It seems like everyone here is in the wrong? A service that moves scooters to proper locations is necessary but these two are clearly in it for the money. It would be easier, cheaper and better for everyone involved if they just moved the scooters to the sidewalk. Holding them ransom behind razorwire is just an attempt to get money while hiding behind a thin veil of public service.
Lime/Bird meanwhile trying to get their property back while minimizing potential PR nightmares that spotlight the harm they cause.
Standard case of humans being humans and trying to get money while maintaining the moral high ground.
So how is them 'being in it for the money' any different from any other type of repossessor? I'm not aware of any tow truck operators that do the work as a charity or public service. If the scooter companies had any sort of plan to reburse people for moving the scooters to appropriate parking places, then I would feel differently, but AFAIK none of the scooter companies operates such a program.
If the scooter companies were playing ball, they would have a place to return scooters to that a tow team could bring the offending scooters back to instead of their lot. The alternative of 'dump it on a public sidewalk' is a terrible suggestion. If they get 100 scooters on their property are they supposed to stack them like cordwood and block a public way? I wouldn't say it is masquerading as a public service, these are just some people being paid for labour. A business owner would have to expend resources moving all of these scooters, so they outsource this effort to a tow team and ask them to look for compensation from the scooter owners which are the large companies in lieu of direct payment.
Instead the scooter companies try to defer all responsibility to the riders and charging contractors. The scooter companies have an equal opportunity to pay for a different kind of contractor to fix scooters that are parked poorly, or pay the tow team that collects them on behalf of private property owners. If the private property owners are not permitted to destroy/dispose of the scooters as trash, it is only reasonable for them to be removed and the scooter companies pay up for the nuisance.
Instead? They are going to courts, which they will lose. So they may try to get some local ordinances/laws in their favour instead. Once again it's just a gamble to hit it big before the hammer comes down, and I wish this scooter generation of companies learned from Uber/Lyft and work with the communities instead of just taking advantage of their goodwill and make it harder for the next companies to try the next big idea. I can't place these tow guys in the wrong here, it is unreasonable to force a private property owner to manage whatever non-trash things end up being dumped on it on behalf of the thing's owner at the property owner's expense.
Why would they spend 12 hours day 7 days a week doing what the rider should have done in the first place? If the companies gave incentives for riders to put the scooters in those places these two wouldn't have a business model.
Lime/Bird meanwhile trying to get their property back while minimizing potential PR nightmares that spotlight the harm they cause.
Standard case of humans being humans and trying to get money while maintaining the moral high ground.