Effort to bring scooter rentals downtown aims to start this season

Jodi Schwan

March 9, 2022

If approvals fall into place, you could be able to hop on an electric foot scooter to get around downtown this summer.

Troy Holt and his family are hoping to bring a locally operated version of Leaf Rides, which they discovered on a family trip to Duluth, Minnesota, where the service launched.

“We’d rented scooters before but hadn’t had a chance to really visit and see a community like we were able to there,” said Holt, who works as the chief operating officer at Five Star Call Centers.

“We just got chatting and decided to run with it.”

It would be a family venture for his wife, Sara, and teenage sons Carson and Connor. The hope is to begin with 50 scooters in downtown Sioux Falls around Memorial Day.

First, though, state and city approvals are needed. A bill is making its way successfully through the Legislature, but beginning operations also will require a city ordinance.

The Holts tried to bring one forward last year but went back to retool their approach after encountering questions.

“I think you’ll see there is plenty of operating area for what we’re looking to do,” Holt said, adding the scooters wouldn’t be used in areas of high pedestrian traffic such as sidewalks in the heart of Phillips Avenue.

And the scooters “will be off the streets by dark, so businesses don’t need to worry about them,” he said. “We’re not going to leave them in parking zones. They will be completely off the streets and charging overnight.”

The advantage he sees is in using the scooters as a way for people to see more of the city’s expanding downtown more easily and then go back and revisit stores and restaurants that appealed to them.

The hope would be to park them in places such as Falls Park or the 12th Street Plaza.

“Get riders close to downtown so they can still visit businesses and participate in events, but don’t leave them in front,” he said. “We’re just looking to offer some on-demand transportation.”

The owners would be visible throughout downtown, he added, including helping people learn how to use the scooters safely.

“We’re not just going to drop off 50 scooters and leave them,” he said. “We want to make sure this is a partnership.”

The scooters would be for those 14 and older and operate through an app, which typically charges $1 to start and 35 cents per minute after that.

Holt compares them to “the pedal scooter you see running through the neighborhood. 
 They just have electric power with it,” he said. “I think the timing is perfect when you look at what’s happening with Falls Park, The Steel District, Cherapa Place; there’s just so much to see. It’s a chance to see our great downtown more efficiently, and so you ultimately want to see more.”

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