Residents and visitors in the Magic City have a new way to get around town.
Crosstown Scooters, a business that allows anyone with a driver’s license to rent a gas-powered scooter for easy travel around downtown, opened this month in Birmingham.
The introductory rate for the scooters is $10 an hour, and the company assures potential customers that the vehicles are “street legal” and a good way to get between the many visit-worthy spots in the heart of the city.
Crosstown was founded by Glenn Drennen, who was inspired by similar rental places he noticed during a family trip to Miami Beach.
The headquarters of the company, where the scooters are picked up by customers, is at 3424 6th Ave South in the Lakeview neighborhood.
“We’ve got breweries to the right, more breweries to the left,” Drennen told Yellowhammer News about the location of his new company during a phone interview on Thursday morning.
Drennen is in the real estate business and owns a chain of gas stations. He was able to fashion some of the land adjacent to one of his stations into a spot where renters can pick up their vehicles.
He believes there is a market of all kinds of people, especially young adults, who want to cruise around downtown Birmingham without worrying about finding a parking spot.
“Maybe it is a couple on a date,” replied Drennen when asked about potential customers. He also cited people looking to do business in the city who wanted a pleasant way to get about town as potential renters.
“Go get some brunch, check out a museum,” he advised customers who take one of his scooters out for a few hours.
“You can park right in between cars or wedge up on the curb,” Drennen said about parking options opened up by the small size of his scooters. He later cited that two scooters could fit in one normal-sized parking space.
All vehicles available for rent from Crosstown Scooters will have headlights, seat belts and blinkers, making them legal to ride on public roads. Conversely, their top speed is around 40 mph, making highways or interstates unavailable.
Crosstown Scooters currently has red and blue scooters available for rent, but plans to add gas powered golf carts and a vehicle called a Scoot-Coupe to their fleet in the coming days.
“They’ve tried the zip bikes, and they’ve tried the bird scooters,” Drennen said, referencing previous businesses that attempted to provide similar small-scale transportation in downtown Birmingham.
“It was too idealistic that you were going to be able to hop on a scooter in one neighborhood, ride it to another and just leave it there,” he remarked, arguing his centralized method that required customers to return their vehicles is more feasible.
Drennen wants potential renters to know they can book a session now, and he advises that around half a day on the scooters is the most pleasurable experience.
“You can book it online to reserve the rental, all the technology is all built out,” he said.
The site to rent a scooter can be accessed here.
“You can be on the other side of town in five minutes,” Drennen stated about the ease of access opened up by his scooters.
He added, “You’re feeling the air, and hearing all the sounds of the city. It is a full sensory experience.”
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.