COLLEGE PLACE — Electric scooters operated by Bird, the vehicle-sharing company based in Santa Monica, California, will continue to scoot around the city of College Place until at least January 2024, the city council unanimously decided last week.

The “last-mile” vehicles, useful for students and short-trip commuters in College Place, have been on the city’s streets for about seven months but already have been used around 6,700 times, City Administrator Mike Rizzitiello told council members Nov. 23.

Most of that travel has been concentrated along College Avenue, which runs through Walla Walla University, with other high-traffic areas around Homestead Avenue, Meadowbrook Street near Walmart and the city’s parks.

When council members first approved the scooters within city limits in April, joining larger cities such as Pendleton and Hermiston, Bird delivered 25 scooters while piloting the program.

There are now 50 scooters parked around the city, and the city of Walla Walla is in talks with the vehicle-sharing company to potentially bring the electric scooters to the neighboring city, Rizzitiello said.

College Place City Council now has renewed its memorandum of understanding with Bird, which describes the overall agreement between the city and Bird and the expectations of both parties.

The updated agreement requires the company to provide educational materials to its riders. These materials, videos and signs must promote safe riding and parking, including information specifically related to parking in or near facilities compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Scooters improperly parked on sidewalks or other areas can impede pedestrians with disabilities, which has caused issues in College Place, company representative Garrett Gronowski acknowledged during the council’s Nov. 9 meeting.

“We know we need to do a little bit better job when it comes to community education when it comes to where to park the Bird scooters,” he said Nov. 23.

Residents who see improperly parked scooters can also report the issue, either by sending a photo of the infraction to the company via the free Bird app, or by calling Bird’s headquarters at 866-205-2442.

A local Bird contractor will move the scooter within 90 minutes, and the last rider of the scooter will be sent educational materials, Gronowski said at the Nov. 9 meeting.

While a fine also could be issued, Gronowski added the company only would use those measures as a last resort out of concern that complaints on social media could “spread like wildfire.”