Chirping cardinals and blue jays won’t be the only bird sightings in Decatur this spring.
Bird Scooters are returning to the DeKalb County city more than a year after pulling out of multiple U.S. cities, including Decatur.
While a specific date for their return wasn’t provided, the city told residents to expect to see the electric scooters in Decatur soon. The e-scooters made headlines across metro Atlanta in 2019 when cities grappled with regulations and safety for the new and popular mode of urban transportation.
Bird, one of the larger companies renting the devices, pulled out of Decatur in 2019, calling it a temporary move. Lime, another e-scooter company, operated in the DeKalb County city until early 2020, when their devices also disappeared from Decatur’s streets.
Both companies deemed Decatur, and other cities, as unprofitable at the time. The number of e-scooters also declined nationally after the COVID-19 shutdown last year, but they’ve slowly begun to return to large markets like Atlanta.
The e-scooters have a maximum speed of 15 mph, can only be used in roads and in bike lanes and are available through a mobile application. Riders, who are encouraged to wear helmets, pay to use them per minute.
For more information, email hello@bird.co, visit bird.co or call 1-866-205-2442.
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