Months after ending a program to help cities fund transportation infrastructure improvements, a company official says city governments were misusing the funds.
"Micromobility firm Bird quietly phased out a program to help cities pay for protected bike lanes and improve infrastructure earlier this year over concerns about how the money was being spent," reports Jason Plautz.
Maurice Henderson, the company’s director of government partnerships, confirmed the news at the Colorado Smart Cities Symposium, held in Denver in August.
"The program had been established to set aside $1 per scooter per day to pay for bike lane maintenance," according to Plautz.
Angie Schmitt broke the news of the program's demise in January.
"Henderson said during a panel discussion that the company found 'most cities were taking the dollars they were getting out of the program and plugging budget holes as opposed to plugging potholes.'"
FULL STORY: Bird shutters bike lane program due to misuse of funds
Scooter-Share Company Tosses Financial Reports
Bird was counting money in customers’ digital “wallets” as revenue, and has admitted that financial statements from 2020 and 2021 “should no longer be relied upon.”
Micromobility Growing in Smaller Cities
Shared mobility services are proliferating in small towns and cities, despite the regulatory hiccups operators have been experiencing in larger markets.
E-Scooters Are Coming to New York City
Major micromobility comapnies and lesser known competitors are stating their interest to take part in a New York City e-scooter pilot program slated for Spring 2021.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
5 New England states march closer to 800 megawatt wind energy project
Securing federal approval for the project may be complicated under the Trump administration, which has historically been hostile towards domestic wind power.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association