TOLEDO, Ohio — Since spring, tons of people have been using them to buzz around town, but when your ride is over what do you do with the scooter?
"They're not scooting them over," said Angie Goodnight. "They're just letting them lay where ever it happens. People in wheelchairs. People like myself, I'm blind. If I came across one of those, I would fall."
Goodnight works for the Ability Center and says she's received a lot of calls from folks in the community with a disability, saying scooters are blocking the sidewalks.
She'd like the company that supplies them, VEO, to step in.
"An incentive to return the scooters to their original area," Goodnight said.
WTOL 11 reached out to VEO. A representative from the company said the in-app instructions include a carrot and stick approach to encourage proper parking.
Riders get a discount for parking in what are called "lucky zones" or popular locations across town where people want to rent a scooter.
Riders must submit a photo of their scooter parked at the end of their ride. If the scooter is parked improperly, they will get a warning. If the improper parking happens a second time, the rider is fined $15. Future fines increase if the scooter rider continues to park improperly.
Goodnight is asking riders to take advantage of the incentive and to also keep others in mind while riding.
"Just scoot it over and think, 'could a person in a wheelchair get by?' and that's all. Just scoot it over," Goodnight said.
If members of the public see scooters improperly parked, they can reach VEO at hello@veoride.com and 855-836-2256. VEO will want to know the location of the scooter, and when possible, the vehicle number located between the handlebars underneath the QR code.
VEO says when it gets notice of an improperly parked scooter, it becomes a high priority to retrieve. The vehicle number gives the precise location of the vehicle.
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