohio, said Kyle Bivenour, the company’s central Ohio operations manager.
Bivenour said Lime was not trying to beat competitor Bird to campus. Bird introduced its scooters to several Columbus neighborhoods, including Downtown, on July 11.
“We’ve been working with the university for quite a few months to get the fleet on campus,” Bivenour said.
Bird spokesman Abraham White said he was looking into whether Bird will follow suit on campus.
In 2015, Ohio State hired Massachusettsbased Zagster to operate a campus bike-share system. At that time, it was seen as a blow to the city’s vision of a regional bike-sharing system, which had focused on spreading the CoGo operation beyond Downtown, but Ohio State officials said at the time they were swayed by Zagster’s cost and variety of bike models.
With Ohio State’s three-year contract with Zagster ending this month, university officials said the relationship with Lime, which already has rolled out its bikes and electric scooters to other central Ohio neighborhoods, is a natural next step, said Ohio State spokesman Dan Hedman. “This new pilot program more closely aligns with nearby communities and continues to support the city of Columbus’ Smart Cities effort,” Hedman said. “Ohio State continues to support alternative mobility options to best serve the needs of our campus community. Our focus remains providing a menu of options that deliver convenient, affordable service and connectivity to the surrounding community.”
As local communities navigate potential rules or guidelines surrounding the new electric scooters, Ohio State officials also are reviewing campus transportation policies, Hedman said.
“The university is having ongoing discussions about campus policies and guidelines and continues to review best practices with the goal of enhancing both transportation and safety,” Hedman said.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein’s office announced Monday that it has advised police that scooters can be ridden on streets or sidewalks as long as the drivers do so responsibly.
“Because of the lack of clarity in the law surrounding how these types of scooters should be regulated in sidewalk and roadway usage, we have instructed the Division of Police that they are allowed to be ridden on both,” according to a statement. “This does not mean, however, that scooters can be ridden recklessly, while impaired, or in violation of other laws. We look forward to offering guidance to Council and the Administration as they continue to determine how these scooters should be regulated.”
With the exception of children, bicycles are prohibited from sidewalks and must be ridden on streets — in designated bike lanes where available — and follow traffic laws.
Bexley and Upper Arlington have pulled scooters from streets and sidewalks, citing safety issues.
It was easy to find Ohio State students already riding Lime scooters on Monday afternoon. One group of five had gathered at North High Street and West 12th Avenue.
Blake Algire, a 20-year-old Ohio State junior from Fredericktown in Knox County, said he thinks students will use them to get to classes.
But Claudia Manter said she doesn’t think students will use the scooters safely.
“They fly past people walking,” said Manter, a 20-year-old junior from Baltimore in Fairfield County, as the group of scooter riders Lime has placed dockless bikes and scooters around the Ohio State University campus ahead of the return of students for fall classes next week. Renters of the bikes and scooters use an app to unlock them. took off northward on the sidewalk along High Street.
Shamina Merchant, president of Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government, said the student government has talked to both Lime and OSU’s Transportation and Traffic Management department and will relay students’ concerns about safety, operations and other issues.
Other campuses with Lime bicycles and scooters include the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and San Jose State in California, Bivenour said.
Lime started a sixmonth pilot program for its bicycles on June 4, placing them Downtown and in Clintonville, Linden and the South Side. Lime brought its scooters to Columbus on July 29, putting them in the same locations as its bicycles. An app unlocks the scooters and bikes; the Lime scooters cost $1 to unlock and 15 cents a minute after that; the bicycles cost $1 for a 30-minute ride.