Bird plans an opening in New York

Bird, a California-based 2 billion dollar scooter rental company, plans to start operations in New York, a metropolis whose transportation network is aging and pushing residents down. And maybe drive them to e-scooters.

"Our vision for New York is a fully integrated transportation solution for the 21st century," said Matthew Kopko, Director of Public Policy at Bird.

There is an initial problem: electric scooters are currently illegal in New York. While Bird debuted a year ago by nesting in cities like Santa Monica and San Francisco without first asking permission, society is learning to do better politics. Thus, before embarking, Kopko said the company had met with dozens of New York City Council members in an effort to change the laws. Currently, board members Ydanis Rodriguez and Rafael Espinal Jr. are drafting a bill to make the electronic scooter in New York. Council spokespeople say they hope to submit a draft that will be submitted to a public hearing and a vote soon.

Kopko, who works with 12 other employees since Bird's recently opened office in a WeWork space in the Financial District, says the company is working with lawmakers on a bill that would only allow small electric scooters light speed. 15 miles per hour to be legal on the street. "The goal is a super-surgical amendment [to the broad ban on electric-scooters] this can be done with about six words to allow the devices to go under a certain speed, "says Kopko.

The company also works with Bradley Tusk, founder of Tusk Strategies. Tusk is known for his work helping Uber and other companies like FanDuel and Eaze overcome regulatory hurdles.

On Monday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, city councilor Antonio Reynoso and Bird's leaders held a press conference to explain how scooter rental companies could offer alternative transportation options when train L, the main subway line of quarter, monthly revision, from April 2019.

"The L train stop is imminent, it's real, it's going to happen, it's going to be disruptive, it will be a disaster," says Reynoso. "We need to be smart and allow more options to give people more opportunities – the city must be as open as possible."

Reynoso says that if electronic scooters are legalized, he thinks the devices could help the hundreds of thousands of people who live along the L train corridor to get to work, or to get to other trains and trains. ferries. Reynoso also believes that electronic scooters represent a technological breakthrough that could pave the way for a new era of advanced alternative modes of transportation, as the city's 114-year old metro system faces infrastructure delays. and daily service.

"We need to be open to innovation – we do not want to be the last city in the country to allow electronic scooters," Reynoso said.

If electronic scooters are legalized, companies will still have to go through a competitive bidding process to obtain a license from the New York Department of Transportation.

The DOT, which regulates all transit matters in the five boroughs, has allowed Lime and Pacer to launch limited bike sharing programs in Staten Island, the Bronx, and the Rockaway Peninsula this summer. A spokeswoman said that although electronic scooters are currently illegal under state law, the agency is "not totally opposed" to legal and regulated devices.

"This is an exciting and challenging period in the urban transport sector, with many innovative technologies on our streets, but it also poses regulatory and security problems," said DOT spokesperson.

Safety is a major concern for many cities that now house scooter rental programs. According to Washington PostIn 12 cities, emergency rooms have seen a sharp increase in injuries caused by electronic scooters. There were two accidents involving the rental of electronic scooters: a rider in Dallas and another in Washington, DC During the press conference, Reynoso and David Strickland, a lawyer hired to head Bird's global advisory committee, said that context. "More than 200 pedestrians in New York have died because of vehicles and no one advocates ridding the streets of cars," Reynoso said.

At the beginning of the year in San Francisco, electronic scooters became a symbol of technological elitism, but Strickland says that in New York, electronic scooters would become a means of transportation for people of all socio-economic backgrounds. right, Manhattan thing, "says Strickland. "We are making it a multi-neighborhood and multi-community opportunity for better transportation."