PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Bird e-scooters are back for their second year in Pittsfield. While the city says they’re proud to offer the sustainable electric transportation for another season, one resident said the scooters offer a lot of convenience.

“You just open it up, scan the QR code on the handlebars, it unlocks it for you, hear the ding, and then you can just hit the throttle and ride off,” said Nicholas Russo.

What You Need To Know

  • Bird electric scooters have returned to Pittsfield for the season

  • Pittsfield residents and visitors completed over 25,000 rides on Bird scooters in 2022 with nearly 1,000 rides in the first week

  • Bird partners with cities and universities across the world to offer sustainable transportation options

  • The scooters are unlocked using the Bird app. The cost depends on the length of the ride. Riders must be 18 years or older

Russo lives downtown and he's a frequent flyer on Bird scooters.

“They emailed you statistics at the end of the year last year and I logged 99 rides over the course of the year," Russo said. "So, I'm going to be on them a lot.”

“They're using it to get around downtown," said Austin Marshburn, senior director of government partnerships at Bird. "They’re using it get to from the Berkshire Community College to, say, Dottie's Coffee Shop or The District.”

Marshburn said people using the scooters translates to less cars downtown.

“A lot of what we see is that people are using some other way to get downtown," Marshburn said. "They’re deciding, ‘I'll take a bus to get there’, and then tending to take (a scooter) from there for that last mile of that trip.”

Pittsfield users totaled more than 25,000 rides in 2022. Marshburn said the city is one of the most successful programs in the region.

‘The community itself really took to scooters last year as an opportunity to get out in the city,” Marshburn said.

“It's so great," Russo said. "Like when I go to visit Boston and you've got the trolleys and electric buses, but out here in Pittsfield, even just having this little slice of futuristic investment, I think is really cool.”

As more New England communities partner with Bird, Marshburn said Pittsfield is blazing the trail for the Commonwealth.

“We're looking to enter more cities in Massachusetts, but it's a city-by-city basis," Marshburn said. "I think Pittsfield’s a good example for others of how this can really work for both the community and for a private company like Bird.”

Marshburn said Bird will be back in West Springfield this season as well. The company is also eyeing the City of Worcester for a future partnership.