Burlington city website photo.
Electric scooters will be a form of public transportation in another Iowa city.
Burlington has partnered with the Los Angeles-based company Bird Rides to bring a total of 35 shared electric scooters to the city. Burlington City Manager Chad Bird said that the scooters made for a “useful way to bridge the gap between public transportation and a person’s home or work.”
The scooters are rented and tracked through a mobile app, which riders use to find a scooter, and pay for their use by the minute at no cost to the city. The company plans on offering scooters to residents and visitors in order to help reduce carbon emissions, as well as traffic congestion on roadways.
Cedar Rapids has an electric scooter sharing program and Davenport officials are considering an e-scooter ordinance. In April, Mason City signed a scooter contract with the same company Burlington is using.
(By Collin Leddy, KBUR, Burlington)