The first days of Bird e-scooters in Reno has resulted in more than 4,000 rides, 1,400 first time riders and saved 70 gallons of gas. The longest rider took it for a spin for 30 miles.
People who live and work in downtown Reno say it helps them, if they need to go get some lunch or coffee, they don't have to drive.
Some of them say, there have been some hiccups with the app, not being able to start or end a ride. Scooters left on the side of the road are also a common sight, but according to Bird, consistently parking your scooter incorrectly may result in a fine or account suspension.
"We are going to run into problems with people riding in sidewalks, you're gonna run into problems with you know, people not being knowledgeable, not using safety precautions, not using hand signals to indicate what they're doing and it's definitely going to cause some hiccups. I'm totally sure it's gonna cause hiccups but I think it's a neat thing and I'm glad it's here," says rider Stephen Hatch.Â
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Bird scooters officially launched in Reno Thursday.
The public joined downtown today to attend a ribbon cutting event at Reno City Hall.
It will cost $1 to unlock and 39-cents per minute. But it will be half off for students, seniors, those who are on fixed income. They say if it goes three feet without being associated with a rider, their team gets notified. And if you leave it places other than its parking lot, you will be penalized.
Earlier this month, the Reno City Council approved an Exclusive Franchise Agreement between Bird and the City of Reno for an E-Scooter Share Program in the Downtown and Midtown areas.
The three-year agreement includes a 90-day notice for termination for any reason. The initial fleet size will include about 250 e-scooters.
The fleet will phase up over the course of about one month, and the full fleet will be available in June.Â
(City of Reno contributed to this report.)
