Bird Rides scooters parked outside Mavens on Main in downtown West Bend.

West Bend City Administrator Jay Shambeau rides a Bird Rides scooter through downtown West Bend. 

Bird Rides scooters parked outside Mavens on Main in downtown West Bend.

West Bend City Administrator Jay Shambeau rides a Bird Rides scooter through downtown West Bend. 

WEST BEND — West Bend announced on Thursday that Bird Rides, an electric scooter ride-share company, has started to slowly introduce their Bird scooters into West Bend.

According to a release from West Bend, Bird Rides will be bringing up to 75 electric scooters to West Bend for people to be able to use as an alternative method of transportation for residents.

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“We’re pleased to welcome an alternative mode of transportation added as an option to residents and visitors of West Bend,” said Mayor Christophe Jenkins in the release. “We expect the arrival of the scooters to bring positive economic impact to our city, with riders more likely to shop at local businesses and explore everything West Bend has to offer.”

“We applaud the city of West Bend for its commitment to offering convenient, environmentally friendly and reliable transportation options to residents and visitors,” said Bird Head of City and University Partnerships Austin Marshburn in the release.

To ride the scooters you will need to download the Bird app on your smartphone. Riding the scooters costs $1 to unlock them and an additional 42 cents per minute that you have the scooter unlocked, whether you are riding or not.

You can also purchase one of Bird’s ride passes, of which there are a five-ride and monthly option, in which case you won’t be charged an unlock fee and won’t be charged a per minute rate for a set period of time, according to the Bird app.

Bird scooters will be available to ride between 4 a.m. and midnight each day. The scooters will all lock at midnight and not be operational again until 4 a.m., according to the memorandum approved by West Bend.

There is also a “geofence” around the historic downtown area. According to the memorandum, the geofence will limit scooter speeds to 10 mph in the historic downtown area.

According to West Bend City Administrator Jay Shambeau, riders will also not be allowed to ride the scooters on the sidewalks in the historic downtown area and they must ride on the street. But scooters can ride on the sidewalks in other areas of the city, such as the sidewalks on Main Street before City Hall.

According to the release, Bird Rides offers several benefits to riders in West Bend.

First is community pricing. According to the release, select low-income residents, Pell Grant recipients, select local nonprofit and community organization members, veterans and senior citizens can apply for a 50 percent discount on rides. To do so, download the Bird app from your phones app store, create an account and then email proof of eligibility based on these categories to access@bird.co to receive the discount.

Second, Bird Rides will be providing free rides to health care workers and emergency personnel.

Eligible riders will receive two free 30-minute rides per day, according to the release. Those who qualify can download the app, set up their account and then email a copy of their medical identification card, name and phone number to together @bird.co.

Third, Bird Rides offers community mode.

Anyone with a Bird account can submit feedback about their vehicle through the yield sign button on the bottom left corner of the in-app Bird Map. Bird Rides values community input and wants to hear about problems such as poorly parked or damaged scooters so they can have someone come out and correct them, according to the release.

There are two other ways to report an issue, according to the release. You can email Bird Rides about a problem at hello@bird.co or you can call their 24/7 support line at 866-205-2442.

The scooters will be collected, charged and replaced daily throughout West Bend by a local full-time fleet manager. The local fleet manager will also be notified about scooter problems and respond promptly to fix them, according to the release.

For more information about the new Bird Rides scooters in West Bend, reference West Bend Municipal Code 7.116 or visit their electric scooters frequently asked question page on the city’s website at bit.ly/3dnTAdH.

DIGITAL: JUST $10 PER MONTH PRINT+DIGITAL: AS LOW AS $19 PER MONTH