Electric scooter company Bird files for bankruptcy
(techcrunch.com)
from Xepher@lemm.ee to technology@lemmy.ml on 20 Dec 2023 16:03
https://lemm.ee/post/18583994
from Xepher@lemm.ee to technology@lemmy.ml on 20 Dec 2023 16:03
https://lemm.ee/post/18583994
#technology
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
In a press release today, Bird confirmed that it had entered into a “financial restructuring process aimed at strengthening its balance sheet,” with the company continuing to operate as normal in pursuit of “long-term, sustainable growth.”
Founded in 2017 by former Lyft and Uber executive Travis VanderZanden, Bird is one of numerous startups to introduce dockless micromobility platforms around the world, allowing city-dwellers to pay for short-term access to electric scooters or bikes.
Things didn’t improve, and with its share price continuing to plummet, CEO VanderZanden departed in June with the company eventually delisted from the NYSE in September.
“This announcement represents a significant milestone in Bird’s transformation, which began with the appointment of new leadership early this year,” Washinushi said.
We remain focused on our mission to make cities more liveable by using micromobility to reduce car usage, traffic, and carbon emissions.”
This latest news comes just a day after competitor Micromobility.com was delisted from the Nasdaq over its failing stock price, three years after it too went public via a SPAC merger.
The original article contains 459 words, the summary contains 174 words. Saved 62%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
I think I’ll always choose to believe that they chose that company name because they knew they’d be leaving shit all over the sidewalk in every city they were in.
I’m probably the most vocal person for car-free lifestyles and micro mobility in my community, and I absolutely hate the the effect that these stupid things have in the car-free discussion.
At least as their existing solutions were rolled out, they made public spaces uglier and more dangerous for all involved.
Yeah, the number of those stupid scooters I’ve nearly tripped on is way too high.
Should be a flood of cheap e scooters in the market soon then for private purchase
They’re junk though. You have to kick start them and they don’t have enough torque for anything but totally flat ground. Save your money and buy something else.
Or buy them in bulk at a massive discount to salvage batteries and motors.
Yeah, just pay a local bike shop to build you an ebike with an “unlocked” throttle so you’re not limited to whatever the speed limit is in your area. I’ve seen people cruising at 25-30mph or so without pedaling at all.
They’re far more practical, tons of fun, and you can opt to pedal to get some exercise. Total cost would be something like $1-1.5k + the cost of the base bike.
Dude theres been a market of chop shops for them since day 1
This guy scoots
Nope, I bike
Initially the price to use those scooters was like $0.50/min which was great when you had to go several blocks. Then Razor hit the market and beat the everliving hell out of all of those shitty Bird and Lime and Blue Duck scooters in terms of torque - you could actually just hit the throttle to move. Great! Then the price wars started. Except they didn’t go down. Every single scooter platform went up in price.
The last time I used one, it cost me more than $3/min. I was stunned. It would’ve cost me less to take an uber (and I could’ve brought multiple people with me for no additional cost!). No wonder these are going out of business. They have priced themselves out of the market.
At least I think Razor is going to stick around because they’re vertically integrated.