New scooter co. enters Memphis via Explore Bike Share partnership

More scooters are coming into the Memphis area, giving people the option to stand or sit on them.

Through a partnership with Explore Bike Share, Ojo, a station-based scooter service, is bringing 250 seated scooters to Memphis. The City of Memphis had requested additional or expanded shared mobility vendors and operators.

The new fleet of scooters will roll out beginning Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 10 a.m. at the Cleveland Street Flea Market near Crosstown Concourse.

Memphis is the third market Oxnard, California-based Ojo has invested in, after Austin and Dallas, a release said.

Ojo contracted with the nonprofit Explore Bike Share to take care of the daily operations and maintenance of the 250-scooter fleet. Ojo vehicles, which allows either seated or standing transportation, can reach speeds up to 18 miles per hour. The scooters are station-based, unlike rental scooters such as those from Bird and Lime.

"They're disciplined, thoughtful, and safety-focused, like us," Trey Moore, executive director of Explore Bike Share, said in a release. "We're partnering with Ojo to provide on-the-ground operations management with missionally growing shared mobility for all of Memphis. We'll be able to create shared mobility hubs throughout our service area."

The costs for Ojo scooters in Memphis are:

  • $1.25 to begin ride

  • $0.20 cents per minute

  • $5 additional fee to park somewhere other than a station

Initial Explore Bike Share locations that will serve as hubs for Ojo scooters include Downtown, South Memphis, South City, Medical District, Cooper Young, and Overton Square neighborhoods.

Scooters will initially be docked at the following Explore Bike Share stations:

  • AutoZone Park

  • Beale Street Landing

  • Bellevue and McLemore

  • Cooper and Oliver

  • Crosstown Concourse

  • Downtown YMCA

  • Edge Triangle

  • FedExForum Plaza

  • Front and Court

  • Front and Vance

  • Hudson Transit Center

  • Loflin Yard

  • Madison and Avalon

  • Madison and Cleveland

  • Madison and Manassas

  • Madison and Marshall

  • Main and Adams

  • Main and Talbot

  • Main and Union

  • Marshall and Monroe

  • McLean and Poplar

  • Memphis Convention Center

  • Memphis Zoo

  • Mississippi and Walker

  • Overton Square

  • Peabody and McLean

  • Second and Beale

  • Southern College of Optometry

  • Tennessee and G.E. Patterson

Read the full article at bizjournals.com