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CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) – The wheels are moving to bring electric scooters back to the streets of Cambridge.
In a garage in the city, dozens of motorcycles are detained, removed from the streets and locked up after they arrive without warning during the summer.
Sixty-nine electric scooters were confiscated from the streets of Cambridge after Los Angeles-based Bird took them to Cambridge and Somerville in July to launch a new scooter sharing service.
Both cities issued a ceasefire letter telling the company to keep the scooters at bay.
"It was a surprise launch and some sort of not cool," said Vice Mayor of Cambridge, Jan Devereux.
But on Wednesday, Cambridge officials invited representatives of the Bird and Lime scooter companies to a hearing to discuss a pilot program for scooters, which are already used in several other cities.
To use battery-powered scooters, download an app, pay with a credit card, get it where you can find one, and drop it anywhere.
But city officials say they can not let scooters drive their streets until local regulations and scooters have been updated.
Representatives of the scooter company have attempted to address a concern: parking.
"If you want to end your booking on the scooter, you have to take a picture," said Scott Kubly of Lime. "We know that when these vehicles stop, we do not have to wait for someone to tell us, and our traveling operations team can get there very quickly."
"Oiseau's mission is to take cars off the road and reduce carbon emissions in the cities and communities in which we operate," said Bird Representative Hannah Smith. "We think Cambridge is a fantastic place for our service to offer more sustainable options."
Despite a bad start, city officials say the scooter sharing service is a trend they know they can not stop.
"They are a fairly flexible mode of transportation and they will probably be very fun," Devereux said. "And when something is both fun and practical, they are usually requested."
According to Cambridge officials, depending on the speed with which regulatory authorities are changing, electric scooters could be operational early next year.
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