Elevate Branson ponders long-term expansion of scooter program

BRANSON, Mo. — Elevate Branson’s motorized scooter program has been around for some time.

At the time it was created, business partners with Elevate Branson would help set up employees without transportation with a scooter rental or ownership loan for rates cheaper than daily UBER, Lyft or taxi fares.

In April, they temporarily expanded it.

“We offer ownership scooters to our local workforce. Normally you’d have to work for one of our business partners, but for the month of April, we opened that up to anyone that works 30 consecutive days at 22 hours a week, as long as they’re insurable and have a driver’s license,” Katie Sandage with Elevate Branson said. “Moving forward, we’re thinking of keeping that open so we can get more of our workforce back to work with reliable transportation to help them with their next steps.”

Renters or owners would undergo training, receive safety equipment, and be covered by insurance.

“We still provide insurance and safety equipment for both programs, and we keep the costs down as low as we can so that they can continue to save up money. They spend 8 hours in school to make sure that they are safe. That’s my number one priority,” Sandage said. “It’s a rental program for our J-1 students or locals who might fear ownership. They can start with that rental that payments made directly to [Elevate Branson] on a weekly basis. [For those wanting to own], it’s a traditional loan. The payment is $160 a month for three years. After that, three years, they own that scooter just like a car. It’s not based on credit. It’s based on work history and debt-to-income ratio, and we help them secure that.”

Employers like Craig Martin at Crazy Craig’s Treehouse said the impact has been night and day.

“We knew Branson had a huge need for transportation needs and we had a lot of staff members that had a hard time getting cars and finding cars and finding reliable transportation,” Martin said. “Every single new employee that comes in that talks about not having a transportation or they have an issue of transportation, we send them over [Elevate Branson] immediately and say, let’s get you hooked up on this new program.”

He said it’s a win-win for workers and employers.

“It was a huge benefit to make sure that the same employees could show up every single day. They didn’t miss shifts. They were more available because because of the CityRides program, they were able to come and [work], and it helped our company a lot. I can’t speak highly enough,” Martin says. “It definitely helped them go from having to be stressed all the time and not having that reliable transportation to being confident, knowing that they could rely upon themselves to be able to provide for themselves, to be able to be part of the team, be part of the company, all the things that come from having a transportation.”

“[Renters and owners] reported back things such as getting better housing, getting engaged, promotions. They’re showing their bosses that they’re able to get to work and they are a great employee, and with this scooter, they’re able to do that,” Sandage adds.

Corrie Williams moved to Branson in 2021.

She said her lack of transportation after her car needed a new transmission she could not afford cost her a job.

“I was trying to get around to find a job and I couldn’t,” Williams said.

She was able to get a ride to a job fair, which in turn helped her get involved in the scooter program as she gained employment.

“It’s definitely made things a lot less stressful because now I have if I need to go to the store, I can just get up and go unless it’s raining or snowing,” Williams said. “It’s helped me out a lot with my job with more independence because I don’t have to rely on somebody else or pay Lyft as often as I was before.”

Through that job, she’s thrived, even receiving a promotion recently.

“If it not been for me getting a scooter, I probably wouldn’t have the job that I have,” Williams said.

As talks of making that previous expansion long-term, Sandage has big plans.

“I’d like to see, you know, 300-500 scooters throughout Branson, a combination of rentals and owners. I’d also like to get into eastern Taney County, help those folks out that are driving and carpooling into Branson to help them get some independence back on their own, and also maybe Stone County,” Sandage said.

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