Bird is thrilled to be working side by side with communities, cities, NGOs, and universities in Italy to raise awareness among riders, creating a safer and more inclusive environment for present and future generations of citizens and riders.
Safety is at the top of Bird’s priorities, and in cities like Milan and Rome, Bird—in collaboration with the Regional School Offices—is educating young people in schools about the rules they need to know before riding a Bird: wearing a helmet if under 18, no double riding, no sidewalk riding and much more. After the rules, comes the fun part: Bird brings scooters into the schools, giving teachers and students the opportunity to learn how to ride them in a safe and controlled environment. Students love learning and having fun together, and Bird loves raising the next generation of conscious riders.
As part of their commitment to the next generation, Bird recently finished the ‘GO Sharing BE Inclusive’ competition with the Politecnico di Milan University. This entailed a four-month cycle of seminars and training meetings during which students were able to learn about the challenges of future mobility by confronting the main players in its development. The seminar speakers and members of the jury that selected the winning project included representatives from the Mobility Department of the City of Milan, the Milan section of the Italian Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted (UICI), the Polytechnic and Bird itself. Bird awarded a Scholarship to the students that presented the best project aimed at making micro-mobility increasingly capable of positively impacting cities and their inhabitants.
Bird is also community-oriented. We know that the impact of scooters is not the same on everyone, so we decided to solidify our allyship to the most fragile citizens: blind and partially sighted people, who may be highly impacted by irresponsible scooter use. To face this challenge and create a more inclusive environment for everyone, Bird launched an awareness campaign on the conscious use of scooters in partnership with the UICI of Milan. Through this educational video featuring Paralympic athlete Martina Rabbolini, Bird and UICI emphasized the importance of being a responsible rider, and the dangers that can be caused by riding and parking on sidewalks, particularly towards people with disabilities.
Keeping community front and center, Bird is also a proud partner of the Pride Parade in the City of Milan this summer. By providing ride incentives for Pride organizers and visitors, we’re offering a safe, fun, and eco-friendly way to get around the city. Our scooters (and team) also received a rainbow glow-up!
Bird is on a mission to make our cities more livable. In Italy and globally, we are proud to be working every day to be a responsible operator and do as much as possible to raise awareness in order to ensure the safety of all road users, including people with disabilities. This project is just one piece of a history and future of dedication, commitment, and passion aimed at building a cleaner future for everyone.
As part of our commitment to the safety of all road users, we have a team of ‘Bird Watchers’ taking to the streets of Rome and other cities this summer to ensure our vehicles are parked properly. This is one of our proactive parking initiatives we have recently launched, alongside our mandatory parking spaces and launch of our Virtual Parking System technology.
