Uber follows up on its promise earlier this year to cater to different types of transportation services by launching an electric scooter rental program in Santa Monica, California. As of today, October 3, users in the city by the beach can open up the Uber app and rent Jump scooters by scanning a QR code on the handlebars. There are designated parking zones for scooters, which will come as great news for people who lives in cities where unregulated scooter rental programs have resulted in disastrous sidewalk situations.
The program launches today and will be free for all users until October 7, at which point Uber will charge $1 USD to unlock a scooter and 15 cents per minute thereafter. No word yet on which cities will follow Santa Monica but it's likely Uber will plan to open up the service to other cities that have secured scooter permits.
