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Knoxville kicks off scooter programs, hundreds ride around downtown

Would you give it a try? The scooters go 15 miles per hour, and you can rent them on your phone.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn — The scooters are back.

After a bit of a delay, hundreds of people have flown down Gay Street and across the downtown Knoxville area since Wednesday.

RELATED: E-scooters in Knoxville: What you need to know about your options

Two different companies have made their scooters available, and they're easy to rent through your phone.

Sign in on your phone, and ride off.

"Try it. Go for it. It's awesome," scooter rider Trey Janes said.

Scooters filled the Knoxville streets downtown Saturday.

"I am just stoked for these scooters to be here," scooter rider Cody Seals said.

And for good reason.

RELATED: Scooter crash survivor urges caution as e-scooters relaunch in Knoxville

"It's not that we don't want to walk," Seals said. "It's just a lot of fun to hop on it with some friends and cruise around town."

You start by downloading either the VeoRide or Spin apps on your phone.

The app will tell you where their companies' corresponding scooters are.

You give your payment info, then you can scan the bar code on the scooter.

"They're also not expensive," Janes said. "It's 15 cents a minute. and so we went for an hour last night, used the whole battery, and it was 10 dollars. And there's coupons online."

RELATED: Scoot, scoot! More e-scooters launching in Knoxville on Wednesday

President of Visit Knoxville Kim Bumpas says it will help visitors and locals get around faster.

"We totally support this city and the way that they're doing it with a pilot program and having it a little more controlled than the way other destinations have launched scooters," Bumpas said. "And I think that's really exciting."

On March 21st, Bumpas said the scooters were only slowing down, not stopping, when they hit the "geofence," the areas the scooters shouldn't be able to go past.

RELATED: Hit the brakes! Knoxville's electric scooter pilot program won't be available this weekend

That's since been ironed out.

Riders around the city are ready to enjoy the ride--making sure to stay on the road and follow traffic regulations.

"Super affordable, and it's just a great way if you want to go from point A to point B," Seals said.

RELATED: Need to know: Electric scooters in Knoxville

Helmets are encouraged, but not required.

The apps are available for Android and iOS.

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