St. Joseph City Commissioners have heard from Bird Scooters following a bumpy rollout of Bird’s rental program in the city. Coming out of Memorial Day, commissioners said they had complaints about Bird scooters left all over the city and bad rider behavior that included people taking the scooters on the sidewalks and pier and underage riding. At Monday’s meeting, Nick Mitchell with Bird Scooters told commissioners the company is hiring an additional fleet manager to help wrangle wayward scooters left out of bounds.
“Once we manage to find a second fleet manager, that kind of problem will resolve itself and you’ll see the scooters being more rebalanced in high demand areas,” Mitchell said.
The company has reduced the number of scooters in the city and has tightened the no ride zones for each unit. Mitchell said Bird can prevent scooters from being drivable in specific areas, and also knows the location and condition of each one. He added it’s increased the education component within its app to hammer safety messages into the minds of customers. He also said proof of age could be required with each ride, rather than just when creating an account. Mayor Laura Goos said she still has concerns, but thinks the city should continue working with Bird. She said the company has been willing to listen and to take quick action.
