Electric scooters coming to campus later this semester

The Student Government Association plans to bring electric scooters to campus by March 20.

SGA officials hope that the scooter program will increase campus recreation. The program is also expected to help reduce parking issues, as well as allow students to get around campus faster.

“It will make it a little more convenient for students to get around campus, instead of being forced to walk places, and it gets them somewhere faster,” SGA president Austin Wendt said.

Students will be able to find the scooters in specific locations around campus. The scooters will unlock from their stands after students download an app.

The use of a scooter will cost one dollar to unlock, and there will be an extra charge of 15 cents for every mile traveled.

When the scooters first arrive, there will be a geofence, allowing travel only on campus property. In the future, Wendt said he hopes to work out a deal with the city of Thibodaux to allow scooters to travel off campus.

Nicholls will start with 100 scooters on campus. There will be a curfew to have the scooters returned to the stations by 9 pm. The scooters will be removed from campus each night and taken to an off-site location to charge. Wendt said he expects this task will create more student employment opportunities.

“The scooter program is good because it helps with transportation because I hate walking from Ledet all the way to the science building,” said Luis Morelos, a culinary major from Baton Rouge.

The scooters will offer more freedom to students who only have the option to walk around campus.

“This is a great thing because not everyone has a bike, and walking all the way across campus for every single class is hard, so if you have a scooter, you can get around faster in less time, and it will be an all-around better thing for Nicholls,” said Bradley Matherne, a biology sophomore from Larose.  

The program will start out as a pilot program. Nicholls will also have the ability to cancel the contract with the scooter company at any time.