Oct. 11, 2022: An e-scooter in Provo, newly provided by Bird. (Kate Davis/KSL NewsRadio)
PROVO, Utah — People in Provo have a few more ways to get around town after Bird Global launched a shared mobility program over the weekend.
You’ve likely seen the electric bikes or scooters already, as Provo participated in a pilot program in 2019. The city says they’ll slowly add as many as 500 scooters and 200 e-bikes to what they call their mobility program.
“Our partnership with Bird finally fulfills our mobility goal of providing both e-bikes and scooters to our community,” said Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi in a press release.
The bikes and scooters were originally envisioned to help commuters get to and from mass transit hubs. In other words, they were intended to act as a link to buses or trains. The idea, to increase the use of mass transit and ease traffic congestion.
“Scooters and e-bikes … provide a means for first-and last-mile of mass transit use,” said Bill Pepperone, Provo development services director.
But more and more, people use them in other ways.
“It is not unusual to see citizens using scooters on the Provo River trail as far north as Bridal Veil Falls,” Pepperone said in a press release.
Students and staff of BYU will also see Bird bikes, as they have been allowed on campus.
Bird already offers similar shared mobility programs in Orem, Ogden, Sandy, West Valley, and Millcreek. Those who want to “rent” the scooters or e-bikes log into an app on their cell phone.