UPDATE: Sept 17, 2018

Bird Scooters have now been temporarily outlawed in the City of Fresno due to code violations.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Are Bird Scooters the future or a fad?

Popular cities all over the U.S have been invaded by Birds, but not the aviary type.

Bird is a Scooter Sharing Company based out of Santa Monica, California. Founded by the former executive of Uber and Lyft, Travis VanderZanden aims to bring a new form of city transportation to the table.

To access a scooter, all you need to do is download the free app. From there, a map will appear with Bird scooters located near you. Once you find one, you scan the QR code on the top of the handle.

The scooters do not charge by miles, but by time. Simply pay $1 to unlock, and 15 cents a minute from then on.

Birds are a load of fun. I found the top speed of 15 mph to be the perfect amount. Balancing is super easy, and their large, durable tires allow going on dirt, gravel or grass a possibility.

Design was no oversight. The aesthetics are super minimal, but that Bird logo is quite noticeable so everyone knows what you are riding.

The Birds have no designated charging stations. You can register to be a “charger”. Chargers drive around at night and collect the Birds. They take them to their home, charge them, and drop them off in the morning at a designated “nest” location.

Chargers earn varying rates depending on the accessibility of the scooter.

Campus security guard, Daniel Jessing and Worship Team advisor Daniel Garrison both have the Bird app installed on their phone, but have yet to use it.

“I live in the Fresno State area, and I was driving home one night, and there were these scooters,” Jessing said. “All over the place, every sidewalk. There was probably five or six on every block.”

Not everyone loves this new technology. In fact, some would consider it a nuisance, an eyesore or even a safety hazard. Those walking their daily commute are often dodging zooming Birds, driven by reckless operators.

Due to the fact that scooters can be left anywhere, people can carelessly leave them in the middle of the sidewalk, or in other inconvenient locations.

Are Bird scooters mechanical graffiti? Discuss.

— Kyle Newman (@kyle_newman) September 1, 2018

They are also a very unreliable form of transportation. If you leave one outside while you go in a building, chances are it could be gone when you get back.

City officials are considering a ban on Bird Scooters in Fresno. If you would like to participate in the prevention of this, you can email the elected local representatives with your thoughts.

All that being said, the accessibility and wide supply of Birds make them a fun, affordable and an easy way to get from point A to point B.

I found them to be more fun together. Call your friend and get Birds together for a day in the city or possibly even a first date idea.

There are more Scooter sharing services available. Companies such as Lime, Skip and Scoot all aim to usher scooter services into our lives.

Bird is the only scooter sharing service available in Fresno- are more on their way? Do you think electric scooters are the future? Watch this video, and tell us what you think in the comments below!

For more articles, check out William Saroyan House Museum honors Fresno’s most influential author and Clovis residents rally together to honor 9/11 servicemen.

Logan Lewis can be reached via twitter @logan6300.

The video below shows Feather staffer, Logan Lewis, ’20, testing a bird scooter: