“These scooters can be beneficial to help reduce the amount of vehicle traffic, however, I think it could be detrimental if individuals do not park their scooters properly. To ensure that they will be a continued feature on campus, students need to follow rules strictly while navigating through the streets. It is important to remember that safety is the number one objective when riding the scooters. UW-W Sustainability Director Wes Enterline oversaw the geo-mapping for campus due to his extensive knowledge of the landscape. On campus the students have more restrictions on where they can ride the scooters compared to the other parts of the city. There are special rules when it comes to riding on campus that are not shared with the rest of Whitewater. It took us about ten minutes and cost us five or six dollars.” We left from my apartment by Simon Suits and then basically went all the way down to downtown Whitewater and back. “When they first came out me and my friend were desperately looking for them as they were not everywhere right away. More than likely I’ll ride whenever my friends want to do it,” said Koy Peerenbom, a senior who is double majoring in business management and marketing sales. If I am desperate to get to class on time or I am thinking ‘man, I don’t want to walk’ I may take a ride on the scooters. The best part about them is you feel like you’re going fast, and it almost feels risky at times, which is something I enjoyed.

These don’t seem to be a problem for students, however, who have been eagerly trying out the new scooters since their arrival. Some of these include, being 18 or older, parking at designated parking locations when on campus (these can be found in the app), no riding on the sidewalk, and following the general rules of the road. The company behind these scooters has a few rules that are required to ride. “Since our launch we have seen impressive ridership in the city, and we are invested in continuing to grow our service in Whitewater.” We’re excited to offer our service to UW-W students to provide an alternative to their gas-powered vehicles,” said Bird spokesman Ben Bolton. “ Bird works with dozens of universities around the country to offer our eco-friendly transportation. Now they are heading our way to smaller populations such as Whitewater to offer the city a new way of transportation. Birds have been popping up all over the country – most famously in places like L.A and Chicago. Within their first few weeks of being introduced to the city, a number of students at UW-Whitewater could be seen hitching a ride around the city. These zipping two-wheeled vehicles reach speeds of up to 15 mph and have a weight capacity of 220 pounds.

The city of Whitewater partnered up with electric scooter company Bird for a one-year pilot-program contract at no cost to the city. But ever since it did, electric scooters are now popping up all over camps. It’s not every day that something new and exciting finds itself riding into Whitewater.

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