By John McLoone

Riders will be able to “zip” around Hastings on Bird Scooters this year.

The Hastings City Council on Feb. 22 approved an agreement that will allow the scooter rental operation prevalent in large cities to operate in Hastings.

On Feb. 7, the City Council amended an ordinance to allow for “micro mobility vehicles and established a licensing requirement and fees for those seeking operation of rental services within the public right-of-way,” a staff memo states.

“Bird Rides proposes to operate a rental service consisting of up to 100 motorized e-scooters,” a memo from Community Development Director John Hinzman states. “Vehicles would be located in various places throughout the city. Users would locate and rent vehicles through the Bird app downloaded on their smartphones.”

Riders must be over 18. Upon completion of use, riders snap a photo showing where they left the scooter.

“Bird would hire a local fleet manager who is responsible for managing the fleet including charging, repairs and various performance tasks. All vehicles would be tracked by GPS and incorporate technology prohibiting operation in restricted areas including downtown sidewalks,” Hinzman wrote.

Bird will pay $5,500 to the city for licensing the operation.

Bird was founded in 2017 and operates in 375 cities worldwide. It also operates in smaller cities in Minnesota such as New Ulm, Marshall and Albert Lea.

Pricing to use a scooter is $1 a minute. Average price is $7 per ride.

The scooters will be available in the city in April or May, depending on the weather.

Photo from Bird.