Bird Scooters Removed from Milwaukee (August Post)

Bird scooters came to Milwaukee early in the summer. Bird dropped off the scooters out of nowhere in Milwaukee and surprised the whole city with the new service. The way the service works is through the Bird app. You unlock a scooter parked anywhere electronically for $1 and for each minute you use it, you are charged an additional $0.15. This service is meant to compete with companies like Bublr and Lime bikes. An easy, eco-friendly, rental transportation service. You can park the scooters anywhere and someone else will come find it and use it!

This service is a fabulous idea that should be spread around the entire world. Recently, Milwaukee required Bird to remove the scooters from the city. The reasoning is due to a technicality. Motorized vehicles must be registered by the DMV to be street legal. You also cannot use a motorized vehicle on sidewalks. Therefore, technically these scooters are illegal and fall under the same classifications as a dirt bike or ATV.

The frustrating part for environmentally active citizens is that the Milwaukee government was working so actively to remove these from the city. Contacting Bird, handing out citations to those found riding them, etc. The question I ask myself is, why couldn't the government actively work to make them legal rather than banning them? If they were going to work so hard on it, why wouldn't they want to provide another service to Milwaukee. This program would attract more tourists to the city. It would create less traffic in the summer during Summerfest, State Fair, and other citywide events.

South Milwaukee claims they will do their best to bring Bird scooters back to their part of the city. I am eager to see things change in the future and will continue to keep you updated on the Bird scooters in Milwaukee.