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Atlanta’s first e-scooter charging dock to be unveiled downtown, but will anyone use it?

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The first of potentially hundreds of metro Atlanta stations will debut Monday at Woodruff Park, officials say

A photo of an e-scooter docking station planned for downtown Atlanta.
The panacea for e-scooter madness?
Charge.us

Behold the cure for the “current e-scooter chaos on Atlanta’s streets and sidewalks.”

That’s the assertion of GetCharged Inc., or “Charge,” a New York-based micromobility company that plans to roll out e-scooter docking stations across metro Atlanta before other U.S. cities.

Charge reps announced today the first station will be unveiled at a Monday morning ceremony in Woodruff Park, where Atlanta City Councilmembers Andrea Boone and Matt Westmoreland are expected to field questions alongside Charge cofounder Dan Waldman.

“Atlanta is the first city to make a bold move to have a convenient, safe, and cost-effective place to store electric vehicles in order to reduce micromobility clutter on sidewalks,” the company noted in a statement.

But questions remain: Will Atlantans warm to the idea of parking, and finding, e-scooters in designated places? And will they be willing to pay for the convenience of fully charged scooters?

How the company suggests private property owners—and public ones, such as universities—might “simply clear space, plug in, and start making money.” The minimum space required is 8.5 by 10 feet.
Charge.us

Designed to work with most brands of e-scooters and e-bikes, the new docking stations will charge and store e-vehicles, hosting up to 10 per standard parking spot in a lot, garage, or any other space of at least 80 square feet, the company has said.

Around Atlanta, more than 250 locations are under agreement to potentially install Charge’s docking stations, per the company.
Charge.us

Charge says the first 25 stations will be rolled out in coming months around Atlanta.

A map of potential sites shows high concentrations in downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, and near SunTrust Park. But none, surprisingly, in Decatur, and just a couple south of Interstate 20.

As pushback to the e-scooter zeitgeist that some have decried as a scourge, the City of Atlanta has recently issued more than $100,000 in fines and impound fees.

Charge hasn’t specified exactly what its cost-payment breakdown will be in Atlanta. The business model will allow individual riders and “juicers”—people paid by companies like Bird and Lime to collect and charge e-vehicles—to “rent” charging slots on the docks. Individual riders will have to pay per charge, and juicers by the hour.

An app will help users find stations and check the charging status of e-vehicles.

Locally, Charge has been working in concert with Atlanta’s Downtown Improvement District.