Loyalty != preference. I bet parent – like me – has a preference for the better scooters and software (Bird) over the shitty ones (Lime), but he’ll grab a Lime if no Bird is nearby.
That's exactly it. I'll always take a Bird (or Spin) over a Lime, but it's a judgement call (distance, battery, etc).
Compared to, say, Uber vs Lyft, in which I personally refuse to use Uber no matter what.