Whether you like the Bird electric scooter or not, this new mode of public transportation has arrived in Ann Arbor, Michigan. When the Bird scooter arrived, I had never heard of such a concept. A scooter that you pay for that gets you from point A to point B, similar to Uber in context. Revolutionary.

This new electric vehicle sharing scooter is run through a cell phone app that allows you to see the locations of the bird scooters within your city and the battery life of each individual scooter if desired. It only takes $1 to start the electric scooter after scanning the QR code and costs a mere twenty cents per minute after. With three light kickoffs, you are able to kickstart the scooter and control the speed, which reaches up to 15 miles per hour, and brake when necessary. Amazing.

There is no turning back now. Bird scooters can be used by anyone and everyone with a Drivers' License and credit/debit card and get you from point A to point B in significantly less time than walking for a small price. The other day I went from one end of Ann Arbor to my home in about seven minutes and it only cost me a mere $2.40 and one-third of my time. This is revolutionary.

Bicycles do the same thing, I understand, but I do not own a bicycle and this helps me get where I need to be faster and cheaply. If I were to order an Uber, the cost would have been at least $5 and honestly more time, because of the process of ordering the Uber, waiting for the Uber, and then riding in the Uber. This is also better than the bus system The Ride in Ann Arbor for me. The bus I would take to get to my home does not run frequently or at all on weekends, and although the bus system is free for students, it is not very reliable. This new scooter is now the most reliable source of public transportation for me when Birds are around my current location.

Bird scooters are not only reliable, but I feel like a kid that just learned how to ride a bike when I use the Bird scooter. Not only is it easy to use, but you can also go up to 15 miles per hour and zoom past so many people walking. The experience is exhilarating every single time.

But not everyone feels the same way about the Bird scooters as I do. When Bird scooters first landed September 7th, the Ann Arbor police confiscated and locked up scooters deployed on the University of Michigan campus. The city of Ann Arbor warned the Bird scooters users of possible ticketing for not following the rules of Bird: ride the scooter in bike lanes when available, wear a helmet, do not leave the scooters on the street, and do not ride the scooters on sidewalks.

In other cities, such as Los Angeles, Bird scooters are getting set on fire and buried at sea by locals. Locals here are upset that those who ride the scooters do not use other forms of transportation such as surfing or skateboarding, as well as the tech industry infiltrating the community without permission. Locals were also annoyed with people leaving the scooters anywhere and everywhere and not obeying traffic signals as well as bothering pedestrians. In Santa Monica, the city sued the company for operating a business without proper city authorization. Multiple cities and locals are upset with the addition of the bird scooters to their city.

But when Uber and Lyft first arrived on the scene, cities and locals were not happy, but now look how far each car service has come. The Bird Movement is upon us, and the Bird scooters will withstand the criticism.

Thank you Travis VanderZanden.