New Bird scooters arrive, but they might not fly well without permits

The latest low-cost, “lastmile” transportation option has come to Columbus in the formof Birdelectric scooters.

The dock-free, motorized scooters have begun pop ping up Downtown and in the Arena District, Short North and Bexley. Bird, which is based in Venice, California, and has been in existence since last year, plans to add areas and scooters based on demand.

But Bird already might be running into regulatory problems here, as it has in other cities.

ABexleypolice dispatcher said officers were taking them off the streets Wednesday. Bexley police said the scooters had been parked on sidewalks in three locations on East Main Street in violation of that city’s regulations involving transient dealers.

Bexley police also said the motorized scooterswere illegal for street use under Bexley and state laws. Police told Bird representatives that the city is holding the scooters for “safekeeping” until Bird collects them. Police issued no citations.

Sgt. Dean Worthington, a Columbus police spokesman, said he was unaware that the scooters had been deployed in his city.

Here’s howthe Bird scooterswork: Usinganapp, riders can unlock a scooter for $1, then ride for 15 cents a minute. The scooters can travel up to 15 mph and can cover about 15 miles on a charge. Riders have to show a driver’s license to confirm that they are 18 or older.

They are to be ridden on the street and in bike lanes, not on the sidewalk. Riders are supposed to park them out of the right-of-way — at bike racks where possible.

Rides are available only during the day. People can begin using them at 7 a.m. The company starts picking them up at sunset.

Columbus public service officials hadn’t heard from Bird representatives Wednesday about deploying the scooters here, said Jeff Ortega, public service spokesman.

MeredithTucker, a spokeswoman for the Columbus city attorney’s office, said the city has no licensing or permitting requirements for motorized scooters. No officials have asked the office aboutnewrules yet, shesaid.

Amongthe ridersWednesday: Alex Fischer, president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership, and Mark Kvamme, a venture capitalist and former JobsOhio CEO, who took them to the Boathouse at Confluence Park for a Columbus Metropolitan Club luncheon.

Chase Johnson also rode one — on the sidewalk — in the Short North onWednesday afternoon. Johnson, 30, a teacher’s aide from Pickerington, saidhehadjust dined with a friend at Lemongrass Fusion Bistro on North High Street and was planning to call Lyft to take them to an ice-cream place up High when they spotted “these funny toys on the street.”

“It’s fun,” he said, and cheaper than Lyft.

The scooters can’t be used on the Metro Parks greenways trails, per the system’s rules and regulations, said Tim Moloney, Metro Parks’ executive director.

Columbusis thefirst city in Ohio in which Bird has placed its scooters and the 28th city overall. Other cities were they have been introduced recently include Indianapolis; Milwaukee; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Dallas; Austin, Texas; and Minneapolis-St.Paul.

Bird has run into problems in some of those cities. According to twincities. com, St. Paul officials told Bird on Tuesday to remove its 100 scooters from the public right-of-way. Bird had obtained no legal permits.

Indianapolis issued a cease-and-desist order to Bird and Lime this month as itworks on rules and regulations for the vehicles. According to the Indianapolis Star, Lime has complied; Bird hasn’t.

Bird follows Lime bikes and CoGo bikes into the Columbus market as lowcost, alternative forms of transportation.

Lime has no plans to introduce scooters to Columbus now, spokeswoman Emma Green said, but the company is interested in bringing “multimodal mobility options” to the area.