Grand Rapids, Spin start community pass program

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Courtesy city of Grand Rapids

The city of Grand Rapids and Spin are launching Spin Community Pass in Grand Rapids.

Designed for residents in need, the Spin Community Pass allows residents to take up to five 30-minute electronic scooter rides each day over three months. This pilot program, funded by the city, provides up to 650 passes to Grand Rapids residents who face transportation barriers like limited incomes and credit card or smartphone access and need more options.

The city is partnering with the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP, West Michigan Works!, Baxter Community Center, Grand Rapids Urban League and Hispanic Center of Western Michigan to distribute the passes to Grand Rapids residents they serve. Program participants also are eligible for a free safety helmet.

“This program provides an opportunity to pilot ways to reduce transportation costs and provide city residents better access to mobility solutions,” said Kristin Bennett, project manager. “We are pleased to partner with Spin and the community partners on these priorities in the city’s strategic plan.”

The city partnered with Spin — a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company — to launch the scooter share pilot program in the fall of 2020. There have since been e-scooters deployed in a 12-square-mile area including downtown, neighborhoods and business districts. 

The pilot serves 74% of underserved neighborhoods to evaluate how shared micromobility services can contribute to Grand Rapids’ multimodal transportation system.

Users are strongly encouraged to wear helmets and to learn the basic rules of the road before hopping onto a scooter. In addition to wearing a helmet, basic safety includes using hand signals to indicate turns and lane changes, not riding on the sidewalk and riding in the street with the direction of traffic. Spin offers a safety quiz with options to earn ride credit for learning safety rules here.

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