Royal Oak Officials Vote Down Electric Rental Scooters This Year

ROYAL OAK, MI — Royal Oak officials voted down a proposal to add electric rental scooters this year, citing concerns about parking, vandalism, routes, data and the incoming winter.

City commissions voted 5-2 against the measure, which would have allowed Bird Rides to place 100 to 150 scooters in downtown Royal Oak. The contract was set for a year but was commonly referred to as a "trial run" because it could have been terminated after 30 days.

While Mayor Michael Fournier and City Commissioner Sharlan Douglas supported the idea, saying it could provide data telling officials what works and what doesn't, other commissioners voiced concerns about problems they were seeing in other cities, such as people riding them all over the sidewalks and underage people getting access to them.

"I've never heard people wanting to use these or asking to use these, and I've heard in cities that have them, lots of people complain about them," City Commissioner Melanie Macey said. "I anticipate people are not going to be thrilled, most people are not going to be thrilled about having scooters in downtown Royal Oak."

Residents in other cities have complained about riders leaving the scooters wherever they want, sometimes blocking sidewalks and doorways. In addition, Bird doesn't have a rack where the scooters could be placed when riders are done.

Even though city officials could implement slower speed limits, no-ride zones and no parking areas, most commissioners would prefer a stronger framework before entering the agreement with Bird Rides.

Moreover, commissioners also voiced concerns about what kind of data could be collected during the winter months, when temperatures start to cool and roads start becoming slushy. However, commissioners did leave the debate open and said they would be open to revisiting the idea next spring.

"I just don’t think we need to move forward with this right now," City Commissioner Kyle DuBuc said. "I would like to take a little more time" to hear from problems other cities have had with e-scooters, and to consider other rental vendors."

Bird Rides operates out of California and has scooter rentals in about 400 cities, mostly in the U.S. and Europe. The scooters can reach up to speeds of 15 miles per hour and riders must at least 18 years old. Bird has scooters in Detroit and other cities across the Metro Detroit area.