Gainesville’s Regional Transit System announced Monday that self-balancing scooters, or “hoverboards,” are banned from its buses.
Chip Skinner, the RTS marketing and communications supervisor, said cases of hoverboard batteries catching on fire, especially in confined spaces, led to the ban.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Skinner, 46, said. “Safety is a No. 1 priority, not only for our employees, but for our passengers as well.”
Transit agencies in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City have also banned hoverboards for their potential to cause fires, according to an RTS press release.
Skinner said the media’s increased focus on hoverboards played a part in the decision, and as of Monday, riders have had to leave their hoverboards at home — even if they only plan to hold them.
For students like Sammy Boursiquot, the news is inconvenient.
After winning his hoverboard from his off-campus housing complex, he said it seemed like a convenient way to travel in between classes.
Boursiquot said he transported his hoverboard on buses in the past, and now he feels limited to choosing between either option.
“That’s going to be a dent in my plans,” the 18-year-old UF accounting freshman said. “I feel like I can’t go anywhere without someone telling me it’s going to blow up around them.”
