Flocking to town?

A flock of Birds might be about to touch down in Tiffin. But hold the feathers — this species is scooters. California-based rideshare company Bird Rides, Inc. is searching for a local partner to manage a Bird fleet in the City of Tiffin. Since it hatched in 2017, the company has grown to operate shared electric scooters in more than 50 cities nationwide and 100 cities across the globe. The company was founded by Travis VanderZanden, a former Uber and Lyft executive, and it has already reached $1 billion in valuation. Bird was the first company to make a listing on the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership's Entrepreneurial Opportunity Clearinghouse, which opened this week at tseoc.org. The site seeks to connect investors and entrepreneurs in the area and elsewhere and create awareness about local business opportunities in Tiffin and Seneca County. If someone or some group takes Bird Rides up on their offer of partnership, Tiffin wouldn't be the first Bird-filled city in Ohio, but it would be the smallest. So far, there are fleets operating in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, and at several state universities within those cities including Cleveland State, Case Western, Ohio State, and the University of Cincinnati. Seneca County drew the company in because of its two universities — Tiffin University and Heidelberg University. During riding season, the Fleet Manager partner in Tiffin could make up to $1,500 a week, according to their listing on the clearinghouse website. All legal, insurance and overhead costs are covered by Bird, as well as tools, guidance and support. There's no start-up cost, but the Fleet Manager would have to have access to a vehicle to transport scooters and an indoor space to store them during winter, the listing states. The use of a Bird is simple — users install the Bird app on their phone, where a map of available scooters is displayed. They supply payment information and scan a scooter's QR code with their phone to start riding. At the trip's end, the user must take a photo of the parked scooter, and the ride price is withdrawn from the user's credit card. Bird charges by the minute for rides, and the scooters can go up to 15 miles per hour. Tiffin Mayor Aaron Montz said he had been in discussions with Bird for some time about moving the scooters into town. "We support their desire to offer another mobility solution in our community," Montz said. "We believe that students and residents will take advantage of it, and it will enhance our city's quality of life." However, Bird didn't always ask for permission for landing in other cities. As a result, electric scooters have been banned in several cities, including Cambridge, Massachusetts and several places in California. In the company's early days, they dropped scooters off in cities by the hundreds without city approval or any warning. San Francisco banned the scooters after that happened; they had received 2,000 complaints in April and May 2018 alone. After several incidents of this kind, Bird softened their approach, and are now working directly with local governments to make sure scooters are introduced properly. Even still, not all cities want Birds to take over, at least not without a cut of the profits. Many people also still have safety concerns because it can be difficult to enforce Bird's rules, such as wearing helmets and not riding in restricted areas. Additionally, because the scooters can be parked anywhere, they have a habit of getting in the way. Bird introduced the parking photo requirement in an effort to combat that. Despite Bird's controversies, the introduction of the scooters to Tiffin would create jobs and provide an environmentally-friendly form of public transportation. Additionally, an Emory University study found that e-scooter programs drive millions of dollars of consumer spending in cities. If Bird can pluck out a Fleet Manager from the Tiffin area, the migration can begin. There isn't a timeline just yet, but city officials and TSEP are already eggs-cited nonetheless.