Brighton is officially a bird city.

A group of Brighton city officials and residents officially opened bird scooters as legal transportation June 30 during a press conference at City Hall.

Bird provides two-wheeled electric scooters people can rent for $1 or more per minute via an app on their smartphones, and the company estimates the average ride costs about $5. The scooters can reach speeds of up to 15 miles per hour and can travel about 30 miles — roughly two days' worth of service — on a standard electrical charge. Each scooter is equipped with brakes, front and rear LED lights and each weighs about 45 pounds.

Riders activate the scooters via an app on their phone and then can use them to ride as long as they choose. When they are done, they park the scooters, take a picture with the app on their phone and leave the scooters. The vehicle then waits for the next rider or is moved, recharged or repaired by Bird's designated Fleet Managers.

Bird currently offers its services in Denver, Aurora, Littleton and Arvada in the Metro Denver area. It offered its services in Fort Collins until last spring, when the city brought in a different e-bike and e-scooter program called Spin.

"We are excited to offer a new, eco-friendly form of transportation to the Brighton community," said Michael Woodruff, Director of Public Works. "It's another step in our commitment to embracing new modes of transit and innovation in the world of transportation."

The Bird application is available in the Apple Store or Google play to sign up. The app locates the nearest Bird scooter and a QR code activates it. A total of 200 Bird e-scooters will be distributed within the city. The price to unlock the scooter is $1 dollar and $0.39 cents per minute while in transit.

Rules and zones

According to Bird's Brighton rules,  riders must be at least 18 years of age to ride a Bird scooter and helmets are encouraged. Only one rider is allowed per scooter and riders must obey all traffic rules, including street signs and stop signs. The scooters cannot be ridden  on sidewalks but are allowed in bike lanes, sharrows or on trails that are at least 8 feet wide

The city has established nine no-rides zones in the city along five streets: Baseline Road, Bridge Street, Bromley Lane, Sable Boulevard and S. 50th Avenue. The scooters will not operate on several sections of those streets.

Public Works Engineer Noe Martinez said the lack of trails, shared roads and high-speed, heavy traffic helped the city determine where the scooters would be allowed. They will also be banned along Highway 76 and 85, he said.

The city has also created two slow zones where the scooters will automatically drop their maximum speed from 15 miles per hour to 10. One area is the downtown area north of Bridge Street between N. Main Street and N. Cabbage Avenue. The second is Brighton Pavillions.

Martinez said the city can change areas or add new no-ride or slow zones based on complaints or other issues that arise.

Residents can report concerns about the scooters by emailing hello@bird.co or calling 866-205-2442. For questions, contact Noe Martinez, Public Works Engineer, at namartinez@brightonco.gov or 303-655-2259.