CHARLOTTE -- There's a new way to get around the streets of Charlotte, and it's absolutely free.
Cruise Carts officially launched Thursday. It's a golf cart shuttle service that takes people around some of the most popular, high foot traffic neighborhoods in the city.
Founder Dustin Adams says Cruise Carts are fun, eco-friendly and free. The business is funded by sponsors who pay to advertise on the vehicles.
The four-passenger carts will serve four neighborhoods - uptown, NoDa, South End and Plaza Midwood. They can't travel on streets with speed limits over 35 mph.
"Most of those areas you don't usually find people traveling faster than that," said Adams. "And our drivers do really well about getting out of the way if there's a line of traffic behind them."
The carts are considered "low-speed vehicles" and have to be tagged and registered in North Carolina.
"These carts have tail lights, head lights, windshield wipers, turn signals, seat belts - essentially everything a car has," Adams said.
While the free ride may be appealing to passengers, some cab drivers are worried the new service will hurt their business.
"This also may affect our business, just like that of Uber," said Yohannes Gebiresslassie, a Yellow Cab driver. "I don't know how we will continue like this, struggling to be in the business."
But Adams says Cruise Carts isn't meant to replace cab companies or services like Lyft and Uber, especially since the distance riders can go in the carts will be limited.
"I think that we fall in a very specific niche," Adams said. "Although we are competitive in some sense, there's plenty of room on the roads for everybody."
Right now, Cruise Carts operates Wednesday through Friday in the evening and Saturday and Sunday in the afternoon and evening. There is no app or call centers. Passengers can flag down the passing carts.