Bird Scooters Roll Out Across USA
The dockless scooter rental startup, Bird, is expanding beyond Southern California and rolling into San Francisco, San Jose, Calif. and Washington, DC.
After a rocky start in Santa Monica, six-month-old startup Bird is changing things around, proposing a “Save Our Sidewalks” (SOS) pledge and encouraging its competitors to sign it.
Bird has promised to not increase the number of scooters in a city unless they’re being used a least three times per day per vehicle. The company will remove underused scooters and share its use data with cities.
The company has also pledged to share $1 per vehicle per day with city governments to build more bike lanes, promote safe riding and maintain infrastructure.
On Wednesday, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency sent a letter to Bird, LimeBike and Spin, which is also starting e-scooter rentals. It said it “will actively enforce local laws protecting the city’s right of way.” It also asked them to submit “a business plan for operation in the city” and provide a copy of the registration required to operate a business.
Paul Rose, a spokesman for the agency, said electric scooters “are not explicitly covered in the transportation code.” On March 6, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors introduced legislation requiring a permit to operate motorized scooters.
Until then, they are not prohibited, although “it is illegal to place a scooter or any other object in a manner that obstructs the sidewalk or other pedestrian paths of travel,” Rose said
Bird is also dropping off scooters in Washington, D.C., this week.
