Skip to main content

Bird enables reports of poorly parked and damaged e-scooters

Bird is to roll out an app feature which allows people to report poorly parked or damaged electric scooters to the company. It is an attempt to solve one of the biggest bugbears surrounding the deployment of scooters and dockless bikes – the issue of what happens when users abandon or abuse the vehicles. Bird says the app’s new ‘community mode’ will improve parking and safety in the cities where it operates, such as Portland and Salt Lake City. The company will use reports to reposition poorly parked e-
November 15, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Bird is to roll out an app feature which allows people to report poorly parked or damaged electric scooters to the company.


It is an attempt to solve one of the biggest bugbears surrounding the deployment of scooters and dockless bikes – the issue of what happens when users abandon or abuse the vehicles.

Bird says the app’s new ‘community mode’ will improve parking and safety in the cities where it operates, such as Portland and Salt Lake City.

The company will use reports to reposition poorly parked e-scooters and make sure damaged models are no longer available for riding. Also, the company will notify mechanics to remove the damaged vehicles from the road to be repaired.

Travis VanderZanden, CEO of Bird, says the company wants to work with communities to help alleviate problems associated with congestion and carbon emissions.

"Community mode gives any individual the power to engage with Bird in real time so that we can work together on making our streets safer and people-friendly,” VanderZanden adds.

Bird has already established a global %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 36382 0 link-external safety advisory board false /categories/utc/news/bird-establishes-board-to-help-increase-safety-for-e-scooter-riders/ false false%> to improve safety for its e-scooter riders.

In the UK, a similar issue has emerged in London. Speaking to ITS International, Adam Warnes, vice president of UK operations at Passport, says the rise of %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 36821 0 link-external dockless cycles false /categories/utc/news/passport-brings-traffic-management-platform-to-the-uk/ false false%> are causing problems for councils.

“Dockless bikes came in overnight and have created a huge amount of problems for local authorities with bikes being dumped and with no one having an understanding of usage, ownership or licensing,” Warnes adds.

Related Content

  • Webinar: BigDataEurope for Transport
    September 10, 2015
    The first BigDataEurope at 1000 CET on 21 September will look at the societal challenge of Smart, Green and Integrated Transport. The webinar sets out to introduce the BigDataEurope project in general as well as the various stakeholders and applications for Big Data in the Transport domain in particular, followed by a question and answer session. More information on the agenda and speakers will be available shortly. Register for the seminar here.
  • More than ever to see at CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS 2014
    July 9, 2014
    • Monday 3 November 2014: SESAMES Awards ceremony • Tuesday 4 November 2014: OPENING SUMMIT: a grand opening conference with leaders from the biggest companies in the security and payment sector • From Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 November 2014: Trade exhibition with more than 450 exhibitors from over 50 countries • From Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 November 2014: 120 conferences exploring the latest trends in the areas of identification, payment and mobility. For more information go to www.CA
  • ITS Asia Pacific Forum 2020: entry reminder
    August 30, 2019
    The ITS Asia Pacific (AP) Forum 2020 is accepting entries on the theme of ‘ITS Innovation Creating Liveable Communities’ until 6 September. The programme committee invites submissions for consideration as either scientific, technical or commercial papers. They are also accepting entries for special interest sessions. Additionally, AP 2020 has opened the Future Leaders Programme to recent graduates under 30 years old, allowing them to develop skills they need for academic and professional careers.
  • ITS America 2019: news and reports
    June 11, 2019
    Last week’s ITS America 28th Annual Meeting & Expo saw some of the ITS industry’s biggest players gathering in Washington, DC. ITS International produced three Daily News magazines at the show, covering launches, deals, products and highlights from a packed speaker programme. For all the stories and digital editions of the Daily News, go to: www.itsamericalive.com