PROVIDENCE – A cohort of motorized scooters appeared in Providence Friday morning from the California-based company Bird Rides Inc.
The San Diego startup has been causing a stir across the country, dropping off scooters in cities that do not have to be locked up and that can be used only through a smartphone app.
Backlash to motorized scooters on the West Coast has been well documented and the trend has made its way East.
A spokesman for Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza told PBN that the city found out about the scooters this morning and does not have an agreement or a contract with the company. He said that the city is currently working on a policy regarding the scooters, which can be picked up and left anywhere by users.
Boston.com reported that the scooters also appeared in Cambridge and Somerville, Mass., Friday.
Thursday it was reported that St. Louis ordered the company to pick up all of its scooters until it received a permit. Milwaukee, Wis.’s Common Council’s Public Works Committee also recommended the scooters be banned from the city. Other U.S. cities are also considering banning the style of scooter-sharing that Bird brought to the city. (Bird has several competitors, including a company owned by Uber Technologies called Lime.)
On the company’s website, it is recruiting residents from the cities it operates in to pick up the scooters and charge them in their homes for compensation. The company also has a pledge on its website to pick up scooters every night.
Bird did not immediately respond to questions regarding the legality and size of the scooters, and why the company did not alert the city of its intention to operate in the city. Bird also did not answer questions on the functionality its operation in Rhode Island.
The company registered in the state on Tuesday through the registered agent, National Registered Agents Inc., operating in East Providence.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
