Bird, the electric scooter sharing app, is being tested in select cities with their new electric bike for their rideshare fleet. The Bird team is excited to see how riders will react to this new way of transportation that can be picked up and dropped off anywhere. These Bird bikes are only available in Santa Monica and San Diego, but they should be rolling out nationwide soon!

Bird’s rideshare app is touted as being revolutionary in its own right. Many cities across the US have scooters available to customers by simply scanning a QR code and riding away. Users pay per minute as they peck at up to 18 MPH. They can then stop the ride at any time and leave the scooter practically anywhere; as long as it isn’t blocking entrances, sidewalks, or driveways. It’s a pretty simple process that allows the company to be so successful.

Since the Bird scooter was first introduced, many other companies have hopped on board and started their own version of this means of transportation. This has made it more difficult for Bird to stay at the top and continue being a serious player in such a competitive market.

The company is trying its best to remain relevant by introducing new designs for both the bike and continuing to upgrade the scooters. They have also introduced a new model that can hold up to 100 pounds more, making it easier for users who may be carrying backpacks or anything else of the sort.

Bird’s start to a wild ride

The start of Bird was a huge risk. Bird began by buying and operating huge fleets of electric scooters. The business was capital intensive, and it wound up having expenses that were far more than a nuisance—charging the scooters was difficult and expensive, moving and shifting them about to balance demand necessitated both human labor and numerous vehicles so on.

The business turned out to be an excellent vehicle for raising cash and investing it into more scooters, expenses, and, in the end, losses. Vehicle depreciation — the rate at which scooters in the wild deteriorate from use or abuse – was also considered.

However, things did not stay status quo for long. Over time, a number of improvements were made to scooters, notably their lifespan and performance. As the scooter-share company started developing their hardware, their cost advantage increased. Scooters improved overall quality, and heavier and sturdier models allowed for more trips per charge as battery technology improved.

The Bird scooter company has also started to produce their batteries, cutting out the middleman and saving money.

The Bird app was launched in 2017 to allow people to find and ride around on shared electric scooters without having to go through an outside service such as Lyft or Uber. The only requirement is that it be downloaded onto one’s phone so they can scan codes to unlock Birds when needed. This made for easier access than before, where riders had to contact companies beforehand by telephone or email, making this shift revolutionary!

Riders then pay $0.15 per minute instead of paying upfront for each ride like most other rideshare services do now, helping them save even more money while still enjoying all the benefits of a fun electric ride.