E-scooter company Bird will be the only micromobility company in the city. The Bloomington Board of Public Works Tuesday unanimously voted to end the city’s contract with Lime scooters.
Jeff Jackson, transportation demand manager for economic and sustainable development, said in his recommendation to the board that Lime’s contract renewal application did not meet all requirements.
“I got an email yesterday from LeAaron Foley with Lime accepting our determination, and he wished us the best and thanked us for allowing them to operate in the city in the past,” Jackson said.
The City recently updated its requirements for the e-scooter companies with Resolution 2024-065. This includes that the city receives 30 cents per ride, rather than the 10-15 cents it received previously. Lime did not agree to this increase, as well as the city’s updated liability clause.
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Lime has operated in the city since September 2018. VeoRide, another e-scooter company, removed its vehicles from the city mid-contract last year.
Bird and Lime are about equal with how many scooters they deploy each month. In August, both Bird and Lime had about 147 scooters each.
As the remaining e-scooter provider, Bird lists in its contract that it will double its lease payment to the city to $30,000 to support the city’s bike and walking infrastructure.
Bird currently has 440 e-scooters and 110 e-bikes in Bloomington.
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The board heard public comment from Charles Livingston and Deborah Meyerson.
Livingston spoke on how e-scooters continue to be a right-of-way issue, at times blocking sidewalks and not being parked correctly. Public Works Director Adam Wason followed up that the board is continuing to work with the operators to enforce parking.
“I've struggled with scooters since they've come to the city as well,” he said. “But overall, they are a good last-mile resource and something that the community does value, even though it does have some impacts at times with the public rights of way.”
As of Thursday morning, the Lime Scooter app still shows a handful of scooters in city limits.
