More electric scooters could pop up in the Lansing area

EAST LANSING —  Love them or hate them, the scooters are here to stay. 

Electric scooters, which have been popping up in cities across the country, first appeared on the streets of East Lansing earlier this month. More could soon crop up in Lansing, too. 

MORE: Bird's electric scooters roll into East Lansing after summer craze in Detroit

The East Lansing City Council heard presentations Tuesday night from representatives from two electric scooter companies — Bird Rides Inc. and Lime.

While council members were excited about the opportunity to offer residents greener transportation options, some expressed frustration at the fact that they weren't given a heads up about Bird's scooters before they appeared downtown earlier this month. 

City Council member Aaron Stephens said he's supportive of the scooters because they're a clean, user-friendly mode of transportation but was concerned that people didn't know how to use them safely. 

"That safety aspect is huge," Stevens said."We've got to make sure our roads and our sidewalks are safe for people." 

East Lansing prohibits the use of Bird scooters and other motorized vehicles on sidewalks. Bird also tells customers not to do it. While the scooters can be dropped off anywhere, they also shouldn't be left in the middle of sidewalks or block rights of way, said Ted Fetters, Bird's senior manager of government relations.

He said the company has launched Facebook advertising campaigns about safety in other cities and could do the same thing in East Lansing, if necessary. 

"We move very fast," he told the council, "and we will move very fast to address your concerns." 

Fetters said the company will also send scooter users a helmet if they request one via the app. He said the company has dropped off 100 scooters since it arrived in East Lansing on Sept. 7. Users are collectively taking about 600 rides per day in the city, he said. 

But Bird might not be the only electric scooter option in town for long. 

Scott Mullen, Lime's director of expansion in the northeast, also made a presentation to the council Tuesday. Lime, based in California's Bay Area, is an electric scooter sharing service that operates similarly to Bird. 

Mullen said the company plans to get approval from both Lansing and East Lansing before it drops off its scooters in those cities and hopes to launch in the area as soon as possible. 

"We just don't come in if we're not allowed," he said. 

Lansing isn't the only Michigan city to get hit with the scooter trend. Bird launched in Detroit in July, and Lime set up its scooters there about three weeks ago. 

But love for the scooters isn't unanimous across the state. 

As of Tuesday, the city of Ann Arbor has collected nearly 30 Bird scooters that were improperly left in bicycle lanes, streets or on sidewalks and may have impeded pedestrian, bicycle or vehicular traffic, Ann Arbor spokesperson Lisa Wondrash said in a Tuesday email. 

"The company has been notified that their equipment has been collected by the city and is being securely stored at our Public Works Facility," she wrote. "The city welcomes alternative modes of transportation for residents and visitors, and city staff are actively working with Bird on a licensing agreement." 

East Lansing City Council Member Shanna Draheim said she doesn't expect the city to take Ann Arbor's approach. She said her biggest concern is that residents are aware of how to operate the vehicles safety. 

"I don't want to create a lot of hurdles," she said. "But I think (there should be) some kind of system where there's a line of communication with the company." 

Contact reporter Haley Hansen at (517) 267-1344 or hhansen@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @halehansen.