Orono residents and college students could soon travel through parts of town on electric scooters if councilors agree to a pilot program with a company that has fleets in hundreds of cities worldwide.
Bird, the company that allows people to ride scooters and bikes using an app, earlier this week pitched its services to Orono town councilors, which would include no cost to the town for a year-long pilot. Co liked the proposal enough to formally consider it at a meeting in July.
If Orono commits, it would be the second Maine community to use the scooters, joining neighboring Old Town. The program would offer residents, visitors and University of Maine students an alternative way to get around, though routes would be limited. The idea is to better connect Old Town and Orono, particularly students who need to get to and from campus, said Jeremy Lynch, a Bird senior account executive.
The scooters would run seasonally and could come to Orono as soon as August through October or November, depending on the weather, he said. They are typically available for six to seven months during the year.
“Our objective is to provide an affordable mobility option to residents and encourage that shift from cars to some other form of transportation,” he told councilors, noting the company’s commitment to safer streets and cleaner air.
Having a fleet of scooters supports economic growth in communities because people are more encouraged to visit businesses or ride to a local restaurant for lunch, Lynch said. An area resident works as Old Town’s fleet manager and receives a decent portion of the revenue from the rides, so money stays in the area, he said, though he didn’t provide specifics.
If the University of Maine is involved, the program would focus more on the outskirts of the school and not necessarily having routes across campus, Lynch said. He suggested getting students to key parking lots and bus stops. Bird works with colleges where heavily trafficked areas can be sectioned off so scooters would not operate there, he said.
The University of Maine would need to agree to working with Bird, and town officials have discussed the scooters with the college, Town Manager Sophie Wilson said.
She did not elaborate on the college’s feelings about a partnership, and university officials declined to comment Wednesday.
Orono and Bird would work to determine where in town the scooters are safe to operate, which would not include sidewalks, and the devices would turn off in prohibited areas. People can typically access them from 5 a.m. to midnight.
The fleet would include about 75 scooters, though only two-thirds would be put out while the others charge.
Scooters with less than 20 percent charge will disappear from the app so people cannot use them, Lynch said. Through the app, riders can report scooters that are damaged, improperly parked or on private property, and the fleet manager would pick them up.
Bird tracks where the scooters are used and distances that users traveled. Fleet managers use e-maps as a guide to place scooters at locations where they are most likely to be used during particular hours of the day, Lynch said.
If Orono decides to move forward, it would enter into an operating agreement with Bird, which outlines the company’s responsibilities and includes insurance in the event of an incident.
Lynch could not recall examples of people riding scooters on sidewalks in Old Town when a resident asked about safety concerns. The city also participated in a one-year pilot, which began last August.
“It went fairly well and they are signing up for another year,” Wilson said.
