Here's what could happen to all the Bird and Lime scooters when Hurricane Florence hits
- Rentable e-scooters will be pulled off the streets of Washington, DC, in advance of Hurricane Florence hitting the East Coast at the end of the week.
- The individuals who routinely charge the scooters will store them in their homes during the hurricane.
When Hurricane Florence pummels the East Coast this week, cities on the edge of the massive storm - like Washington, DC - could be hit with high winds and heavy rains. Because Washington's sidewalks are covered with rentable e-scooters from several different companies, they will have to be taken care of for the week.
The three biggest e-scooter suppliers in Washington - Bird, Lime, and Skip - will all be taken off the streets as the storm approaches.
A spokesperson for Skip told Business Insider that in the nation's capital, scooters will be pulled off the streets on Thursday night by the individuals tasked with charging them as the storm approaches to hit the city over the weekend.
"Our plan is to have all of the scooters in the hands of our chargers so we can redeploy faster once the storm has passed," the spokesperson said in an email. "We want to be able to serve the public immediately after the storm in case there are road closures or anything else that is slowing down or disrupting travel."
"We will review and address weather issues as they arise on a case-by-case basis in each of the markets where we have Skips on the ground, prioritizing the safety of our riders," the spokesperson added.
Bird will also be using the individuals who regularly charge the scooters to pull them off the streets for the week.
"We are removing all Birds from the road in cities likely to be impacted by Hurricane Florence and any related inclement weather," a Bird spokesperson told Business Insider. "Bird's community of trained Chargers will store the vehicles until the bad weather has cleared and once again permits safe riding in affected cities. Our thoughts are with the communities that will be impacted by the storm, and we hope everyone stays safe."
For Lime, which deploys scooters and bicycles in Washington, the company is "proactively removing our scooters and bikes off the streets as well as alerting our juicers and riders in communities that could be impacted by Hurricane Florence," Lime spokeswoman Mary Caroline Pruitt said in a statement.
"Lime has been closely monitoring the hurricane, and will continue to track the storm's path to ensure we are doing whatever we can to help our local communities stay safe," she added. "We strongly urge everyone in the regions expected to be impacted to be vigilant and pay close attention to guidance from their local authorities."
Hurricane Florence is expected to primarily hit states in the southeast and mid-Atlantic, such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia. Many of those states and the District of Columbia have declared states of emergency in preparation for the hurricane.