9 ms·
Why are the police auctioning them? If they were stolen, shouldn't they be returned to Bird?
by jstanley 8y ago
Why are the police auctioning them? If they were stolen, shouldn't they be returned to Bird?
- nthitz 8y agoIn some cases police have confiscated them https://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/article_bab80638-c738-11e8-93c8-0f78c0cdd186.html https://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/article_ba... Sorry for bringing your site down scootertalk!
- tfandango 8y agoBird scooters showed up in my city unexpectedly, literally overnight. We woke up and they were everywhere, like... a swarm of... Birds I guess. Suddenly everyone is zipping everywhere on these things and everyone says how awesome everything is. But then mad people go to Facebook and say that someone once saw a Bird scooter in a crosswalk and the city loses it's mind. They get lawyers to write letters to Bird (to demand... what? We don't know). They hear nothing back. Soon city council is complaining on Facebook too. The police impound them by the dozens, creating a phalanx of Birds in their lot. For a couple of weeks after that you are lucky to see one on the sidewalk. People are sad, but then, unexpectedly, Lime scooters appear, literally overnight, everywhere. Somehow the Birds are now free of their cage and everyone is zipping about town on scooters again. I think they are cool.
- ph0rque 8y ago*flock of Birds
- northwest66 8y agoI must admit I had a little chuckle. I suppose there is a term for it when the correct answer is right there on the tip of your tounge but you just can't quite put pen to paper.
- meco 8y agopresque vu
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- ce4 8y agoThe company better renamed to Crow Inc :) English group names for birds are funny: https://baltimorebirdclub.org/gnlist.html https://baltimorebirdclub.org/gnlist.html
- tfandango 8y agolol, thanks!
- saiya-jin 8y agosounds exactly like one of the recent South Park episodes
- oh_sigh 8y agoIf they are used in commision of a crime, the police would probably keep it. But in this case they confiscated 400+ of them, so they're probably treating them as abandoned, which isn't unreasonable. Public space isn't storage ground for private property.
- drewrv 8y ago> Public space isn't storage ground for private property. Except cars, for some reason.
- jwalton 8y agoI suspect if you scattered 400 cars around the city, randomly parked in the middle of streets and sidewalks, the city would have some unkind words for you, too.
- jdavis703 8y agoExcept this is exactly what happens. Cars double park or park in bike lanes all the time. Cars drive on sidewalks or park in driveways blocking sidewalks (heck I was just honked at by an angry motorist driving his car down a sidewalk near downtown because I wouldn't move out the way). Cars park in private lots without paying. There's a reason why there are private tow operators, meter maids and cops out to enforce traffic violations.
- dragonwriter 8y ago> There's a reason why there are private tow operators, meter maids and cops out to enforce traffic violations. Right, so just dumping cars wherever isn't tolerated either.
- jdavis703 8y agoThe thing is so many people store their cars incorrectly nothing is usually done, so poorly parked cars and scooters are about the same problem -- except that a poorly parked car is potentially life threatening whereas a poorly parked scooters is annoying.
- dragonwriter 8y agoFrom what I can tell, police departments are seizing them: (1) When used illegally, and (2) As nuisances based on where and when they are left, and (3) As part of an illegal operation, where there is a permitting requirement the firm isn't complying with.
- robocat 8y agoIncredible pictures of 1000's of confiscated ride-sharing bikes: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2018/may/01/unexpected-beauty-china-bicycle-graveyards-share-bikes-in-pictures https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2018/may/01/unexp... Same issue with scooters...
- andygates 8y agoThe Chinese case in those photos is subtly different: a bunch of competitors all spammed the same place, so there was massive oversupply. When a competitor failed, the stuff was worthless except as scrap because of the insane glut.
- sizzle 8y agoThose pictures are surreal... Wish we could utilize those bikes in the states.