E-Scooters made a return to Downtown Waco during the Thanksgiving holiday

By: Dominique Leh

MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — Electronic scooters popped up in Downtown Waco during the Thanksgiving holiday. 25News' Dominique Leh spoke with some locals on how they feel about e-scooters returning to our neighborhood. The scooter company also weighed in on how they plan to keep them from becoming problematic.

The new e-scooters come with racks and helmets; users must lock them to the racks to end their ride.
The locked racks are a way to mitigate clutter and keep Waco vibrant while providing an enjoyable scooter experience.
Locals expressed concern for safety and keeping sidewalks and streets clear of the scooters.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
There's a new form of transportation in Downtown Waco.

“I think it can be great for students who don’t have means of transportation,” Baylor Student Aaron Borges said.

But many locals don’t want a repeat of the scooters introduced about a year ago.

“It was such a mess, and they were heavy and hard to move to get away from the sidewalks so that my customers could gain access to my store,” the Owner of Simply Irresistible, Petra Urquizo, said.

That’s the narrative behind electric scooters, and Cruze Texas Area Manager Brandon Baker hopes to change that with their newly launched Cruze Texas scooters.

" You have to park it back at the rack and lock it back in place for it to end your ride," Baker said. "Otherwise, you continue to get charged the per-minute charge."

The locally based company has four locations with a total of 40 scooters,

Ellie's Boutique (across from Magnolia Press)
Kirkpatrick and Witt Furniture (across from Union Hall)
Simply Irresistible (Austin Avenue)
Common Grounds and Heritage Creamery (near Baylor University)

Baylor student Aaron Borges said his one concern is safety
“Something I’ve kinda noticed is how fast they are— they are speedy, and sometimes it’s not very clear where you’re supposed to drive them,” said Borges.

The bikes go about 13 miles an hour, and a safety feature many other e-scooters don’t have is helmets. Aside from safety, another concern for locals is keeping the streets and sidewalks clear.

“About a year and a half ago, those were introduced and then taken away because of how they were just left all over the city, of Waco, on the sidewalks, on the streets in parking lots,” Urquizo said when asked about when the scooters were introduced last year by another company.

Petra Urquizo, Owner of Simply Irresistible, is optimistic that the racks will help prevent that clutter. Baker said they had had one person leave the scooter unracked, but within 30 minutes, he found it and placed it back on a rack.

“We texted them and said, 'Hey, would you please make sure you rack it back up next time?' They were just very kind," Urquizo said. "I mean, it’s a new thing. People are used to being able to ride and drop, but hopefully, they’ll understand that we’re trying to keep Waco beautiful."

The Scooters have a $2 unlock fee and 37 cent per minute charge.

However, Baker said there is a free unlock and a 20% fare reduction for December.

Cruze Texas also offers subscriptions for those who will use them regularly (like college students traveling to and from class, etc.): $50/month, free unlocks, two rides per day/50% fare reduction; $30/month, free unlocks, two rides per day, 25% fare reduction.

Cruze Texas does plan to expand with 40 more scooters in the spring. They are currently looking for businesses who would be open to placing the e-scooters near their business.

Dominique Leh reached out to the City of Waco to comment on the scooters, but they did not respond.

To use the scooters,