Revel Revel, put on your helmet

A fleet of 1,000 shared electric mopeds will be ready to roll on Austin streets Friday. Revel, a New York-based mobility company, is placing its vehicles in on-street parking spaces throughout the city this week in preparation to be turned on and unlocked after a kickoff event at City Hall on Friday morning. Residents at least 21 years of age who have a valid driver’s license will be able to log on to the Revel app, go through a quick background check and get riding lessons in the app before taking off. The mopeds cost $1 to unlock and an additional 25 cents per minute. Each moped can also accommodate a second passenger of 18 years or older. The vehicles have a 60-mile range when fully charged, and with speeds up to 35 mph are about twice as fast as the city’s current dockless scooters from companies like Bird and Lime. Due to that speed, two helmets will be provided on each moped and are recommended by the city for safety. Also unlike the dockless scooters, the mopeds are prohibited from using the city’s bike lanes (or sidewalks) and are expected to operate as motor vehicles in car travel lanes with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or lower. All rides must begin and end within the city limits. Revel mopeds are also available in parts of New York City and around Washington, D.C.