Lafayette Consolidated Government, Bird and Lime Working Together to Provide Safe Alternative Transportation Options
Lafayette, LA – Today, Mayor-President Joel Robideaux and company representatives from Bird and Lime scooter companies are pleased to announce a plan to work together to ensure that safe alternative transportation options exist for the citizens of Lafayette.
The plan includes a voluntary pause in operations to allow the time needed to address current state law. In an effort to expand transportation alternatives for Lafayette’s citizens, Robideaux will work with the legislative delegation, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the scooter companies to revise current law. Any proposed revisions are intended to modernize the laws specific to these shared mobility devices.
During this pause in operations, the Robideaux administration, in collaboration with the scooter companies, will create a local framework in which safety, permitting, logistics, rules of operation and other regulations are put into place. The pause is temporary and will last only as long as needed to revise the current state law and pass a local ordinance.
On Friday, January 18, Robideaux contacted both companies by phone and requested the voluntary pause to begin this week. Both companies welcomed the opportunity to work with Lafayette Consolidated Government and Robideaux followed up with a letter restating the request.
"Bird is very proud to be part of the Lafayette community, and we want to thank our riders and chargers for embracing our environmentally friendly option. We are so grateful for the support we have received and the relationships we have built thus far. Throughout this time, Bird has been working closely with Mayor Robideaux and other Lafayette city officials to determine an appropriate next step for our service. We have decided to remove our vehicles and temporarily pause our service until a consensus can be reached with the city. We remain committed to serving Lafayette, and will therefore continue working in close collaboration with city officials while we implement this pause. Bird hopes to return to the City of Lafayette in the near future,” said Sam Reed, Government Partnerships at Bird.
“Since launching, we’ve been impressed with how quickly and positively the Lafayette community has embraced scooters for transportation. We appreciate the decision by Lafayette to come to us and offer a voluntary pause and pathway to work together to develop a long-term scooter share program that best serves the needs of the city's 125,000+ residents," said Todd O’Boyle, Government Relations for Lime.