WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – As quickly as they arrived and multiplied late last summer in West Lafayette, Bird electric scooters disappeared at Christmas.

The Santa Monica, California, company late last week told West Lafayette officials that it would take its smartphone-activated rental scooters out of the home of Purdue University for the winter.

By Wednesday, the day after Christmas, there were few scooters to be found on corners where, as of Friday, there had been dozens waiting for short rides through the Village, West Lafayette neighborhoods or Purdue’s campus.

“Well, I managed to find one sitting on someone’s porch,” Erik Carlson, West Lafayette development director, said Wednesday. “But they told us they were pulling out, and they did.”

The official word from Bird Rides Inc., funneled through a public relations firm to the J&C, was that “some of the Birds are going on winter break while students are away during the holidays.”

“We look forward to being back on the road soon and to providing Bird as a ‘last mile’ transportation option to individuals who are not away for the holidays,” according to the statement sent from Bird to the J&C.

Representatives from Bird Rides Inc. did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

But Margy Deverall, bike/pedestrian/mobility coordinator in Lafayette’s economic development office, confirmed the conversation held over conference call on Dec. 20 with Ted Fetters, a government relations representative for Bird.

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Deverall said Fetters told city officials on both sides of the Wabash River that Bird recently decided to operate in only a few communities during the upcoming winter season. Indianapolis was one of them, she said.

“Our climate being new to what they are accustom to operating in is something they want to study on a smaller scale,” Deverall said. “Just now looking at their app, I only see 10 scooters total in West Lafayette/Purdue area and three in Lafayette. Quite a change.”

Carlson and Deverall said they were told that Bird was pulling out of Bloomington – home of Indiana University – for the winter, too.

Yael Ksander, communications director for the city of Bloomington, said the city hadn’t received the same sort of notice from Bird. Bloomington has operating agreements with Bird and Lime, another electric scooter company, that requires notification of significant changes in service, she said.

“So, they flew off as quickly and unpredictably as they flew in there?” Ksander asked Wednesday. “We have not received that sort of notice here.”

Bird dropped off its first electric scooters in Greater Lafayette at the end of August, about the time Purdue’s fall semester started. The fleet grew to at least 1,700 at one point, by the city’s estimate.

The scooters proved popular for short trips, even as city officials tried to get their arms around how to manage scooters arrived with little warning or follow-up communication from Bird Rides.

The company allows customers to use a smartphone app to find a scooter and pay a $1 initial fee, plus 20 cents per minute, to ride. The system allows customers to leave the scooters wherever their rides end.

The retreat, temporary as it might wind up being, came a little more than a week after West Lafayette police began giving $35 tickets and calling towing companies to pick up scooters illegally parked, whether on private property or blocking sidewalks. Towing companies hauled dozens in the first week. Total numbers were not immediately available Wednesday.

As towing started, West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis said Bird had agreed to scale back its fleet, from 1,700 to 500 as Purdue’s semester wound down.

The retreat also came two weeks before the West Lafayette City Council considered proposed regulations for the scooters, including licensing requirements for companies and response time deadlines from scooter companies when there are issues. A proposed ordinance, still in the draft stage, should be ready for a first vote at the Jan. 7 city council meeting, Carlson said.

“When they came to us about taking scooters off the streets, they said they thought they had something we’d be happy about,” Carlson said. “But we keep telling them that we’re not wanting to get rid of these. They’re a pretty good transportation solution. We’re just wanting them to be operated in a reasonable manner.”

Jared Harter, a Purdue sophomore, said he’s used the Bird scooters to get to class, “as well as for fun.” Harter said he also was one of Bird’s contracted chargers, picking up “some easy money on the side” by finding scooters with drained batteries, charging them and then restocking them in designated “nests” for the next customers.

“They turned my 15-minute walk into a three-minute ride to my farthest class, so I will definitely miss the convenience of riding them to class,” Harter said.

In Lafayette, Bird pulled its scooters in October after the city sent a cease-and-desist letter.

The company is one of three – along with Spin, based in San Francisco, and Blue Duck, based in San Antonio – that Lafayette invited to take part in a pilot project meant to let the city test drive scooter providers for several months. To operate in Lafayette, each company would need to provide proof of insurance and a formal agreement with the city.

As of Wednesday, Deverall said Spin and Blue Duck were expected to launch service with up to 200 scooters, each, in Lafayette in January. Deverall said Bird has opted out until at least February.

In a statement from Bird, the company said it was working with Lafayette.

"Bird has been having productive conversations with the city of Lafayette regarding their upcoming pilot program, and we look forward to continuing our service well into the new year,” the statement to the J&C read.

Reach Dave Bangert at 765-420-5258 or at dbangert@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @davebangert.