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Company To "Repair Communication" After Hundreds of Scooters Land in East Lansing

Nearly a hundred Bird scooters were dropped off in East Lansing without the permission from the city's council earlier this month. 

The council held a public meeting Tuesday night with a special presentation from the electric scooter company to discuss their concerns with the overnight pop up.

Ted Fetters, Bird's Manager of Government Relations, confirmed the drop off was unannounced. He said the company only wanted to test their success in the city.

"We saw it as a great city and town to work in, we expected great demand and we saw that demand through this pop up which is what we wanted to show," Fetters said.

Fetters said they intend to repair their communication with East Lansing in the future and move foward with an understanding. 

"I hope to work with them continually. I'll be reaching out soon to speak with them further and part of it will be in the hands of city council on how they'd like to engage and the city manager. but I'm very much looking forward to it," Fetters said.

Bird reported 600 rides per day and 19 employed scooter chargers in East Lansing.

On Monday, East Lansing Mayor Pro-Tem Erik Altmann said they wanted to question Bird on how it handles liability issues, safety issues, and what do with scooters that are parked on the sidewalk where they’re a nuisance.

"We also need to hear from the community about what they want," said Altmann. 

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