Bird, Lime and Veo E-Scooters Rolling Into NYC For Pilot Program

NEW YORK CITY — Flocks of e-scooters soon will be riding down Bronx streets, and could be headed wider in the city.

Bird, Lime and Veo will participate in a pilot program that lets the e-scooter companies offer rides in the east Bronx, city Department of Transportation officials announced Wednesday.

“Building on the lessons learned across the country, we are proud to bring e-scooter share to a large portion of the Bronx – an area with a population larger than most American cities,” DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman said in a statement.

Rentable e-scooters became popular, if sometimes divisive, offerings in cities like Los Angeles and Detroit. The companies tout the "micromobility" scooters as ways for cities to cut down on traffic and carbon consumption.

New York City's City Council approved a pilot program in 2020 but it wasn't until this week that DOT officials announced which companies could participate.

The first phase this year will encompass neighborhoods from Eastchester and Co-op City to Morris Park, with up to 3,000 scooters priced at below $5 a ride, officials said.

The second phase will begin in 2022 and cover Bronx neighborhoods further south such as Throggs Neck and Soundview. Up to 6,000 scooters will be deployed.

All the scooters will cost $1 to unlock and $0.39 a minute, officials said.