Greensboro, like a lot of other cities, has had some issues with its micromobilty program – what most people refer to as electric scooters or e-scooters.
Back in 2018, Bird started a micromobility program in Greensboro without consulting the city government. Bird simply placed a bunch of electric scooters in downtown Greensboro and it didn’t take long for people to figure out how to use them.
This led to the City Council waffling about what to do, and for a while there was no action and, as a result, no regulation.
However, it didn’t take long for the City Council to realize that the city, as well as the micromobility companies, could make some money on electric scooters and regulations were passed.
Then came the COVID restrictions where just about any place anyone would want to go was closed and there wasn’t much need for micromobility, or for that matter any kind of mobility at all.
Some cities have chosen to license several micromobility companies to operate, but Greensboro chose to have one. In April 2021, the city awarded the micromobility contract to Blue Duck to provide electric scooters and electric bikes for Greensboro, and in June 2023 Blue Duck ceased operations without notifying the city.
On June 21, the City of Greensboro notified its residents that the contract with Blue Duck had been suspended, since Blue Duck had ceased operations, and that a request for proposals (RFP) for a new vendor would be issued in July.
On Aug. 29, the Greensboro Department of Transportation (GDOT) sent out a notice that it is seeking a vendor “to provide shared use bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters within the city limits from November 2023 through November 2024.”
Prospective vendors must submit a Shared Micromobility Service Permit Application by Friday, Sept. 29 and the chosen vendor will be notified by Oct. 30.
So it appears that late this fall people will once again be zipping around downtown Greensboro on a host of micromobile devices.
Hope they don’t freeze while riding.
Point of correction to the article: Lime came first in 2017. They worked for months with City Council, DGSO, UNCG, Police, and the Chamber of Commerce before launching to get all the proper approval. Then Bird showed up overnight and dumped a bunch of scooters around without telling anyone and did not go through the same process that Lime went through. Lime stopped their bikes in 2019 and then stopped the scooters in 2020 during COVID.
Why not use your own equipment? I biked around for years between my retirement and current physical problems. Biking and being outdoors while free of electronic addiction improved my health significantly.
What generation are you talking about today. It’s supposed to be someone else’s responsibility to provide for the entitled trophy class