Bird rebuked as Redondo plans ban
Bird scooters left scattered in a median along Catalina Avenue during a “pop-up” demonstration in early December. Photo
Bird may not have understood the impact of its unannounced 200-scooter “pop-up” demonstration earlier this month, but a handful of Redondo Beach residents and their elected representatives were more than willing to inform the company of its error at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, which went well after midnight.
The angry and disappointed council members told Bird that it “poisoned the well” for itself and other shared-mobility electric bike and scooter companies vying for the same market, then instructed staff to return in early January with ordinances to ban Bird and its ilk from doing business within the city immediately and in the future.
The so-called “scooter dump” drew the ire of many in Redondo Beach over the weekend of Dec. 7, drawing more negative comments in a short span than Mayor Bill Brand could remember in his 10 years in elected office.
The company distributed its scooters during the night of Dec. 6, stretching from Herondo Avenue to the Esplanade, offering free 30 minute rides to users. Users were then encouraged to email Brand and the City Council with their thoughts, using a form provided by Bird.
Both residents and their elected representatives were incensed by the lack of notice given by Bird, who made their presence known with an email to City Hall shortly before 10 a.m. that Friday morning. City offices, including the Code Enforcement Department, were closed that day and through the weekend, which the Council felt wasn’t a coincidence.
Photos taken by city employees showed scooters placed strategically throughout the city, particularly along Pacific Coast Highway going west, as well as a number of scooters creatively redistributed into trees and medians.
“You caused a disruption, ruined everybody’s weekends up here, forced us to possibly go into an emergency meeting on Tuesday…and basically took advantage of our goodwill,” said Councilman Todd Loewenstein, who represents one of the two districts in which Bird dropped their scooters. “You jumped in line in front of everyone else. I’m sorry for the folks who really wanted this, but you’ve ruined it for them, as far as I’m concerned.”
The pop-up tactic has been used in the past by Bird to force cities into responding, though many cities — including Palm Springs, Pasadena, and Santa Cruz — pushed back by issuing cease-and-desist orders against the company.
Many of the council members were disappointed in the tactic specifically because Redondo had shown a softer hand with shared-mobility apps than neighboring Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and El Segundo. Over two previous meetings in 2018, the Council opted against building local ordinances to allow local bike rental businesses time to adapt, and to work on a regional plan with the South Bay Cities Council of Governments.
Bird, Councilman Christian Horvath said, took advantage of Redondo’s goodwill, and blew up the situation for itself and other companies, including Razor and Lime, which had representatives in attendance.
“Council members forwarded me comments, I was watching Facebook postings, and I’ve never seen it so negative,” Bird representative Tim Harter said. “We misstepped and we did something wrong.”
According to Harter, 943 people used the service for a total of 1,628 rides during the three-day pop-up, for an average ride of 1.7 miles. Most of the activity, they found, took place around Herondo and the Esplanade, though scooter users were seen throughout the harbor area as well.
Harter was penitent throughout his statement to the council, saying that the demonstration was to show the support that Bird had, and that his company’s mission is to take cars off of the road. He also indicated that Bird would not try this tactic again in the future, and hoped the city would move forward with a pilot program.
Resident Elizabeth Morefield was outraged by that attempted pivot.
“Let’s redirect to the subject at hand: How are we going to deal with a company coming in and totally disrespecting our community?” Morefield said at the lectern. “A noble reason of getting cars off the road is not a justification for jeopardizing pedestrians and violating our community.”
Resident Wayne Craig argued that the company should not be prevented from doing business with the city after “burning the bridges” with its pop-up. Another resident likened the demonstration to scattering shopping carts in the neighborhood, saying he was disturbed “that they come in here and leave their toys all around.”
At the end of the night, the Council unanimously directed city staff to return with two ordinances — an urgency ordinance to take effect after passing its first reading, and an ordinary ordinance to take effect 30 days after and into the future. The law would levy misdemeanor-level offenses against shared-mobility companies, but not their users, and grant the city the authority to impound devices.
Staff will return with the ordinances Jan. 8, though City Attorney Michael Webb noted that he’d be available over the holidays should the Council see fit to enact an urgency ordinance sooner.