The first 10 Birds descended on Santa Monica, California, in early September 2017. Within days, this small migration became more like an invasion. Soon, locals woke to see Birds scattered across the city's sidewalks and bike paths and on the boardwalk at Venice Beach--some 250 e-scooters left by the fledgling startup Bird Rides, along with instructions on how to rent them using an app. No one had invited Bird to Santa Monica. There were also no laws that specifically banned (or permitted) Bird's business--the closest were the city's regulations governing sidewalk food stands. "We are not selling hot dogs and tacos," Travis VanderZanden, Bird's founder, CEO, and head provocateur, said in March. "We felt we were in a gray area."
VanderZanden wasted little time exploiting that area, alerting Santa Monica mayor Ted Winterer, via a LinkedIn message, that many more Birds were coming. "We have $3M in venture funding to focus on the traffic and parking problems in Santa Monica and Venice," the message read. "I'd love to work together." The mayor's response was far less chummy, perhaps because VanderZanden's missive had landed after those Birds had. "If your company is the one deploying electric scooters in the public right of way," Winterer shot back, "my understanding is there are serious legal issues with doing so." He then pushed VanderZanden off to other city officials.
But many residents of this beachfront community--long a haven for cyclists, skateboarders, inline and roller skaters, and Razor scooterers--proved far more enthusiastic. Chaos quickly ensued. Citizens piloted Birds on the sidewalk (illegally). Teens caused mayhem by ignoring traffic laws while double-riding. Pedestrians tripped over discarded scooters that clogged the walkways. There were accidents, serious head injuries--Birds zip along at 15 miles an hour, and few trying them out wore helmets--and hundreds of tickets issued to riders. There was a protest. There was a counterprotest. Six months after the scooters appeared, Bird agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a nine-count misdemeanor criminal complaint levied by the city attorney's office.
