/Bird Electric Scooters Soaring Around the Port City
Mayor William Barlow, from left, Matt Fragale, fleet manager of Bird scooters for Oswego, and an unidentified scooter user in front of Oswego City Hall in July.

Bird Electric Scooters Soaring Around the Port City

They have gotten a lot of usage since coming to town on July 4

By Steve Yablonski

Scooter parked outside the Oswego County Board of Elections at East Seneca Street. Users can pick up the electric scooter at various locations, use it and drop it off anywhere in the city.
Scooter parked outside the Oswego County Board of Elections at East Seneca Street. Users can pick up the electric scooter at various locations, use it and drop it off anywhere in the city.

Oswego has partnered with shared electric scooter company, Bird Rides (www.bird.co), to bring e-scooters to the city. People have already put the vehicles to good use.

“The scooters have been a big hit,” Mayor Billy Barlow said. “They have gotten a lot of usage since they first went into service on Sunday the July 4th.”

The scooters are available through a mobile phone application and riders pay to use the scooter per minute, at no cost to the city.

Residents download the Bird app to their mobile phone, locate a scooter in the city through GPS or at designated pick-up locations (Wright’s Landing, Breitbeck Park, Oswego City Hall, Lakeside Park and others). They can ride scooters throughout the city. Rides cost $1 to start, 39 cents a minute after that.

“We’ve received some great feedback and a simple drive around town shows kids and adults using the scooters having a blast,” the mayor added.

The scooters can be used on roads and in bike lanes. They have a maximum speed of 15 mph.

Riders are required to be 18 years old and older to access the scooters. They are also encouraged to wear a helmet on every ride and required to obey all standard rules of the road.

“I believe, given our recent improvements, new attractions and infusion of residents living downtown, e-scooters offer a great form of fun recreation while also providing a viable, accessible transportation option to residents,” Barlow said. “It is great to see and I expect usage to only increase as more people hear about them, learn how to use them and especially once college students return to the area next month.”

The city has started with 50 scooters. They are GPS’d and tracked daily; so stealing a scooter is not possible.

Photo: Mayor William Barlow, from left, Matt Fragale, fleet manager of Bird scooters for Oswego, and an unidentified scooter user in front of Oswego City Hall in July.

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