Bird e-scooters banished for week after complaints
City acts after reports that curfew not followed
The City of Memphis paused operations for the e-scooter company Bird, following reports of the company failing to disable their devices in time for a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew in the Downtown area.
Bird will remove its fleet of e-scooters from Memphis streets by noon Tuesday for a period of a week, followed by a trial period of reduced operations until the company demonstrates full compliance with the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew in place for e-scooters.
The city issued a statement Tuesday morning that cited "reckless riding and irresponsible behavior" as well as an increase in improper parking of e-scooters in public right-of-ways in the Downtown and riverfront areas as reason for the curfew.
All other e-scooter operators, specifically Spin and Ojo, will be allowed to continue service if they abide by the curfew, which was implemented on the July 4th holiday weekend.
Sam Reed, a Bird spokesperson, issued the following statement in response to the city's order:
"“In close partnership with the City of Memphis, Bird is temporarily pausing our service for one week. We are committed to continuing our close partnership with the City as we work to address reports of an increase in underage riding and irresponsible rider behavior. We apologize to riders for the disruption in the service they have come to rely on and will use this time to more deeply engage with residents and local business. Bird will resume service after satisfactorily sharing our plan and strategy for addressing the City's concerns with added technology and education.”