Bird Electric Scooters Zoom Into Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — When it comes to the birds of Baltimore. Most would assume you're either talking Ravens or Orioles.
"Seems smooth for the take-off," first-time rider, Danielle Delfranco, said.
But now there's a new flock in town.
This one, white, black, red, electric and on wheels.
Bird scooters landed in Charm City seemingly overnight. The scooters require users to own a smartphone, valid driver's license, and be 18 years old.
Riders like Tyler Brown find great joy in this latest and affordable transportation trend.
"Just the convenience," responded Brown about his reasons for using Bird.
Baltimore joins 18 cities where the California-based company has placed scooters.
Some cities, including Baltimore, are less than thrilled with the way Bird is doing business.
Councilman Zeke Cohen is now pushing to develop rules with regards to how the scooters will be allowed to operate in the city. He said everything they do needs to be about the safety of citizens.
"We're frustrated that this company came in without any sort of conversation on the front end about their business practices." Cohen said.
Bird issued a statement to WJZ that says in part, "Safety is a top priority for Bird and the well-being of our riders is something we protect through concrete action.
On their app, Bird instructs riders to use bike lanes.
Some aren't, mainly because they don't know if they should.
"Are you supposed to be riding them on the sidewalks, are you allowed to ride them in the street?" Delfranco said.
WJZ offered a few rides to people at Riverside Park to get their take on ride regulation.
"It was fun, don't know if I'd recommend it for a downtown stroll," rider Sean King said.
"I wanna just ride it around for fun, not for anything functional," Delfranco said.
To date, Bird says it has given out nearly 40,000 free helmets to riders.
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