EAST LANSING — The rideshare brand Gotcha has signed and finalized a contract to license electric scooters exclusively on the campus of Michigan State University and has plans to deploy about 600 scooters in the region next month.

The Gotcha Group hopes to launch 300 e-scooters on campus by early September, CEO Sean Flood said Wednesday afternoon.

The Charleston, South Carolina-based company also plans to expand its fleet throughout the region within the next 30 days, by deploying an additional 300 scooters to be spread between Lansing and the rest of East Lansing.

Gotcha has agreed to pay MSU a $15,000 licensing fee and to share data with the university's transportation researchers, MSU spokeswoman Melody Kindraka said Wednesday.

The licensing fee covers the duration of the contract through December 2019. There is an option to renew in 2020.

Gotcha has also agreed to pay MSU 10% of its revenue from user fees collected from campus rides.

It costs customers $1 to unlock a Gotcha scooter and 15 cents for every minute after that.

Alternatively, MSU students, faculty and staff have the option to pay Gotcha $24.99 a month for one hour of scooter use each day.

Licensed drivers ages 18 and older are able to access the scooters by paying through a mobile application.

Gotcha plans to hire eight to 10 local employees in the Lansing region, Flood said. The CEO visited campus Wednesday, where Gotcha had a booth set up to promote the scooters during MSU's first day of classes for the 2019 fall semester.

East Lansing officials have the power to regulate scooters in East Lansing outside of MSU's campus. Gotcha has a conditional license from the city, allowing the company to market its scooters throughout East Lansing.

City officials plan to meet with company representatives this week, which could lead to a full license, authorizing Gotcha to deploy its scooters throughout East Lansing. No other e-scooter brands have applications pending through East Lansing.

Gotcha already has a license from the city of Lansing, which means the company has the go-ahead to drop scooters in the capital city.

Competitor Spin is the only other company with a current license to operate e-scooters in the city of Lansing. Spin has not deployed its scooters in the area, however, and company representatives did not return a request for comment.

Two other scooter companies, Lime and Bird Ride, Inc., dropped their scooters in the Lansing-area last fall, but pulled their vehicles from the streets over the winter.

Bird does not "at the moment" have plans to bring scooters back to the Lansing region, a spokeswoman said. Lime has not returned requests for comment.

MSU's decision to pursue an exclusive contract with a sole e-scooter operator may have driven competitors from the region. The university, which has more than 50,000 students and more than 11,000 employees, is a major part of the area's e-scooter market.

MSU's Board of Trustees approved rules in April for using the e-scooters in bike lanes and roads on campus.

The scooters are prohibited on sidewalks on MSU's campus, but allowed on sidewalks elsewhere in East Lansing. In Lansing, e-scooters are banned on downtown sidewalks, but permitted on sidewalks outside of the downtown.

Under local regulations, the scooters must be parked upright on a hard surface without blocking drivers or pedestrians.

Gotcha plans to work with MSU to create designated e-scooter parking areas on campus, known as "mobility hubs."

MSU's contract with Gotcha limits the number of scooters allowed on campus and in surrounding areas including East Lansing, Lansing and Meridian Township to 600 total, and establishes fines if Gotcha exceeds that cap.

Contact Sarah Lehr at (517) 377-1056 or slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.

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