OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford
A Bird scooter on the ground at Willowbrook Park Cemetery in Dunkirk Wednesday early morning. The scooter service is supposedly set to pull out of Dunkirk.
A month after getting tossed out of Fredonia, the Bird scooter service is supposedly set to take out of Dunkirk.
Dunkirk Planning and Development Director Vince DeJoy informed the Common Council Tuesday that Fredonia’s relocation had a function in the choice. Fredonia’s Board of Trustees voted to end the town’s agreement with Bird in July.
“It appears that the fleet manager that was dealing with Dunkirk, the same one that was dealing with Fredonia — when Fredonia ended their relationship with Bird scooters, it seemed to have ended the relationship with the fleet manager,” DeJoy said.
“It looks like there’s a good potential in the next 10 days they’ll be removing all the scooters because there isn’t a viable fleet manager,” he included.
However, DeJoy said the city of Jamestown is thinking about including the service, and Bird “is looking to determine if they would be willing to also manage a fleet here if the city of Dunkirk decides to continue to pursue this Bird scooter agreement.”
Two Dunkirk council members commented adversely about Bird Tuesday.
“I’m sure everyone notices the difference between management of last year and this year,” said Natalie Luczkowiak. “What a disappointment, even though the weather is no help this summer. I personally complained on the Bird app and I know Vince has emailed the manager about that program this year.”
Andy Woloszyn, a Dunkirk local, handled the regional Bird scooter fleet when it began in Dunkirk and Fredonia in 2022. It was taken control of by an Orchard Park local this year.
Nancy Nichols said, “It’s wonderful news to hear about those scooters. I’m so tired of hearing people calling me (that) they’re in their front yard, they’re leaning up against a fire hydrant, they’re all over the city. It’s terrible… They’re being used, but they’re also being abused. The situation is out of control.”
Nichols was at first a huge advocate of Bird. When the service made its May 2022 Dunkirk launching, she presented with a scooter in a picture she sent to the OBSERVER.
DeJoy said to Nichols that the service might be helpful with a good fleet supervisor.
There were just 2 scooters available to lease in Dunkirk since Wednesday early morning, according to Bird’s online app. One of them remained in Willowbrook Park Cemetery on Central Avenue. In its short prime time, the service used about 30 scooters in the city.
The app revealed no scooters left in Fredonia.
