Bird launches electric scooter sharing in Brussels

After car-sharing, bike-sharing and moped-sharing, Brussels is now home to two rival electric scooter-sharing schemes.

American firm Bird launched in the Belgian capital on Tuesday, competing against Troty, which launched in June.

Bird's scooters which can be located and unlocked using an app - and dropped off wherever suits you, much like the city's "free-floating" car-sharing schemes DriveNow and Zipcar.

At the end of the day, the scooters are collected and repositioned at locations where they are most likely to be needed in the morning. The service is accessible to anyone over 18.

Bird, which is present in about 60 US cities, says its mission is to "keep people out of their cars" for short-distance journeys.

Brussels general manager Jonatan de Boer said: "One of the greatest challenges facing the modern city is the increasing saturation of road infrastructure and air pollution. We look forward to collaborating with the Brussels region to reduce unnecessary trips by car."

After Brussels, the US firm sees Antwerp as a potential new market.