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Scooters Invade Denver!
June 19, 2018
By Brett Grischo

I birded to a bird place to eat fried bird. That would make perfect sense if you ever used a Bird scooter to cruise to Birdcall in Whole Foods to order a fried chicken sandwich for lunch. It cost me $2.65 ($1 to unlock the scooter and then fifteen cents per minute) and that’s only because I went joyriding and took a long way to Whole Foods. In case you are wondering, my lunch was eight bucks and I highly recommend the “the deluxe.”

 

Bird and Lime have deployed hundreds of scooters in downtown Denver despite the city trying to put the kabash on the whole operation. Apparently, nobody has asked for permission, permits or agreed on any policies. The scooter peeps have taken the old quote, “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than to beg for permission,” to a whole new level since they’ve done neither.

Upon news of the city of Denver confiscating scooters and levying fines, spokespersons for both companies have simply stated they look forward to working with the city’s Department of Public Works on rules to make the scooter biz legit in Denver. Based on progress with such policies on the west coast, hopefully Denver and the scooter companies will come to a hasty agreement.

I’ve taken a ride on Lime and two on Bird and am totally hooked. These suckers are fun to find on the app, easy to unlock and holy cow do they cruise! The scooters get up to 15 MPH and I was quite pleased when I passed a guy laboriously pedaling up a hill on his bike in LoHi.

I’ve already emailed Bird to see what their plans are for allowing third party companies to advertise/market with them on the app and the scooters themselves. A new media buying tactic! I see lots of potential there and think its also a good strategy for community relations by having advertising revenue contribute to issues such as sidewalk scooter clutter and safety.

My only complaint right now is that we need more scooters in LoHi and the Highlands. I’m not sure if the city is scooping them up or if there just aren’t enough rides in these hoods yet, but hopefully that will change soon. I’d love to Lime over to Lime for a cerveza with lime. Don’t worry, I’ll have just one. Yes, you can get a DUI on a scooter!

Cheers to you, Lime and Bird. Welcome to Denver. Now, City of Denver, please work this out!

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