Electric bird scooters raise concerns throughout Starkville

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- You’ve probably seen them at some time or another in Starkville. Electric scooters are the talk of the town. The Bird Company is giving citizens a different way to reach their destination in the downtown area, but it seems one problem is safety.  The ride-share service is one way people are getting out and about this summer. There are nearly 75 scooters are scattered around Starkville; however, there have been complaints of people using them on the highway and parking lots.

“We’ve noticed that those things aren’t managed very well by the company its self and so we’ve made the decision that until all of those issues are managed better from the company themselves we don’t want scooters on campus,” said Mississippi State’s executive director for parking and transportation Jeremiah Demas.

Demas said students are doing a good job keeping the electric scooters off campus grounds.

“Bird actually has a GEO fence which has identified campus as a location that their scooters can not enter and they’ve been pretty good at managing that. We try to rely on them to push those but if they do come on campus then we are prepared to take them and confiscate them,” said Demas.

The process of getting a bird scooter is simple. All you have to do is download the app, put a card on file, and scan the barcode once you’re on the scooter. Company officials exchange scooters weekly to charge them and drop them off in different locations.

“We’re investing in bike and pedestrian infrastructure. One thing I think is kind of a misnomer with scooters is that people believe that they are a mobility option where they connect people to destinations but most often they’re just a joy ride type scenario,” said Demas.

The Bird Company encourages riders to place their scooter in a location an official can find them. All scooter rides end at 12 a.m. and opens at 4 a.m .