OLEAN, N.Y. (WKBW) — In the city of Olean, to get from here to there, you can soon take an e-scooter.
The city's common council agreed on Tuesday to allow the companyBird to provide 75 scooters around the city. After the agreement between the city and the company is officially signed, people could be riding one of the scooters in Olean as soon as this summer.
“We’re just trying to bring the city up, to make it more attractive for people here. The scooters will be like, more or less, an attraction,” said Mayor William Aiello.
The City of Olean already hopes to expand this program. The hope is to one day use the scooters to better connect St. Bonaventure University.
Some we spoke with worry about where the scooters will be left, there are also some safety concerns.
The mayor says the scooters will be rounded up and recharged each night, only people 16 and older can ride one.
For one recent St. Bonaventure University Graduate, the scooters have more upside than downside.
“People around here don't have cars and they might not want to take the bus. It's an easier way to get around town. It's like not that big of the city clearly, but it still could be tough to walk places,” said Grace Wroblewski of Olean.
Olean is the first city in Western New York to officially approve a scooter program. The City of Buffalo has been considering adopting a similar program for years. We reached out to the city for an update on e-scooter plans in Western New York's largest city but did not get a response.
