Where did Bradenton’s scooter rentals go? Bird has issues to fix before they return
Pay-to-ride scooters have disappeared from the streets of Bradenton, and it could be a while before they return.
After launching the rental scooter program in August, Bradenton officials say they have concerns with how the program has been managed, pointing to issues with the sole scooter operator. Bird is working to address the issues before scooter rentals become available again, city officials say.
Bird did not respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
The Bradenton City Council originally voted to approve the scooter program with certain rules in place to keep them from becoming safety hazards, such as using technology to ban scooters in certain areas and to limit speeds in parts of the city.
But the launch has been messy, council members said, referring to reports of scooters seen operating far outside the intended boundaries and riders using the scooters in dangerous ways. City leaders have heard reports of scooters riding on the ramps in Bradenton parking garages or speeding down the Riverwalk.
“There’s been some frank conversations at 8 or 9:30 on Saturday nights,” said Mayor Gene Brown, who explained that he and city staff have been in constant contact with Bird to iron out the problems. “There are some logistical things that they’re working through.”
Before the break, Bird supplied Bradenton with 200 electric scooters and offered to provide more at a later date. The company allows visitors to grab a scooter from the sidewalk and pay by the minute to ride it around the city.
Bradenton eyes scooter program reset
In the days before Hurricane Ian approached the Bradenton area, Bird gathered the scooters to keep them safe. That pause in service allowed Bradenton to take time to discuss improvements. The company is waiting to receive approval from city officials before the scooters can be put back on the street.
“I think we were probably at a point (where) the storm may have saved (Bird scooters.) They understood what they needed to do,” Brown said.
In a presentation to City Council, Assistant City Administrator Cristophe St. Luce said Bird admitted to making the locations where scooters are allowed larger than what Bradenton officials approved.
“Bird is a for-profit company,” St. Luce said. “They did tell us that ‘Yeah, we made the areas larger than what you wanted.’ They did tell us that.”
Despite the city’s complaints, Bird scooters have been fairly popular with residents, St. Luce explained. Since launching in August, there have been more than 2,100 different riders and the average ride distance is 3.11 miles.
As Bird prepares to return, Councilman Bill Sanders made a motion to halt the Bird rentals entirely until several issues were addressed, including signage and installing parking corrals to help teach residents how the scooters should be used.
“I think we need to do that before we turn the faucet back on,” Sanders said, noting that he was upset that Bird didn’t follow the rules Bradenton had set. “That’s what concerns me. We voted to have those things in place. I’m having a hard time accepting that it didn’t happen.”
But Sanders did not find support from his fellow council members, who said they would prefer not to disrupt Bradenton’s partnership with Bird.
“I want to see signs, I want to see parking corrals, and I want to see everything working the way they promised it would,” said Councilwoman Jayne Kocher. “I don’t want to suspend it. I want to give them the opportunity to be successful.”
Brown said city officials plan to meet with Bird representatives next week to discuss what needs to happen before the scooters are allowed to hit the streets again.
“You always give it the chance to succeed. The hurricane gives us a good reset with some history. We have some good history and some history we’ve got to fix,” Brown explained. “It’s an opportunity not to cut it out, but we can make it better. If we don’t make it better, we can make a decision on the next steps.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 4:21 PM.
