Bird scooters fly away from UNC campus

Within the last week, a fleet of 100 electric scooters descended upon Chapel Hill and the UNC campus. Their owners, a growing company named “Bird,” did not tell the town, the school or the public about their new program. 

Bird, a California-based company founded last year, brings “e-scooters” to various cities for residents to use. The scooters are unlocked using an app, and after an initial $1 to start the ride, riders pay $0.15 - $0.20 per minute depending on the city. The price in Chapel Hill was $0.20.

But as mysteriously as they arrived, they were gone. Due to public safety concerns, UNC requested the scooters be removed from campus.

“This week, Bird scooters arrived at UNC-Chapel Hill without a partnership agreement with the University," said Brad Ives, associate vice chancellor for Campus Enterprises, via email. "Bird has agreed to voluntarily remove its scooters from UNC-Chapel Hill while the University explores the possibility of a partnership with the company. This partnership would be subject to reasonable safety and financial considerations in compliance with all regulations concerning partnerships with public institutions in North Carolina.”

The company brought the scooters to campus as part of a “pop-up tour” on over 150 campuses nationwide. Mackenzie Long, a public relations officer from Bird, said the shared electric scooters are meant to be used over short distances and can be accessed almost anywhere. 

“Birds are perfect for people looking to take a short journey across town or down that ‘last-mile’ from the subway or bus to their destination," Long said in a statement. "They can replace cars for the 40 percent of car rides that are less than two miles long."

Because the “e-scooter” program is a relatively new category, the company has had to create their own safety guidelines.

“Birds are calibrated to go a maximum of 15 mph, and they last about 15 miles on a charge,” the statement said. “Birds are to be ridden in the bike lanes and on the street, rather than on the sidewalk.”

In order to use the scooters, riders must be able prove they are over the age of 18 by scanning an appropriate photo ID and wear a helmet. Free helmets can be requested online from Bird, or riders can bring their own. Riders are advised to park the scooters away from pathways and near bike racks when available.

For their short tenure at UNC, students seemed to have taken well to the new mode of transportation. 

First-years students Alex Anton and Summer Lanier were riding the scooters past the Old Well. 

“We’ve been running around campus looking for an available scooter,” Antone said. “It’s like Pokémon Go for college students.”

With little formal marketing from the Bird company itself, students have primarily found out about the scooters through word of mouth. 

“We went to Carolina Kickoff, and they mentioned them in the group chat,” Lanier said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

“I saw it on my friend’s story,” Antone said. “I just saw a couple people riding them, and I thought it’d be cool.”

While the Bird scooters are flying away for now, they may reappear on campus in the near future.

“The University and Bird have agreed to work toward a reasonable resolution by the end of September," Ives said.

@MichaelJTaffe

city@dailytarheel.com