Scooters to return to Cedar Rapids, but only for those 18 and up

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Scooters are coming back to downtown Cedar Rapids, but there are big changes when it comes to who can ride them and where.

Last summer, two boys, one eight-years-old and one 12, were seriously injured when they were hit by a car while both riding the same VeoRide scooter.

Tuesday night, city council members voted to renew the city’s contract with VeoRide. Officials said safety was a large part of the renegotiation discussion.

Moving forward, only those 18-years-old and up will be allowed to use the scooters. Jennifer Pratt, Community Development Director for Cedar Rapids, said riders’ ages will be verified by requiring them to scan a government-issued ID to set up an account. Also, any new user will have to go through a safety tutorial.

Pratt also said a big complaint city officials heard was people riding scooters on sidewalks. She said that the safety issue will be addressed moving forward, as well. “With the new technology, they can geo-fence those sidewalks in the core of the community. So if someone is riding on the sidewalk, the vehicle, it will be voice-activated—it will tell them to get off the sidewalk.”

Pratt also said VeoRide will go out and move scooters that have been idle for 48 hours in order to make sure they are in areas where they’ll get used again.

As for when the new scooter program will launch, Pratt said “soon.”

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