Appleton breaks off talks with Bird electric scooters, reserves time to develop regulations

APPLETON — The Common Council formally ended negotiations this year to return Bird electric scooters, and on Wednesday it went a step further by requesting an ordinance banning short-term electric scooter rentals in the city.

“It basically makes it impossible for a short-term rental company to just come in and set up shop,” City Attorney Chris Behrens said.

The vote to end negotiations passed 14-1. The vote to approve the ordinance passed 15-0.

“I think there were some good things, but I think there are some things we need to work on before we move forward,” council member Brad Firkus told the City Services Committee.

Exceptions to the ordinance could be added later to allow Bird or any other commercial scooter company to return once the city better defines how it wants to build and regulate electric scooters.

Bird is suspending service in Neenah and Menasha due to the situation in Appleton

Green Bay, Neenah and Menasha are among the cities that welcomed Bird scooters again this year. Menasha’s consent was initially conditional on the consents of Neenah and Appleton, but this possibility was later withdrawn.

Earlier this week, Jimmy Gilman, Bird’s government partnerships manager, told Menasha that Appleton’s lack of support for continuing the program had “unfortunately strained our operations and user experience in this area.”

“As a result, we have made the decision to temporarily suspend services in Menasha and Neenah while we continue to work with Appleton stakeholders to re-introduce the program,” he said.

“We understand this is disappointing,” Gilman continued, “and we are very hopeful that we will continue to provide micromobility opportunities for all residents of this area. If you have any relationship with staff or officials in Appleton, we encourage you to contact them with the message that a geographically unified program best serves the residents of Menasha, Neenah and Appleton.”

Neenah Community Development Specialist Samantha Jefferson received a similar message from Gilman.

“Bird told us they were going to pull out,” Jefferson told The Post-Crescent. “I then confirmed that they were not going to just leave the scooters, but would remove them, which is something they have been working on this week.”

Appleton officials react to blaming company

Bird will launch its scooters in Appleton in 2021, 2022 and 2023 after signing a series of annual agreements with the city.

Former Public Works Director Danielle Block broke off negotiations with Bird ahead of the 2024 season because the company filed for bankruptcy protection, failed to timely pay fees owed to Appleton, failed to meet reporting obligations for the 2023 season and failed to develop a solution to the city’s concerns about safety and haphazard parking scooters on road lanes and on private land.

Adam Davis, Bird’s director of government partnerships, has pledged to implement technologies to address these concerns, but has been unable to reach an agreement with the city. During the committee meeting, Davis placed the blame squarely on Block, saying she had “no interest in managing the program.”

This comment did not sit well with council members Sheri Hartzheim and Katie Van Zeeland.

“I want to make sure all citizens know that the city has worked very hard to work with Bird,” Hartzheim said.

“I was very uncomfortable with the communication with the company representatives,” Van Zeeland said, “and it really discouraged me from moving forward.”

Bird is an app-based dockless scooter-sharing program touted as a green alternative to cars. Customers locate battery-powered standing scooters in the application, rent them for minutes and leave them at their destination. Riders must be over 18 years of age.

Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton breaks off negotiations with Bird electric scooters for 2024