Scooters

If you want to scoot around Oxford, you're in luck. We have BIRD scooters aplenty. Scooters are great for short distance rides, which makes them perfect for Oxford. We’re a small town so your average scooter ride from one location to another is only going to take anywhere from eight to ten minutes long and cost you around $3.

Etiquette

Scooters are so fun that most people want to try riding them at least once. And once you ride once you’ll probably want to ride again. While we don’t want to put a stop to the fun, we also want you to be as safe as possible (because you know what’s not fun? Wiping out in the middle of the road and getting seriously hurt). So here’s some stuff to keep in mind that’ll help you have fun and be safe:

• Do:

  • Wear a helmet.

  • Keep both hands on the handlebars at all times. (Please do not text and ride, seriously.)

  • Park the scooters near bike locks on campus or in their designated parking spots uptown.

  • “Lock” your scooter (using the app) when you’re done riding it. If you leave it unlocked, someone else can hop on and ride it on your dime.

  • Have fun!

• Do not:

  • Ride the scooters on the sidewalks when you’re uptown. Stick to the streets.

  • Ride the scooters across intersections. Instead, dismount and walk the scooter across.

  • Leave the scooters in the middle of sidewalks, especially since this creates an obstacle that people in wheelchairs need to move around. Let’s keep our sidewalks open for everyone to move freely on.

  • Ride with two people to one scooter. There’s just not enough foot room to safely do this. Limit your ride to one person per scooter.

Getting Started

Now that you know the do’s and don’ts, let’s help you get started. You’ll want to first download the BIRD app (for either iPhone or Android) onto your smartphone. You’ll then need to take a photo of your driver’s license and input your credit card information. Once this is done, all you have to do is walk up to a scooter, open the app, scan the scooter’s barcode (located near the handlebars) and get going! For more detailed instructions on how to operate the scooters, click here.

Cost

Scooters cost $1 to unlock, then an additional 15 cents/minute. (Note: you cannot exceed more than $100/day.)

Where are they?

Scooters can be found all over town, typically wherever an individual leaves one after riding it. In the morning you’ll find scooters neatly lined up in rows of three or four throughout neighborhoods and parked in Scooters Only parking spaces uptown at the corner of Beech and High St. and at the corner of East Park Place and High St. These are put there by professional “chargers” who are hired by the companies to collect the scooters overnight, charge their batteries, and then release them back into the wild in the morning.