Scooters Are Back in Birmingham! Here’s What You Need to Know

We gave you a guide to the best craft breweries in Birmingham, and Birmingham Pedal Tours brought the best way to enjoy them. And now Birmingham Pedal Tours partnered with Ride Fiik to bring scooters back to Birmingham!

If you remember a few years ago, scooters were everywhere. Literally. You could rent them just about anywhere. But sometimes you had to dodge a few abandoned in the road too! The biggest set back of the e-scooter business is the stress it puts on municipalities. Once a person’s ride finished, people left them on streets or sidewalks, causing hazardous clutter. However, Ride Fiik has the solution.

Meet Ride Fiik

Ride Fiik, a south Florida based company, designed their own model and software that would safely offer e-scooters to the public. Ken Cadmus (co-founder) and Mike Caputo (sales manager) bring scooters to cities by partnering with privately owned businesses, like Birmingham Pedal Tours, so the business can offer scooter rentals themselves. Each business acts as the parking zone for the e-scooter, making it compliant with municipalities and easier to maintain the scooters. Scooter rentals also bring additional revenue to their business partners, which supports our local economy unlike other rideshares!

“It provides a way to see things you’ve never seen…You can see the sights, the sounds, the smells, the city.”

Ken Cadmus

Aside from their impressive business model, these scooters are top of the line too. On average, each scooter can last between 20-25 miles off a single charge. If a scooter happens to die, there is a full support line found in the app where customers can contact their rental location. The business partner will come pick up the scooter and drop off a new one. All of the running systems are internal, so break lines cannot be tampered with either. These scooters are seriously fun and safe.

How

Renting a scooter takes only 90 seconds! Each scooter has a QR code (located between the handles) that you can scan using your camera to bring up the Ride Fiik app. On the app you can handle payments, check scooter availability, and find designated parking locations. Once you enter your name, email address, and phone number, set up is done!

Renting a scooter runs about the same price as getting an Uber. It costs $15 for the 1st hour and then $12 for any additional hours. E-scooters are used just like a bicycle—you obey all the same traffic laws. The software in the e-scooters will notify you through alerts on your phone if you enter a zone outside of its geofencing. When your time is up, return the scooter back to one of the designated parking zones.

Where

Claire and Jason Kobza, owners of Birmingham Pedal Tours and the future Ham Scooter Company, are offering 25 scooters for rental but plan to add more soon. Ownership of the scooter rental will shortly transfer to Ham Scooter Company. Here are the current scooter spots:

Birmingham Pedal Tours

2201 2nd Ave S Suite 106, Birmingham, AL 35233

Good People Brewing Company

114 14th St S, Birmingham, AL 35233

Avondale Brewery

201 41st St S, Birmingham, AL 35222

Where to go? Wherever you’d like! Ken and Mike enjoyed riding the scooters through the Rotary Trail, around Regions Field and Railroad Park, and at night on the hills at 5 Points. The scooters are easily accessible and can travel most places.

If you are interested in a pedal tour, Birmingham Pedal Tours is still open for that too! Conductors must wear masks, currently all tours are private only, and bikes are cleaned and sanitized after each outing. You can book your tour online or make requests at (205) 304-8687.

What’s your favorite way to see Birmingham? Let us know @bhamnow!