Reporter provides review of his test drive

By Bruce Karnick

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Hastings: There is a new breed of bird in town, but they don’t have wings, they have wheels. Bird Scooters are here and ready to help you explore Hastings. The scooters started showing up around town last week for riders to start using.

Riders need to install the Bird App and go through the account setup process. It takes less than five minutes to setup the account with a credit card and add ride time to your Bird account. Once that is done, you can use the app to search for scooters around town. The scooters are equipped with a GPS to keep the app updated with their location. The scooters are scattered around town with no set area to pick them up or drop them off.

The app displays a map of the area that you can control like any other map on your phone. The difference is the map shows you the location of the scooters and their remaining battery life. Once you find one you would like to rent, you tap on it to start the rental process. If it is going to take you a few minutes to get to the scooter, you can also reserve it.

A couple riders were willing to chat briefly about their experience using the app and the scooters. The general consensus was that they are fun and easy to ride. One rider said he felt a little too heavy for the scooter to pull him up the hills around downtown, but flat land was not an issue. Another thought the app was easy to use and start the rental process.

From a safety standpoint, the scooters are restricted to 15 MPH, but that will change based on the weight of the rider. The Bird app does recommend that all riders wear helmets and ridership is restricted to those that are 18 or older. The scooters can be used all over town on city trails and streets. Basically, if it is blacktop, they are allowed, but, just like bikes, riders need to obey all traffic laws.

Per State Law, scooters are not allowed on sidewalks and per city ordinance, parking the scooters is not allowed on sidewalks, trails, or streets. Park scooters in areas that do not impede pedestrian or vehicle traffic. There is also a slowdown zone in downtown using geofencing to slow the scooters to 11 MPH.

The cost of the scooter use is $1 to start and $.39 cents per minute to rent which means $20 will give you roughly 50 minutes of ride time. Scooters are managed by a fleet manager who repairs and charges them as needed. If there is a problem with the scooter, riders can report issues with the scooters through the app.

Bruce on the Loose on the Bird!

The installation of the app was really easy and so was the setup. I added $20, hopped in my truck and went to Pioneer Park, the closest scooters near me. When I arrived, the scooters were safely parked in the grass by the warming house. I

up the app and thought, “How the heck do I pick my scooter?”

Once my brain kicked in, I realized, hit the big blue button on the bottom of the app to scan the QR code on the handlebar of the scooter. A few prompts later and I was rolling.

Be warned, the scooter has no suspension, so rough pavement will rattle you a little or bigger potholes will hurt. The wheels are not very big, avoid potholes all together. It took a moment to get used to the balancing process. Everything is in a centerline over your feet, so if you are a bit top heavy like me, give it a little extra time to get comfy. I found that shifting my weight back a little toward the rear wheel helped tremendously and it also improved braking.

Once I had the balance figured out, the steering did not feel so squirrely, and I felt much safer on the Bird. By the time I hit 15th Street and Walnut Street, I was good to go. I cruised to Hastings Journal office (1304 Vermillion St.) for a quick impromptu photo shoot with Dr. Linden Pfeiffer in the parking lot.

I managed to get it going 16 miles an hour on the trip. That was plenty fast enough on those little wheels. Any faster and you would want to be wearing goggles. I can definitely say that you will want to keep both hands on the handlebars as one little bump will likely topple you.

It was a little on the cold side when I went for the ride at 44 degrees. With the lithium-ion battery packs on electric bikes and scooters, they do not hold a charge in the cold as well as they do above 50 degrees. Add my larger stature and the battery was about half depleted in the 20 minutes I went for a ride. I know it was not full when I started, but it looked very close. Two other riders were checking out their Birds as I returned. They had already gone on a few rides this week and they said they were impressed with the battery performance.

The return process does require the phone to close out the ride. Once you do, you are required to take a picture of where you leave the Bird. The app even tells you to how to safely park it. Once you submit the parked picture, you are given a summary of your ride along with the remaining balance on your account. You will also receive a receipt via email.

Overall, the ride was fun, and this will be a great addition to the community. Having the scooters all over town, especially down on the riverfront for use on the trails will be neat to see this summer. It was fun and I suggest you give it at least a try if you can.

More information on the scooters can be found at www.bird.co (yes, .CO not .COM)