Those who aren't willing or able to take a walking, bicycle
or bus tour of the nation's capital can now use motorized
scooters instead.
The scooter rental company ScootAround has formed a
partnership with Bike the Sites to create City Scooter Tours.
"I had this idea for awhile," ScootAround President Lee
Meagher said. "It's such a simple concept. It's just never
been done before. Ever."
The company offers a three-hour tour of the National Mall
on the three and four-wheeled scooters that can hold one
person each and traverse sidewalks or museum galleries.
"The tour covers the most popular and visited places," said
Kelly Diamond, a Bike the Sites employee.
The bike tours are popular, and the scooters are expected
to be popular as well, Diamond said. Though the idea is geared
toward people with limited mobility, the service is available
to anyone. Eventually tourists will be able to take mixed
trips with some riding the carts and others on bikes.
Two buttons control the forward and reverse motions and
speed, which is about the same as a fast walk. Scooters have
small steering wheels and turn signals.
Tours can be done individually or in groups of up to 10.
Soon, a schedule of tours will be developed. The company will
accept reservations or walkups at its station outside the Old
Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White
House and the Capitol.
Escorted scooter tours cost $75 per person. Scooter rentals
start at $30 for two hours or $60 per day, though rates can
vary for longer rentals or for those who need heavier
vehicles. There's no age limit, but the company makes sure
children are competent to handle the scooters, company
spokesman Caldwell Gray said.
Bike the Sites was created a year ago and offers several
tours of the Washington metropolitan area.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News
Service.)
