More scooters are on the way to Kansas City
Those black scooters that you’ve lately seen people riding? They are made by a company called Bird.
On Tuesday, you will begin to see green scooters around town. That’s because Lime — the Uber to Bird’s Lyft — will be dumping a fleet of dock-free scooters around Kansas City.
Lime’s app-based pay system is the same as Bird’s: a dollar to unlock the scooter, and 15 cents for every minute after that.
Unlike Bird, which ignored city laws, dropped off its scooters, and then negotiated a deal with the city, it appears Lime engaged in conversations with city leaders, though details are light at this point.
“We truly appreciate Lime’s approach to partnering with the KCATA on how best to integrate this technology into our growing transportation network,” says Robbie Makinen, CEO of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. “We are excited about these types of innovative approaches to last-mile transportation.”
Not everything about these scooters is as cute or revolutionary as their champions (urbanists, techies, local politicians who want to seem hip) would have you believe. KSHB reports local hospitals have seen an uptick in scooter-related injuries, a trend that is consistent with the rest of the country, as reported by the Washington Post last week. And if you get hurt on a Bird or Lime because it’s defective or broken (certainly a possibility, considering these things are used by anybody with a smartphone and maintained by amateur mechanics), user agreements stipulate that you cannot sue those companies and must instead submit to arbitration. Just some facts to remember!
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