PHOENIX — It's been one week since the City of Phoenix launched its electric scooter pilot program, and there have been some bumps in the road.
Ashley Patton, public information officer for the city's street transportation department, says Lime and Bird scooters voluntarily and temporarily removed themselves from the program because they were having issues with their geofencing technology.
For example, riders must park their scooters at one of the 400 designated locations across the city, or else they'll continue to be charged. But Patton says that technology wasn't always working.
"It's a requirement that users cannot end their ride or must be precluded from ending their ride outside these designated parking zones," Patton said. "With Bird and Lime's mobile applications, it was not doing that."
A Lime spokesperson said with geofencing technology, there is sometimes a "drift" where a scooter might appear in one place on the app, but in reality, is a few feet away in a different location.
However, Lime says they have since fixed that problem and will be rejoining the program starting Wednesday.
"We are glad to be back on the streets of Phoenix and apologize for the inconvenience while we updated our software to help create a safe and responsible environment for riders and non-riders alike," a Lime spokesperson told ABC15.
However, Bird has yet to rejoin the program. A spokesperson for Bird provided ABC15 the following statement:
“Bird has made the difficult decision to temporarily pause our operations in Phoenix. We have successfully demonstrated to city officials the ability to comply with their parking rules, however, our decision to pause comes as a result of the availability of vehicles in the area that meets the program's requirements. We plan to continue working closely with city and community leaders so we can return in the future.”
Scooters provided by the company Spin have remained within the program the entire time. Patton says since last Monday, roughly 1,100 people have used them.
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