Bird E-Scooter Service to Launch in Indio

Bird E-scooter riders in the valley can determine where the electric scooters are available by using a free Bird app

INDIO – At 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, Bird Global Inc., the wildly popular and eco-friendly brand of Bird e-scooter service will launch in the City of Indio, making it the second city in the Coachella Valley to offer Bird electric scooters.

Indio will launch its partnership with Bird with 300 scooters, joining the neighboring east valley city of Coachella, which is home to 100 Bird scooters. Bird scooters launched in Coachella in May 2021.

Not all Valley cities have welcomed the scooters. In November 2018, the Palm Springs City Council met in closed session and determined that Bird Scooters must “cease and desist” within 24 hours or City Manager David H. Ready has been directed to confiscate and store the scooters as expeditiously as possible under the City’s existing ordinances.

The City of Indio, Bird, and the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting at the Colossal Cacti in Downtown Indio on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 @ 3:30pm for an interactive launch of Bird e-scooter service. The event takes place at 82-921 Indio Blvd. Indio, CA 92201. Event will be held at the Colossal Cacti art sculpture.

Bird will bring hundreds of e-scooters to launch, offering residents, students, and downtown patrons an eco-friendly and affordable way to shop, play, dine, and live local.  The launch comes at a time when people are increasingly turning to e-scooters for environmentally friendly, affordable transportation options as gas prices soar.

E-scooter riders in the valley can determine where the electric scooters are available in real time by using a free Bird app. The app allows users to activate scooters by inputting their debit or credit card information. The cost in Indio will be $1 to start, followed by a 39 cent per-minute fee.

“We are excited to welcome Bird to the City of Indio,” said Indio Mayor Waymond Fermon. “Whether going to the Farmers Market downtown, seeing some of the city’s new sculptures, commuting to work or school, residents and visitors now have another fun, eco-friendly way to get around.”

“We applaud the City of Indio for their commitment to offering convenient, environmentally friendly and reliable transportation options to residents and visitors,” said Austin Marshburn, Head of City and University Partnerships at Bird.

Bird is an electric vehicle company dedicated to bringing affordable, environmentally friendly transportation solutions such as e-scooters and e-bikes to communities across the world. Founded in 2017 by transportation pioneer Travis VanderZanden, Bird is rapidly expanding. Today, it provides fleets of shared micro electric vehicles to riders in more than 400 cities globally and makes its products available for purchase at www.bird.co and via leading retailers and distribution partners. Bird partners closely with the cities in which it operates to provide a reliable and affordable transportation option for people who live and work there.