If you spend any time in Fort Pierce, you’re likely to have seen the shiny bikes lined up outside of the St. Lucie Aquarium, Marina Square and a handful of other locations. The Bike Share program introduced through a partnership between the City of Fort Pierce and Zagster, a company operating micro-mobility shares nationwide, has been a hit in the Sunrise City since February of 2018.
“The bike share program has been successful by filling transit gaps, providing connections between the parks and beaches, creating recreation for residents and visitors, and putting key destinations on the map” according to the city. At the end of August, 2019, there were over 2,754 users and 5,248 rides since the launch of the program.
But if peddling is not your thing, Zagster has now added e-scooters to the fleet, a first for the company’s operations in Florida right here on the Treasure Coast. If you’ve ever ridden one of these things you know it’s less work and way more exciting, especially in the Florida heat. How fun to see the sights of both historic Downtown Fort Pierce as well as the beach side, zipping around on an electric scooter that does all the work for you!
“The Treasure Coast continues to be a vacation destination for visitors from around the world and now we’ve added a new mode of transportation that will enable them to move more freely around our great community,” Linda Hudson, Mayor of Fort Pierce, said. “We’re going to have a lot more seasonal visitors in a few months. We’ll have some experience with it, and I hope a lot of people try it. It’s turning people into kids again, and how wonderful is that?”
Zagster handles all operations for the scooter shares out of its local warehouse in Fort Pierce. Local staff collect and recharge the scooters throughout the operation hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., seven days a week. Residents and visitors can rent one of over 200 currently deployed dockless scooters from 17 locations on the island and 19 locations in the downtown area. It costs $1 to unlock a scooter and 15 cents per minute to ride and riders are only charged while the scooter is operating. So, a stop for lunch, a walk through a park or a romp on the beach doesn’t add to the cost. The program is managed through a downloadable smartphone app, barcode scanning and GPS.
The scooters are capable of speeds of up to 15 miles per hour and helmets are recommended. For safety, there are no-ride zones including Indian River Drive, the Seaway Bridge, and sidewalks. Once a rider enters an “off limits area,” they will be sent a notification. If a rider tries to end their trip in an off-limits area, they will not be able to end their ride, and will be asked to return to a permitted usage area.
The City of Fort Pierce is already a great destination for its laid-back artsy downtown district, fabulous restaurants and stunning Caribbean-like waters. But taking in the sights and sounds of the Sunrise City by scooter promises to be more fun than ever!
You can download the SPIN app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Learn more about it here: https://www.spin.app/