Give ’em the bird
This summer I found myself working in Atlanta and living about one and a half miles from work. I was faced with a few options when it came to my morning commute: walk, drive my car, take a Lyft, or ride my bicycle to work and be a sweaty mess. Not wanting to pay/ fight for parking in Midtown Atlanta, I decided to take my bicycle. On the way to work I passed these rad lookin dudes riding electric scooters. I asked them while waiting at an intersection what they were riding and they let me try it for a sec. This little black scooter rides like the wind blows! And from that day on, I knew if I was going somewhere, I was Birding.
The Bird Scooter is like your childhood razor scooter, mixed with Pokemon GO. Basically it’s an electric scooter sharing service that acts like zipcar, just with scooters. You pay $1 for a ride and 15 cents per minute of riding. I’ve been riding them to work for the past two months and here’s my thoughts on the scooter!
First off, the app you need to have to “unlock” the scooter is very easy to use. The first time you ride, you do need to have a valid driver’s license, but after that it’s all fun and adventure. You scan the scooter and start riding. You control the speed with a throttle tab on the handlebars, and there is a front brake lever for when you almost crash into pedestrians.
The app tells you to ride on the road and wear a helmet, but I only follow one of those recommendations. (Sunglasses count as protection right?) Riding on the road is a bit difficult as the top speed is only 15 mph, which is fast enough to get hurt but slow enough to annoy actual drivers, so it’s best to stick to the sidewalk on busier parts of the city. Overall verdict on safety would be about as equal as a bicycle. Wear a helmet though. (I’m a bit too concerned about how my hair looks, so that’s why I don’t)
In terms of riding the scooter and how it feels, It’s fast enough and handles very well if you’ve ever ridden a skateboard or scooter in your life. The bird does handle bumps and other obstacles very well and feels effortless to ride. I did find that it struggles a little on steep hills, but that’s to be expected. It’s a great way to go to places down the street and round the corner. (You’re not going to Mordor on it so it doesn’t need to climb mountains.)
In terms of sustainability, I saved 660g of carbon for each trip to work. Normally I would drive or take a bicycle, but I wanted to do my part for the planet and also not be sweaty af in the office. Bird offers a great alternative and makes the commute very fun. Since its electric and pretty affordable I highly recommend trying it out. Also, Lime is a competitor that offers a similar green scooter.
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By Avinash Bhikha, ALDA’s Co-founder and CMO
Originally published at alda.life.
