Anyone visiting the downtown area of Athens may soon have a means of getting around that doesn’t involve walking or driving an automobile.

A company by the name of Bird has approached the City of Athens, seeking to put a fleet of its electrified scooters for public use in the downtown area. City Engineer Michael Griffin gave a presentation on behalf of Bird to the City Council during the group’s work session ahead of Monday’s meeting.

According to Griffin, Bird is a multi-mobile service that offers users the chance to rent an electric scooter using a smartphone app in order to better get around the designated area versus simply walking.

“They think Athens is a good fit,” Griffin said. “We were kind of surprised about that, but they looked at our gridded pattern for downtown and older areas of town, and they think that’s an appropriate fit. They can geolock anywhere these devices can go based on an app. It will say you can only go in this area, and no further; you will not see these out on (U.S.) 72.”

Griffin said he brought the proposal before the Council because he believes this is a big decision that should be discussed not only by city leadership but the community as well, as these vehicles do operate within the right of way and are street legal so long as the user is wearing a helmet.

“I wanted to bring this before the Council and see if this is something we do want,” he said. “As we have seen in Planapalooza, we don’t have many ways of traveling around town. We don’t really have bicycles. This is in support of more ways to get around.”

Questions and concerns

Several members of the Council asked questions or voiced concerns during the presentation.

Chris Seibert asked if Griffin had spoken to some local businesses and groups like Athens Main Street to get their feedback. Griffin said he had, and the primary concern they had voiced is the amount of traffic on Jefferson Street and how it would affect anyone using the scooters.

“We may need to make Jefferson Street more pedestrian-friendly in the future,” Griffin said.

Seibert said in his travels to other, larger cities, he has seen programs like Bird but that the scooters end up getting “strewn everywhere” by users who do not take them back to designated areas.

Griffin said there has been some progress made concerning technology used with services like this. Bird uses an app to charge by the minute plus a $1 start fee, and the company can detect if one of its devices has not been properly returned, so users will keep getting charged until they return the scooter where it belongs. The fee is based on the area, and no specific amount for Athens was named by the company ahead of the presentation.

The app can also alert the user if the device has been left blocking sidewalks or entryways.

When asked who would pick up the vehicles at the end of the day, Griffin said Bird would hire a local fleet manager who would be responsible for collecting the devices and ensuring they were used and stored properly.

Griffin said he has used services like this in the past in other cities, and the scooters offer a “fun way to get to other locations quicker than walking.”

“So semi-eccentric old ladies who have been threatening to get a scooter for years, and their husband and son won’t let them, they could ride them from say their store (on The Square) to the post office?” Council member Dana Henry said jokingly.

“There you go,” Griffin said.

Visit bird.co for more information on the company.