This year, students at San Diego college campuses have a new way to get around. On the first day of classes at San Diego State University, a number of students were seen riding around on electric scooters.
Available for rent, the scooters have grown in popularity downtown and at the beaches. Now, the motorized scooters are finding their way to colleges.
"We’re just now starting to see them surface on campus," said San Diego State University Police Lt. Matt Conlon.
Conlon said technically the scooters are only allowed on roadways and bike paths and riders must wear a helmet.
"As of yet we haven’t had an issue with that," Conlon said. "We haven’t put together a proactive enforcement detail on that."
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Campus police say they have not given any scooter tickets yet this year, but people seen riding the scooters Monday did not have a helmet.
"I’m not worried about getting a ticket for a helmet at all really," said SDSU junior Harlem Atwood-Fitzgerald. "It’s more about just watching out because there are a lot of people around here and you don’t want to run into somebody because that’s when the problem will unfold."
Police said San Diego State does not contract with electric scooter companies to have them dropped off on campus. Conlon said so far the scooters have not been an issue.
"We’ll have to evaluate it as things progress and see if they become a problem or are presenting an issue that we have to do more enforcement or change some policies within the campus," he said.
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Campus police say it is focusing on an informational approach before taking enforcement actions.
"Ride within your ability, stay responsible because you are responsible for your own actions and any damage or injury you may cause," Conlon said.
