ANN ARBOR – Ann Arbor City Council voted on two resolutions Monday night that will alter public transportation in this college town during summer.
The first resolution addressed was the licensing of Spin, Inc. as the only serviceable electric scooter in Ann Arbor. The exclusive contract is effective immediately, eliminating electric scooter competition in Ann Arbor during the three-month license period. Aside from Bird scooters, which appeared throughout the city in August, other electric scooter companies that would also be banned from the city include Lime and Lyft.
The resolution to license only Spin comes amid the concern over other electric scooter companies’ inability to cooperate with the local government on restrictions and maintenance. When the Bird scooters were deployed in Ann Arbor at the start of the University’s academic year, the city responded later in September by seizing scooters left in the middle of sidewalks or city walkways. Neither the University of Michigan nor the city of Ann Arbor were aware of Bird’s plans to drop scooters in the city, and many community members expressed concerns over pedestrian safety, questioning whether people should be allowed to ride scooters on sidewalks.
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