How long will Bird, Lime scooters be left on Lansing area streets?

Eric Lacy
Lansing State Journal

LANSING -- Two companies that each dropped this fall up to 250 scooters in the city for public use are expected to remove their fleets by Christmas. 

Lansing officials signed in October licensing agreements with the Lime and Bird scooter companies that expire 60 days from the time they were signed, Valerie Marchand, a city spokesperson, said. 

It's unclear if the city's licensing agreement with the companies will be renewed, Marchand said. 

"Right now the plan is to be able to go through that date," Marchand said. "After that, we will look at what we’re going to do next.”

A Lime scooter was seen Nov. 13 covered in snow along Capitol Avenue in downtown Lansing.

Copies of the signed agreements with the city indicate Lime scooter fleets could be removed by Dec. 2 and Bird scooters by Dec. 14. 

The Washington Post reported Saturday that Lime announced a global recall of one of the models of its scooters after concerns were raised that scooters could "break apart while in use." 

The newspaper reported scooters made by the Chinese manufacturer Okai are being recalled. Lime officials haven't said how many of these scooters are used in the company's fleets and where they are located. 

Attempts Tuesday by a State Journal reporter to reach Lime officials by phone and email weren't successful. 

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A statement from Bird about the care of its scooters emailed Tuesday to the State Journal: 

"Bird is extremely committed to the safety of our riders, and so we take into account the weather conditions of each city where Bird is available. We have a team dedicated to closely monitoring all conditions, and they adjust our operations accordingly."

As of 9 a.m. Nov. 13, there were several Bird scooters that lined the streets of downtown Lansing.

Lansing police haven't noticed any widespread cases of crashes with Lime and Bird scooters and haven't impounded any since the licensing agreements were signed in October, Robert Merritt, the department's public information director, said.

East Lansing, MSU usage

The city of East Lansing and Michigan State University don't have licensing agreements with the Lime and Bird companies. But officials have allowed people to use them. 

East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows said he doesn't anticipate widespread use of the scooters in the city or on MSU's campus once students go on break in mid-December. 

If the scooter companies leave the fleets in the city for use once classes resume in early January, Meadows said he wants officials to form licensing agreements with them. 

"We expect the use to go down enough (during the MSU break) that scooters will be removed around that time," Meadows said. 

MSU Police Capt. Doug Monette, a department spokesman, said Tuesday police have impounded 204 Bird and Lime scooters because they were found parked on campus in areas where they don't belong. 

"No representatives from the companies have tried to contact us in reference to paying the fees to get them back," Monette said. 

At least 100 Bird scooters were impounded by MSU police in early October because they were left in the grass, at bike racks, sidewalks and bus stops. 

Lansing City Council is working to adopt an ordinance that would regulate Bird, Lime and other forms of electric scooters on a more permanent basis. 

Signed licensing agreements with the companies say the city by March 1 "shall establish formal operating regulations and permitting the operation of stand-up electric scooter sharing systems." 

At that time, agreements state companies "shall be required to comply with these regulations, which shall be incorporated with into any future agreement." 

Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.