Electric scooter startup Bird officially landed in the Twin Cities Tuesday, and is now allowing users to rent scooters in several Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhoods.
Bird's arrival coincides with news that a Minneapolis City Council committee may consider an ordinance to regulate electric scooters, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business journal reports. The ordinance would require "low-power vehicle sharing operations" to have a valid contract or city license. It would also allow the city to impound vehicles "improperly attached" or blocking traffic. The city could also sell an impounded scooter if it's not claimed after 30 days.
Santa Monica, California-based Bird launched in September 2017, and has since expanded to 20 cities across the country. Bird's scooters are dockless, meaning that they are equipped with GPS technology that does not require users to place the scooters at standard docking stations. Last week, Nice Ride Minnesota announced that it would bring dockless bikes to Minneapolis after a new deal with Motivate, one of the largest bike-share operators in North America.
People can rent Bird's scooters through the company's app. Bird pitches its scooters as a solution for "last-mile trips" that are too far to walk, but too short to drive. The vehicles are currently available in downtown and North Minneapolis, as well as St. Paul's downtown and Frogtown neighborhoods.
Scooter operators have been expanding quickly across the country, and clashing with cities along the way. Last week, the City of Milwaukee sued Bird, alleging that it broke state law when it rented out one of its scooters in Milwaukee. Indianapolis asked Bird to suspend its operations until it could come up with needed ordinances. Denver came up with its own requests, asking scooter startups to pay a $20,000 annual operating fee, and to place the scooters near bus and transit stops.
