BardTech

The post Santa Monica will allow Lime, Bird, Lyft and JUMP to operate e-scooters appeared first on BardTech . The city of Santa Monica has officially awarded Bird , Lime ,  Lyft and  J UMP Bikes , which Uber acquired in April , permits to operate both electric scooters and/or bikes in the city as part of its 16-month pilot program beginning September 17. The city will allow Bird  and Lime to each manage 750 scooters. Lyft and JUMP were granted permission to release 250 scooters each, as well as 500 bikes. In San Francisco, which is similarly launching a scooter pilot program this fall, city leaders chose Skip and Scoot as their official scooter providers. Earlier this month, the committee had officially recommended to David Martin, the city’s director of planning and community development, that only Lyft and JUMP receive permits .  Lime and Bird, however, followed up immediately with a protest , asking their riders to speak out against the recommen...

The post SF and Santa Monica expected to award official permits to scooter companies today appeared first on BardTech . The day has arrived. After more than two months of waiting,  the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency  (SFMTA) is poised to determine which of 12 companies will successfully procure one of the city’s five permits.  The permits are hot commodities for those competing for scooter market dominance, which includes Uber and Lyft, which applied for permits to operate e-scooters despite not yet having any. San Francisco is a key market for e-scooters; for some of these companies, failing to receive a permit could mean the end of the road. Santa Monica, where Bird is headquartered, is also expected to award four permits for its electric scooter and bike pilot program today. Bird is the most valuable scooter startup; it hit a $2 billion valuation in June after raising hundreds of millions in venture capital funding.  Bird, Lime and Spin...