Scooter startup nabs bicycle advocate for new post
Paul Steely White will leave Transportation Alternatives to advocate for Bird
Matthew Flamm
In what is clearly a show of optimism about the future of e-scooters in New York, the venture-backed scooter-sharing startup Bird has named Paul Steely White its director of safety policy and advocacy.
White, who will be based in New York, has spent the past 14 years as executive director of Transportation Alternatives, one of the city's foremost advocates for bicyclists, pedestrians and mass-transit users and for reducing the use of cars.
The position at Bird is a new one for the company, which is based in Santa Monica, Calif. The year-old startup, which has raised more than $400 million in venture backing, has been beefing up its New York lobbying efforts in recent months in hopes of bringing e-scooter sharing to the nation's biggest market.
Well-versed in city politics, White significantly raised TransAlt's profile and budget—to $4 million from $1 million over the course of his tenure—and could prove a key asset in convincing regulators that shared e-scooters would be safe on city streets and a complement to mass transit.
"It's a huge score for Bird," said Jon Orcutt, director of communications and advocacy at mass transportation advocate TransitCenter. "Paul knows everybody and has seen it all working on transportation policy here."
Scooters still have a ways to go before they're legal in New York, but Bird has a pretty good track record. After flooding the streets of Austin, Texas, and Santa Monica with scooters without first seeking permission, the company is now taking part in pilot programs in those cities and others around the country. It is in close competition with San Francisco–based Lime, which also has been talking to New York officials.
White, who is set to start his new job next month, is the second TransAlt leader to make the leap from public policy to the private sector. Earlier this year the group's deputy director, Caroline Samponaro, left to help the Chinese bike-share startup Ofo expand in the U.S. market. But after three months Samponaro jumped over to head bike, scooter and pedestrian policy at the ride-hailing giant Lyft, which is in the process of buying Citi Bike's parent, Motivate.