CLEVELAND — Across Ohio, in cities like Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo and Cleveland, electric scooters may have been scattered about the streets in recent years. It’s become a popular way to get around town.

Last year, Cuyahoga County officials said there were more than 200,000 rides taken in Cleveland alone, and after that success, the county decided to expand the program to the city's east side.

“They make it convenient for people to get to work and to a bus where you don’t need a car, which is a good thing, because we’ve got a lot of internal combustion engines that contribute to climate change and scooters help minimize that to some degree," said Mike Foley, Director of Sustainability for Cuyahoga County.

Since the Labor Day weekend, South Euclid, Euclid, Cleveland Heights and East Cleveland are serving as pilot cities with scooters. A few different vendors like Bird, Lime and Link are involved.

County officials said those four cities were chosen to start the expansion because they are contiguous to the established locations in Cleveland.

“We feel we’re a very walkable, pedestrian-friendly community and these scooters are a great mode for residents, students and other people who come in and out of the city to actually get around easily," said Michael Love, Economic Development Director for South Euclid.

There are about 50 new stations on the east side where people can find a ride.

One of the 18 locations in South Euclid is Notre Dame College, and so far so good.

“Because I do know that there are some students and stuff on campus that do not have cars and stuff so being able to have another form of transportation for those students was something I thought was pretty cool," said Dylan Spaeth, a Notre Dame College grad student.

The county hopes to expand the program further on the east side in the spring and to the west side of Cleveland by next summer.​