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'Gotcha' scooters to arrive in East Lansing

August 26, 2019
<p>Photo courtesy of Gotcha </p>

Photo courtesy of Gotcha

Electric scooters will return to East Lansing sometime in September, according to Assistant to the City Manager Nicole Bartell.

Gotcha, a company that was seeking a city permit since at least April, completed a licensing agreement this summer.

City Manager George Lahanas said the city has proactively worked with Gotcha to create deployment zones for their arrival date and beyond.

He said some residents were frustrated before because they thought there was no process and that scooters were parked almost anywhere in the city. 

“I think that this is something hopefully where they’ll be trapped in much more established locations,” Lahanas said. 

The company Spin sent in an application but has not completed the agreement process thus far. Bartell said Lime met with the city to discuss a renewal application, but they have not yet submitted one.

The city’s licensing agreement process is open to any company that wants to enroll and pay the fees to operate dockless scooters throughout the city. 

Michigan State has not yet decided to sign a request for proposal, or RFP, agreement with a scooter company to determine which scooters can deploy on MSU’s campus. 

MSU hasn’t announced any details of their ongoing RFP process.

The MSU Board of Trustees lifted a ban on electric scooters riding through campus in its May 2019 meeting, which means students can use scooters on campus, but at this point, the scooters will not be deployed there.

Editor's Note: The headline of this article was changed to reflect that Gotcha scooters have yet to arrive in East Lansing.

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