VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) — ‘Bird’ scooters are popping up near the Oceanfront,
The app-controlled scooters landed in Norfolk Wednesday, but the company didn’t obtain a permit, so the City of Norfolk spent all of Wednesday picking the birds off of streets.
On Thursday, the scooters were getting people’s attention near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. They were placed along Pacific Ave., making it convenient for people like Bob Gallimore to use them.
"I think it’ll be a good way to get around if you don’t necessarily wanna drive your car,” said Gallimore. “It’s nice on a hot day like this.”
However, like Norfolk, the City of Virginia Beach didn’t give 'Bird' a permit to bring the scooters here either. Virginia Beach City Leaders said the company needs to pay property taxes and obtain a permit from the city.
In a statement, Julie Hill, Communications Director for the City of Virginia Beach said:
“Operating in Town Center and the Resort areas requires permits and franchise agreements, which this company does not have and did not seek prior to dropping off scooters here. Scooters left on public property can and may be confiscated.
It would need to pay business property taxes on the scooters it has here. Separately, the people who they hire to charge the scooters would be 1099 employees. They would need their own licenses and we have not had any apply for them.”
13News Now reached out to 'Bird' about why the company placed the scooters in Norfolk and Virginia Beach without having a permit. In addition, we asked the company what they plan to do going forward.
Bird responded with this statement:
"Bird has engaged with city officials and looks forward to working with them to create a regulatory framework that works for everyone.”
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