By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
A flock of electronic birds hit the streets in Great Bend Friday, March 26.
Bird Rides, an electric scooter company, partnered with the City of Great Bend and a local fleet manager to bring 50 scooters for the public to enjoy. The rides are scattered throughout the community and are available through a mobile phone application as riders pay to use the scooter per minute.
Matt Hiss and his brother Mason Hiss went into a joint effort as the fleet
managers for the Great Bend scooters. Matt says they are looking for these
scooters to be an asset to the community for years to come.
"Hope everyone takes care of these," said Hiss. "It does not affect the city if they are not taken care of. It affects our ability to service them. If people do not use them or abuse them, Bird Rides can yank them out of town."
The electric scooters can be used on roads and in bike lanes and have a maximum
speed of 15 mph. Riders will need to be at least 18 years old to use the
scooters.
Spread throughout town, anyone can pinpoint the location of a scooter
by opening the mobile app. Hiss says the scooters should be left on public
ground once you are finished with your ride.
"They are all GPS enabled so we can see how they are moving around and make sure we are putting them in good spots around town," said Hiss. "We can see if the scooters have a low charge or in a bad situation and relocate them."
Hiss says if the response is good from the first 50 scooters, there is an
opportunity to get upgraded to 100 and even 150 rides. There is a thought to
locate scooters at ballfields during tournaments this summer and at the upcoming
Great Bend Farm, Ranch and Hemp Expo.
Bird Rides offer a 50% discount to low-income riders, Pell grant recipients,
select local nonprofit and community organizations, veterans and senior
citizens. Free rides are available for healthcare workers and emergency
personnel.
"I think it is a great addition and should be a lot of fun to explore Great Bend on these scooters," said Hiss. "We just ask everyone to be respectful of them and we'll be able to keep this around for a long time."