Laramie to give electric scooters a whirl
The Laramie City Council approved a trial period with Bird Rides, Inc. The company will bring 100 scooters to Laramie starting in August.
A fleet of electric scooters will soon hit the streets of Laramie, providing individual and widely available transport in a city with limited public transportation.
The scooters will be in Laramie as part of a trial period lasting through the end of 2021, at which point the city can decide whether to green-light the new mode of transport going forward.
The Laramie City Council approved the trial period Tuesday, signing a memorandum of understanding with Bird Rides, Inc.
“I think this has the potential to be something very nice for our community,” Mayor Paul Weaver said.
Bird Rides’ local territory manager Michael Covato presented his company’s proposal to the council, highlighting the same benefits he touted to the Casper City Council earlier this summer.
“What we offer is a clean, affordable and fun way of getting around town,” Covato said. “To be clear, there is no cost to the city. We are not looking for any subsidy or investment from the city. We are simply looking for your permission to use the public right of ways for these scooters — as well as maintain a consistent relationship with city staff to make sure we are adapting a system to best meet the needs of residents and visitors of Laramie.”
In August, a fleet of 100 scooters will arrive in Laramie, with about 70 percent at any one time deployed around the city. Their range will be limited by geo-fencing that keeps the scooters from traveling beyond a predetermined map. That map could be altered during the trial period — and edited for special events — but its current boundaries can be seen in Bird Rides’ presentation materials.
Once the scooters are scattered across town, residents can unlock a nearby scooter by scanning a QR code with a smartphone app. At that point, they will be walked through a safety tutorial and allowed to begin their ride.
The scooters are capped off at 15 miles per hour, though a “warm-up mode” allows riders to get comfortable with the vehicle at lower speeds. The scooters have headlights, brake lights, bell and kickstand.
As far as city traffic laws go, scooters would function like bicycles — largely restricted to the right hand side of roads, but parked on the boulevard strips between sidewalk and curb.
Rides cost $1 to start and then charge by distance. In an effort to encourage but not mandate safety, a discount is applied for those who take a selfie wearing a helmet. Once the rider arrives at their destination, they can leave the scooter there, taking a photo of the vehicle for the app.
The scooters will be inoperable from midnight - 4 a.m.
The scooters are maintained by a fleet manager hired by Bird Rides. That fleet manager charges the scooters at a central facility and redeploys them to more useful locations on a daily basis.
“Every single scooter is going to be checked on multiple times a day by our fleet manager,” Covato said.
While the council voted unanimously to approve the trial period, it did not pass the memorandum without citing a few concerns.
Councilor Bryan Shuster asked if the company was insured.
“I’m afraid that they’re going to act like pedestrians,” Shuster said. “And a bicycle is not a pedestrian, so these would not be pedestrians. So what happens if they strike someone?”
Covato replied that his company has a “substantial general liability policy” and pointed to language in the memorandum clearing the city of liability in events like the one Shuster offered.
That clause in the memorandum says the company will “indemnify, defend and hold harmless” the city of Laramie if such an insurance claim was brought because of the company’s negligence, but not if it’s brought because of the city’s “negligent construction or maintenance of public infrastructure.”
Councilor Erin O’Doherty also asked that the city’s disability council and traffic safety commission play a role in evaluating the success of the trial period.
There were no comments from members of the public.
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