One of the Monmouth Bird scooters shares a rack with a bike on March 4.
It will probably be a month or two before the electric-scooter sharing program of Bird Rides Inc. makes its debut in Albany.
The city council Wednesday approved an agreement with the California-based company to try the program in Albany for a year. Councilwoman Matilda Novak wanted more time for details to be worked out. I couldn’t hear how she voted during the virtual meeting on Zoom, but the other council members voted yes.
Mike Butler, a representative of the company, and City Manager Peter Troedsson said that now there will be four to five weeks during which Bird Rides will work out how the program will operate in Albany, who will run it, how many scooters will be deployed where, and when the program will start.
According to Butler, Bird rides are available in hundreds of cities including Chicago, New York and Rome.
They’ve also been available in Monmouth, Polk County, since last August. Troedsson said the Monmouth city manager told him the scooters have worked out fine.
Novak, however, said a friend of hers in Monmouth had complaints, including that users were leaving the scooters all over the place. She urged the council to approach the program with caution. “What’s the hurry?” she asked.
This is a private-sector business and not a government program, Troedsson said, one that offers a market-based service that provides one solution to the needs of some people for public transportation.
People aged 18 and up can rent the scooters for rides to the store, to work, to the bus stop and home again, or anywhere within the city they want. They will need a smart phone and a Bird app to make arrangements for a ride.
The question of liability came up. What if he were younger, rode a Bird scooter into a pothole, and flew over the handlebar, Councilman Dick Olsen asked. “Who do I sue?”
In such a case, City Attorney Sean Kidd replied, the injured party would probably sue everybody in sight. But the agreement has been shown to the city’s insurance carrier, which expressed no undue concern.
So, now that the agreement has been made, the wait for shared Bird scooters has begun. (hh)
As the owner of a Scooter, riders and officials need to know that there are very specific laws pertaining to Scooters. Helmets are required regardless of age for one. Where they can be operated, etc. I carry the statutes with me and they are about 5 pages long. Who will make sure these scooter renters know and understand the law…not to mention obey the laws?
“Who will make sure these scooter renters know and understand the law…not to mention obey the laws?”
Who does it now for the folks already riding scooters, e-bikes, bicycles, etc.?
Hi Ray,
It’s been a long time since I visit this webpage and I am surprise once more by a sharp, witty answer from you.
I’m a big fan of you. And this is not sarcastic!
Here is a pocket guide. There are references to 8 Oregon Vehicle Codes.
https://www.oregon.gov/odot/forms/dmv/6619.pdf
MIN. AGE – 16
LICENSE – No
REGISTRATION – No
INSURANCE – No
HELMET – Yes
PASSENGER – No
LIGHTS – Yes
MAX CAPABLE SPEED – 24 mph
MAX ALLOWED SPEED – 15 mph
RIDE ON SIDEWALK – No (good luck with that one!)
RIDE ON BIKE PATH/ LANE – Yes
RIDE IN CROSSWALK POSSIBLE – No
POSSIBLE DUII – Yes
Given that trucks are getting bigger and bigger (then they complain about gas prices, but I digress) and that American streets are designed for cars to go as fast as they can, I truly understand the desire for bike and scooter riders to use the sidewalks. Not even bike lanes give you a feeling of safety. Would you let your child to ride along Pacific, for example? I wouldn’t.
Also, no one walks anywhere in this town. I regularly walk with a stroller and I barely cross one person every mile walked.
Hasso writes, “…the agreement has been shown to the city’s insurance carrier, which expressed no undue concern.”
Of course the City’s carrier expressed “no undue concern.” In the Council’s rush to pander to Troedsson’s Reagan-esque Revisionism: (“This is a private-sector business and not a government program” ) the City’s insurance carrier only stands to make more money in premiums … to cover the person who flies over the handlebars, suing everybody but the kitchen sink.
So, all taxpaying citizens of Albany are being forced to subsidize yet another trendy “transportation” scheme designed to serve a tiny minority … people who use a scooter.
Rather than expand Albany Transit System, providing more robust City bus service, or even more Dial-a-Ride service, we will be spending more dollars on Liability Insurance so a few dozen hipsters can feel good about saving the environment on two wheeler scooters. Meanwhile, a few more attorneys will earn large retainer fees representing the inevitable Crash & Burn lawsuits certain to follow. But what the heck…it’s just money, right?
As to who will enforce the City and State traffic laws governing these vehicles…you can be certain that the E-Scooter riders are every bit the same as pedal-powered commuters…a shifty bunch of scofflaws regularly violating traffic laws and never being confronted by Police, who claim to be much too busy to enforce.
Mr. Hartman – you should add drivers of motor vehicles in you listing of scofflaws. Ina recent drive across town I saw – semi truck/trailer run red light @1st & Ellsworth, at least three autos traveling east on 2nd at about 40 mph, a good number of improper lane changes (no signal), any number of vehicles with no front plate (two plates issued one for the front, one for the rear. I could go on but my point is that before we the motoring public points fingers we should look at ourselves.
I could also point out violations I see committed by bicycle riders but will refrain.