California company pitches Pendleton on electric scooters

While Bird has been in large metro areas for years, Covato told the council that the company has been looking to expand its presence across the globe. He said one of the reasons Bird was interested in Pendleton was because of its demographics and its “phenomenal grid structure” in the city’s core.

“I don’t think we’ll be competing with the Los Angeleses of the world, but I don’t think we need to,” he said.

A cursory Google search shows that Bird has been soliciting its services to rural and suburban towns across the country, many of them with populations under 50,000 people. If the council gives Bird the green light, Pendleton would join Hermiston, which has already launched the company’s scooters.

Pending council approval, Bird intends to introduce as many as 55 scooters in April at no charge to the city. Covato said Bird would partner with a local business or organization to act as a “fleet manager” for its scooters. In exchange for a cut of the scooter rental revenue, the manager would oversee the program locally and resolve any issues with the scooters.

All customer interactions with the scooter — locating a scooter, payment, activation and deactivation — will be handled by a downloadable cellphone app.

Covato also fielded numerous questions about the safety of the scooters and how they would integrate into existing traffic.

Across several answers, Covato said all riders will be required to view a safety tutorial before operating the scooters. When operating a scooter, a rider will also be required to wear a helmet and avoid driving on the sidewalks.

Addressing concerns that scooters will litter sidewalks and impede pedestrians, Covato said users will need to send a picture of their parked scooter before finishing their ride. If the scooter is improperly parked, the app will ask the user to reposition it and send another picture as proof.

“It’s going to be new, but people will get used to it,” City Attorney Nancy Kerns said.

Kerns said she and other staff worked with Covato to iron out any safety concerns, including talks with Police Chief Chuck Byram.

After exhausting their questions, none of the councilors seemed to pose any objections to welcoming Bird scooters into Pendleton. The council will meet on Tuesday, March 16, to consider the ordinances that will allow electric scooters on streets and on the riverwalk.