Spin scooters will move into Detroit market

Currently, about 600 scooters between Bird and Lime are out and about on the streets of Detroit. Get ready for more—San Francisco company Spin has confirmed with Curbed that they’re looking into the Detroit market.

It won’t be an out-of-the-blue drop like other companies; Spin says they’ve been discussing a Detroit launch with relevant organizations. The company tells Curbed,

Spin has active plans to launch in Detroit. Instead of rogue-launching across the state of Michigan like other scooter companies, we have engaged with government and community groups, such as Detroit Greenways Coalition, to understand where micromobility will have the most impact before launching. We’re excited to increase first- and last-mile connections across Detroit, provide affordable transportation to underserved neighborhoods, and create job opportunities for members of the community.

We’ll have more on the company and its plans for Detroit in the next week.

Bird landed in Detroit in late July, followed by Lime in late August. Overall, scooters seem to be a good fit in the Motor City, which has wide streets and bike lanes. There are complaints about scooters riding on sidewalks (which they’re not supposed to do), and scooters left in the middle of sidewalks. But as Detroit works at figuring out last-mile mobility solutions, scooters have found their niche.

The city is looking at ways to best utilize the new dockless scooter technology. Crain’s reports that City Council is working on ordinances for scooters; Scott Benson would like to see 70 percent of the scooters located in neighborhoods outside of the 7.2 square miles of downtown Detroit, stating that, “These need to be available to everybody, not just the cool kids downtown.” Testing more in the neighborhoods could show how the tech could truly be a solution for more residents in a city that struggles with mobility.