This town seriously hates electric scooters

ELECTRIC scooters are being burned, dumped or tossed into the ocean in California as locals take out their frustration on the ride sharing schemes.

Electric scooters are burned and dumped in southern California.

RESIDENTS in Southern California are venting their frustrations with the biggest bane of their lives — electric scooters.

Locals have had enough with the rise of the scooter share companies and have resorted to vandalism to make their feelings known.

The pay-per-mile scooters are operated by Bird and LimeBike and are similar to Australia’s largely unsuccessful bike share schemes, run by companies like oBike and Reddy Go.

And much like Aussie consumers, Californians were less than impressed with their new toys.

The scooters have been responsible for a string of traffic accidents and scooter pilots have been observed rushing through the streets, ignoring traffic signals.

The Los Angeles Times reported this month that workers at Santa Monica Beach and Venice Beach have witnessed scooters tossed into the ocean and rubbish bins.

One police officer in Venice said his officers have seen scooters stacked 3m high, but the cases are not being called in.

“If we have to prioritise the allocation of our time and resources, first and foremost we’re going to prioritise the preservation of life,” Lieutenant Michael Soliman said.

“Protection of property comes second.”

An Instagram account has surfaced, called Bird Graveyard, which celebrates the creative ways people are destroying their scooters.

The account has more than 30,000 followers and asks followers to contribute photographs or footage of their acts of scooter vandalism.

“If a bird or lime scooter has died, please send us pictures or video so we can honour its death. RIP,” the account states.

Head of electric scooter sharing service Bird, Kenneth Schlenker, wondering where it all went so wrong. Picture: AFP/Eric Piermont

A Bird spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times that she was not impressed by the growing trend.

“We do not support the vandalism or destruction of any property and are disappointed when it takes place,” the spokeswoman said.

“Nor do we support the encouragement, celebration or normalisation of this behaviour.”

She asked that anyone who witnesses the vandalism report it immediately to police.

These electric scooters, which can go up to 15km/h, have proliferated in places across the country in recent months, often without warning to city officials who have grappled with how to regulate them. They could be found left in the middle of footpaths, which could be an eyesore in a neighbourhood.

These companies point to their overall affordability and the fact they reduce car traffic.

The Bird app shows where they’re available. Riders, who must scan in their driver’s licence, unlock one by scanning a bar code for an initial charge of $1. It then costs 15 cents a minute to ride one. Once done, riders take a picture of where they left the scooter to make sure it’s properly parked.

“If you imagine just walking on the sidewalk and somebody on a scooter at 15 miles an hour hits you, it can be fatal,” Beverly Hills councillor Lili Bosse said last month after the California city voted to ban the scooters for six months, following similar edicts and warnings in places like West Hollywood, Seattle, Saint Paul, Nashville, Boston and Miami.

The yellow oBikes were vandalised by Aussies too. Great minds … Picture: Ian Currie

Australia has had its struggles with ride share schemes as well.

The bike share company oBike was forced to withdraw from the Australian market after major complaints from customers.

As a sign of protest, bikes were dumped in rivers, thrown up into trees and hung from street signs across the city.

Similarly, Brisbane’s ill-fated CityCycle program, implemented by the council, was a disaster, with bikes found in random places across the city.

A new dockless bike sharing trial, Airbike, was launched in Canberra late last month and organisers are praying that locals will accept the service.

This story originally appeared in Fox News and has been republished here with permission.