By now, you’ve probably heard about Cincinnati’s new rentable Bird scooters, a “last mile” transportation option that was unexpectedly delivered by a California company called Bird Rides a few weeks ago. They have become wildly popular for people visiting, working or living in the downtown area as a relatively convenient way to travel a short distance.
They’ve gained so much popularity that the company delivered 321 additional scooters to the area, adding to the 100 original scooters available. They are everywhere — you are surrounded.
According to Brandon Hardee, a Cincinnati City Launcher who works on behalf of Bird to explain the scooters to the public, “(the company) expanded the number of ‘nests’ (scooters placed together on a block each morning) substantially in OTR, CBD (Cincinnati Business District) and The Banks.” They also expanded their territory across the river into Covington.
The company’s success has been hard to ignore with more and more cities becoming hotspots for the scooters. The company’s valuation has increased to $2 billion this year.
However, not everyone loves a Bird. “They were completely banned three weeks ago from Louisville and three days ago from Milwaukee. And completely banned In (San Francisco) a few months ago. So not everyone is taking it as well as Cincinnati,” Hardee says.
If you haven’t yet gotten your chance to take a Bird scooter for a spin, we put together a list of tips we learned while riding so that you can learn from our (many) mistakes. While there haven’t been any injuries reported in Cincinnati yet, safety is always a concern with any mode of transportation.
“In the terms and conditions (listed on the bike), you agree you have to wear a helmet. However, I have never seen anyone ever use one,” Hardee says. “So that could be a potential issue.”
This article appears in Aug 8-15, 2018.