JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — Bird electronic scooters can be found available to rent all over Jamestown starting Tuesday until the winter weather rolls in.
Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist even took one of the 50 scooters out for a ride Tuesday afternoon.
“micromobility and the ability to transport people across the city has been on our radar since we took office in 2020.”
The cost is $1.00 to unlock and activate the scooter, then, an additional $0.39 for every minute rented.
All transactions are done through the Bird app.
Riders must be over the age of 18, submit a form of photo ID and drive the scooters off the sidewalks.
“As a city, we have invested heavily in bike lanes and pedestrian traffic,” Mayor Sundquist said. “This is only one piece of that much larger puzzle.”
There are additional discounts available to low-income residents, veterans and students who email Bird at Access@bird.co
“We find a lot of success with a smaller population that doesn’t have public transit,” said Lauren Scribi, Bird’s Director of Government Partnerships.
The city will add an additional 50 scooters to their fleet by mid-September.
Once this Fall trial is over, Mayor Sundquist plans to add both Bird branded electronic scooters and e-bikes to the streets of Jamestown by next spring.
These scooters have been in Western New York before, but communities like North Tonawanda and Fredonia have decided not to renew their subscriptions past this early trial.
“They were here for about a month,” said North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec. “[The city council] ended up voting against them to be back this year.
Tylec shared that this decision was made as a result of liability insurance concerns from other council members, much to the disappointment of both himself and some other residents.
Jamestown will try out those same scooters over the coming months.
—
Is there something we should know about or that you want us to look into in the Southern Tier? We want to hear from you! Email news@wkbw.com.
