Logan Lewis, ’20, tries out new electric scooters recently dropped off in Fresno by Bird, a scooter sharing service, Sept. 3. Lewis rides and explains how the scooters work, including some history and information about the company.

After discovering the company, Lewis did some research.

“Bird was created back in 2017 by Travis VanderZanden, a former executive of Lyft and Uber, Lewis said. The company is now valued at 2 billion dollars. Bird is a scooter sharing system, in which scooters have no charging stations, but are picked up in the evening by “chargers.” Chargers are people who sign up on the Bird website, charge the scooters in their homes, and put them back out in designated “nest” areas the next morning to earn some extra cash.”

These new electric scooters have been in Fresno since Aug. 16, and already have city officials considering to ban the scooters entirely.  Bird’s goal is to “work closely with cities to help make transportation better & more environmentally friendly,” according to the Bird website. An email to Fresno customers also reads, “Together we can reduce congestion in Fresno and commute time for you.”

To use Bird scooters, download the mobile app here.

The following video features Lewis testing out the Bird scooter.

Innovative Transportation: Bird Scooters from The Feather Online on Vimeo.

For another video, watch Student Summer Highlights, or FC Convocation 2018.

The author can be reached via email: Wesley Hinton, Instagram and Twitter.