COLUMBUS — Lime and Bird motorized scooters have recently taken over Ohio State’s campus, where one can be found on almost every corner. However, due to bad parking and street clutter, the city of Columbus has released restrictions on the companies, limiting them to 500 scooters. Sadly, all this controversy has left one group of vehicle sharers feeling left out.
Dedicated Lime bicycle riders are looking for the recognition they feel they deserve. “I would never leave it in an irresponsible place, but I just want to be part of the conversation” says Declan Melville, a senior in accounting at OSU. Melville, who assures there are more Lime bike riders than just him, carries a helmet with him everywhere he goes, even before the rent-a-ride services hit campus.
Mr. Melville, who holds the Columbus record for most attempted citizen’s arrests, wants to be given a platform to show the world how responsible Lime bicyclists are. “After being told I couldn’t call the cops anymore about scooters in the sidewalks, I decided my best plan of actions was to show how positive and dependable we cyclers can be.” He has already started an initiative to rent the poorly parked scooters and park them in a more responsible place. He claims to have already spent over 100 dollars on the cause. On his mission, Melville said, “I just walk the scooters cause I’m too nervous to ride them, but it feels good to be doing the right thing.”
When asked to supply names of more Lime bikers for this article, Melville proclaimed there are dozens of them, strapped on his helmet and ran off, as there were no Lime bikes in the general vicinity.
Written by Quinn Wright, Contributor