Bird Electric Scooter Sharing

[Pete]

One huge thing in Bird's favor: Super, super easy to use.

I had literally never ridden a scooter in my life and after watching a quick little "how to ride" thing on my phone as part of my first check-out on the Bird app, I was off in no time flat and had zero issues on my entire ride.

And that was the very first time using the app or the scooter. From here on in, you just fire up the app, scan the scooter barcode and take off.

The fact you don't have to dock it anywhere in particular or even return it to where you rented is also a massive advantage.


I look forward to Lime and maybe Bird working things out with the city and can see how these will be a huge plus in getting people around in the core, and will have the longer term effect of just getting people out and about in general.

[SEMIweather]

Walked around the Bricktown Canal after going to a movie this morning and saw a couple of these being used. As long as the people using them are aware of their surroundings and not recklessly weaving their way through crowds of pedestrians, I think the upsides outweigh the downsides.

[stick47]

I wonder if they're selling the destination info from their use for marketing purposes?

[Zuplar]

I wonder if they're selling the destination info from their use for marketing purposes?

They'd be dumb not too.

Data is king.

[Paseofreak]

i've yet to see a single sign of the dangers touted by a reporter posting on social media.

[Uptowner]

I have to say I like these much more than the limebike rentals I’ve seen in Dallas, specifically the ones in the riverfront, bus/train station & convention center area. They are just “litter” and fodder for the transients and panhandlers. The fact that they have to be picked up and charged probably makes a difference. The limes in Dallas are just busted and piled up near liquor stores and highway off ramps.

[Johnb911]

Was discussing these scooters with a friend who also works downtown, and he mentioned that he thinks they will be a big blow to the streetcar ridership. Thoughts?

[baralheia]

The "litter" argument for dockless bikes and scooters really only comes into play when you have multiple companies competing in the same market, and it also depends highly on how many scooters are deployed. In Dallas, it's a real problem, between the multitude of competitors in the space there. If competition stays light in the dockless transport industry here, then the litter argument becomes less of a thing. However, if Bird sees this only as a "pilot", then I think they'll deploy many more if the market is viable for them, and then Lime will bring several hundred too. I can definitely see the utility in such a system, but I hope that they don't go crazy and overdeploy.

[gopokes88]

Was discussing these scooters with a friend who also works downtown, and he mentioned that he thinks they will be a big blow to the streetcar ridership. Thoughts?

We’ll see but our we still have a ton of hot/cold/windy/hail/rain weather days

[shawnw]

I'm sorry, but 50 scooters, even a hundred, dispersed in a downtown as spread out as ours, isn't going to impact the streetcar much.

The biggest impact it will have on the streetcar is if someone gets hit by one while on a scooter. Which hopefully does not happen of course.


Edit: Hopefully they will AUGMENT the streetcar to some extent where people off-route will zip over to the line to catch a train...

[turnpup]

Excited to have these here and we've already seen tons of people out and about near Midtown. Having said that, I do hope people will be mindful about not riding them on sidewalks. A few minutes ago my little girl and I were walking on the sidewalk in front of a business and two guys on scooters came around the corner--fast--going in the opposite direction and nearly collided with us. Because of the building, we couldn't see them coming and they couldn't see us.

[ultimatesooner]

seems like these two companies may be indirectly connected or working together and have found a genius way to bust there way through silly bureaucratic red tape like the kool aid man going through a brick wall, i'm having fun spectating

[dankrutka]

^^^
Bingo. While I understand why people find Bird's methods irresponsible, it seems that by forcing the issue they get quick resolutions by cities instead of waiting for lengthy deliberations. In most cities, some people freak out, then get used to it, and then embrace it. There are exceptions, but it seems like their method is effective.

On another note, considering how many streetscapes in OKC are designed in completely dangerous ways for drivers, pedestrians, and bikers, I've found much the sudden concern about the dangers of scooters to be hard to understand. Of course, accidents can happen with any form of transportation and I hope there are no accidents, but this energy could much better directed at, for example, the parking garage district designed around an elementary school.

[Pete]

Keep in mind that although Bird looks like the villain here and Lime is doing things 'the right way' in OKC, in other markets Lime has dumped its scooters in a similar manner.

It's very similar to Uber and Lyft who had to first set tradition on its head a bit before everyone agreed on how to handle them. If they had started off by asking permission, they likely would have been frozen out by the cab companies and muncipalities and never gotten off the ground in such a huge way.

Going the route of Bird in OKC, they already get the public generally on their side which more or less forces the city to deal with them.

It's smart and innovative. Take a couple of wrist slaps and keep on growing like crazy.


I stand by what I've said before: I think due to OKC's general lack of public transit and the way we have lots of great districts that are pretty disjointed, we may be one of the best possible applications for these programs.

They also have the potential to better utlize parking in the core. Imagine parking in Film Row and taking a scooter to a Thunder game then having a bunch of them waiting outside for people as they exit the arena.

The scooters could help to level parking demand as at any given point in the core, there are always garages and areas underutilized. And of course, the streetcar could help in a similar way.

[Uptowner]

Pete raises a really good point. Can you guys remember the taxi cab culture before APP based business entered the OKC market??? The guys who didn’t care to speak or aknowledge your presence, always on their Bluetooth headsets, and had no frickin idea where they were going? My airport trips and getting rides to and from my car when I’ve had too much to drink are a night and day difference than when we only had cab companies that reviled their customers.

I’m interested to see what kind of (and I think it will be positive) impact these dockless transport companies have on the local environment of moving people through town. And yeah, it’s going to violate a lot of traffic laws, there’s discussions about people on bikes and stop signs, skateboarding...it’s just a fact of life. Maybe. HOPEFULLY. it could lead to some serious considerations for bike lanes and other methods of slowing car traffic other than putting thousands of stop signs around our town. Thus promoting cycle, scooter, running, etc.

[Pete]

If anything, having tons of scooters around would be the best possible way for the city to *finally* put in a respectable bike infrastructure.

Things like Bird and Lime and Uber and Lyft are disruptive forces that can be catalysts in a quick way, rather than harping on year after year after year about just getting bloody Sunday bus service or a few bike lanes here and there. Just easy for status quo to continue on with nothing more than a bit of lip service and lots of studies.

It doesn't take long on a Bird to realize how incredibly woeful even downtown streets are for bikes, including all the P180 work. And that is still far better than 99% of OKC. It's really shameful and it sure doesn't seem like we are going to see significant change anytime soon. Maybe the scooters will help force that.

For example, how on earth do we build this entirely new boulevard through the heart of downtown without any real consideration for cyclists?? We talk about this issue a lot but in the end not much really changes.

[okatty]

^^Well said. I was just in Denver and Boulder a couple weeks ago and its amazing how bike friendly some places are. I know those are extremes on the positive side, but the new boulevard having no consideration for bikes is inexcusable.

[Uptowner]

1000% agree. And I’m glad something is pointing out how god awful the situation is.

[Urban Pioneer]

You can directly blame the lack of bike and transit infrastructure on the absolute arrogance of key ODOT engineers.

[Urban Pioneer]

Or even worse, arrogance meets incompetence.

[Pete]

You can directly blame the lack of bike and transit infrastructure on the absolute arrogance of key ODOT engineers.

The city is just as bad and they control the huge amount of public streets.

I understand that this dates way back but I've yet to see any significant change. Apart from a few trails -- which have been completely funded by additional taxation -- where are there even bike lanes in OKC? A few disjointed blocks around downtown?


And now, as we are taxing ourselves again to spend hundreds of millions on new roads and re-paving, it again appears that bikes haven't even been considered. Same with the brand new, utlra-wide boulevard.

We need something to shake things up. Maybe the scooters will help.

[Urbanized]

...And now, as we are taxing ourselves again to spend hundreds of millions on new roads and re-paving, it again appears that bikes haven't even been considered...

Appears based upon what exactly? I’m sorry, but this statement is inflammatory and demonstrably false. Here’s the City’s website describing the tax you mentioned: https://www.okc.gov/residents/better...-tax-extension which, when you click on it says this:

...The temporary penny sales tax extension will help make our streets better and continue work on a complete and safe street network for all Oklahoma City residents. It continues the use of the expiring MAPS 3 sales tax.

Over 27 months, the temporary sales tax will generate $240 million of revenue for better and safer streets, sidewalks and trails for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

The initiative includes $168 million for street resurfacing, $24 million for streetscapes, $24 million for sidewalks, $12 million for trails, $12 million for bicycle infrastructure.

The debt-free projects will create smooth and safe streets for drivers, on-street amenities for recreational and commuting cyclists, and streetscapes and trails that protect pedestrians and cyclists and enhance opportunities for economic development....

It’s also worth noting that the Planning Department spent many months creating Bike/Walk OKC - “...the City’s first master plan for cyclists and pedestrians...” - which was adopted by the Planning Commission and City Council this past Spring: https://www.okc.gov/departments/plan.../bike-walk-okc. They openly asked for and received a huge amount of public input, the plan was covered in local media, and it received considerable discussion on OKCTalk.

It provides a bicycle-friendly framework that the City intends to utilize in all future street projects.

So while it is completely legitimate to criticize the City’s prior decades of complete prioritization of automobiles over all modes of travel - and to keep the heat on them to make sure the programs I just linked to are implemented - to represent that “bikes haven't even been considered” is disingenuous.

[Pete]

^

I'm well aware of the various plans and studies that have been posted here and discussed in detail. Also how citizens keep voting to tax themselves to provide new bike trails.

And I interviewed the chairman of that Bike/Walk committee.

I'm just frustrated by the lack of real progress. Hopefully that will soon change.

[Pete]

I created a new thread to discuss the specific plans for bike lanes:

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=44461&p=1043548

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^^^
Since I haven’t researched a single one, the answer is no. And until I do - or someone else here does and provides a link - I will take you at your word that none of the currently-underway paving projects (other than downtown reconfigs related to streetcar construction) are adding bicycle infrastructure. Those would obviously have been on the books before Bike/Walk OKC was adopted and I’m assuming none are yet underway funded by the tax.

Both of these things will take years to implement, but we will eventually see significant improvements.

I CAN, of course, point to the recently-completed Western Avenue reconfiguration from NW 18th to NW 23rd (which eliminated two automobile lanes in favor of a median, pedestrian refuges and bike lanes, plus the protected I-44 Trail (MAPS 3 funded, IIRC).

My point is that you pointed to the tax and suggested “bikes haven't even been considered,” - which is provably false - and the tone of your posts seems to suggest the City is still giving no consideration whatsoever to bikes. It’s simply not true. I say this as someone who has frequently criticized the City on this very topic myself - check my Twitter account where I obsess on bicycle infrastructure more than probably any other topic - who has met with City staff on the topic, and even bantered with the mayor about it on social media. I care about this topic, A LOT. And like you I’m frustrated with the current state. But there IS movement.

And as the Bike/Walk framework is applied to future projects of all types and from various funding sources we should begin to see these early disjointed attempts stitch back together. We are early in this process for sure, but there IS progress.

Edit: well, you changed the post where you asked if I could provide examples of current projects underway, which is why my response probably seems disjointed. But I’m not going to take the time to go back and restructure my response.