West Hollywood has a message for Bird and its scooters: Fly away.
City Hall is recommending that Bird’s contract — which permits the company to offer rental electric scooters as part of the city’s much-hated Dockless Micromobility Pilot Program — not be renewed when it expires on March 31. Bird and its rival, Lime, are the only two scooter companies with city contracts.
The decision is a direct response to Bird’s bankruptcy announcement at the end of 2023.
In an effort to refine the initial pilot program, city officials and representatives from Bird and Lime had participated in crafting the Second Phase Agreement, an updated framework that sought to ameliorate community concerns by imposing stricter compliance and risk mitigation measures on the operators. These included enhanced insurance requirements, indemnity clauses and penalties designed to safeguard the city’s interests and public welfare. The second phase is set to last 18 months.
Following months of extensive negotiations, City Council on December 18 allowed the Dockless Micromobility Program to advance into its second phase.
Two days later, on December 20, Bird filed for bankruptcy, blindsiding the city and raising significant concerns about the company’s capacity to fulfill its enhanced contractual obligations. Bird’s failure to pre-emptively notify the city of its financial jeopardy, particularly amidst ongoing contract negotiations, prompted immediate scrutiny by the City Clerk’s Office and the City Attorney.
Upon reviewing the bankruptcy filings, city staff concluded that Bird’s precarious financial state posed too great a risk. They are now advising City Council against finalizing the Second Phase Agreement with the company. The uncertainty surrounding Bird’s ability to adhere to the elevated requirements and the potential for costly legal entanglements in the bankruptcy proceedings underscored this recommendation.
However, the city has successfully cemented its Second Phase Agreement with Lime, effective April 1, 2024. This accord permits the deployment of up to 200 scooters and 50 e-bikes citywide, incorporating a new provision that mandates preemptive bankruptcy disclosures, aiming to avert future surprises. The city has not ruled out working with Bird again should its situation stabilize.
Since their introduction in West Hollywood more than five years ago, the fleets of electric scooters made and managed by Bird, Lime and other manufacturers have created a litany of havoc for pedestrians and motorists as they trailblazed this novel form of transportation.
Having owned my scooter for 2 years, I can tell you that it gets me anywhere from here to Venice faster than driving during rush hour at 8am and 3pm coming back from Venice. That’s going 30-40 mph. Bypass the GRIDLOCK. The best feeling 😅😅
Well, you can’t get rid of the scooters and bikes because those companies give kickbacks to city council members like SEPTIC Shyne and her cronies. Never mind what happens to the pedestrians in the citizens, that doesn’t matter, as long as those grifters’ pockets are lined. The only way to get rid of the scooters is if pedestrians push them off and throw the scooters in the street to be destroyed.
One down, one to go..
Walking back from getting coffee at the gas station at Orlando to Sweetzer I saw three of these drips zipping down the sidewalk, heedless of pedestrians. Next one crowds me on the sidewalk gets clotheslined..
Some far off day will see this city and surrounding area ready to accept scooters, bikes and driverless cars – but not just yet. Pedestrian safety is paramount.
I looked at the city council’s agenda for March 18 and saddened to see that the details for this contract are not made public for us to see what was finalized. Does Antone know how many scooters and e-bikes are allowed compared to the 200 scooters and 50 e-bikes allowed with this new contract. I also want to hear how the city will enforce the rules of operation and whom will be doing the citations.
hi david, I don’t know if you can get ALL of the operating contract information, but you can get many of the details of the operating contract if you go on weho.org to the archived city Council meeting agenda of October 16, item 5C and look at the attachments. And then, you can also get more updated information if you go to the archived city council meeting agenda for December 18 item 5D and look at those attachments. Also, at the PSC meeting on Monday, Lieutenant Lapkin announced that they are going to be starting a new traffic program aimed… Read more »
Thanks Mikie. I have followed those operating contracts from the previous council meetings and thought the city would be more transparent with us. I will submit a request for public records to see the agreement we will be locked into for 18 months. I am not happy that the agreement was always about multiple companies and now Lime is the only operator within city limits. btw here is an issue that I find disturbing with regards to scooters on sidewalks and how the city responded when I asked how these violations are to be enforced “Our contract prohibits scooters from… Read more »
Thank you for sharing! This information will be helpful as I am preparing my public comment for Monday night.
Here is another point to bring up to City Council.Lime scooters pose a danger not only to human health but also to that of the environment. According to a study by North Carolina State University, two-thirds of the time, Lime scooter trips generate more greenhouse gas emissions than an alternative source of transportation, including a car. This large carbon footprint comes from the unsustainable raw materials and energy used in manufacturing, the short longevity of Lime scooters and the energy needed for vehicles to collect scooters and take them to a charging station before re-distributing them throughout the city.
Please come and present that information. I will be talking about a different problem with the scooter contract.
If you cannot attend, please write your information in an email to the city council via
[email protected]
before 2 p.m.
Thanks!
There will be NO enforcement of any kind by anyone anywhere ever.
EXACTLY! There is NO ENFORCEMENT.
Bird was extremely sneaky in dealing with the city, and Lime has not only been sneaky, they have also been uncooperative, refusing to put certain restrictions on their scooters, and also refusing to up the amount of insurance they will offer in case of accidents. There is no reason to believe that Lime is going to be any better at honoring their part in Phase 2 of the contract, than they have been in the first part of the pilot program.! They also may think since they are now going to be a monopoly in West Hollywood, that they can… Read more »
The city has acted naively. We have bureaucratic amateurs and unsophisticated council rookies negotiating against a behemoth tech company with armies of lawyers. The behemoths know they can come in to town and do whatever they please to make a buck.
yay!
One down. One to go.
Now, just get rid of Lime and the city will be safer. Pedestrians of all types have been threatened by people riding the damned scooters illegally on the sidewalks. Not good for ANYONE.
BAN ALL SCOOTERS, now and THEN get rid of the delivery robots.
I am sure many in the city are happy Bird is off the streets and sidewalks.Residents should make sure any new iteration of Bird does not return. That means more appearances at city council meetings to sound off.Has anyone check the financial health of Lime?
I can hear Mikie’s cheers from here 😂