Electric scooter company Bird files for bankruptcy

[Zincwarrior]

Go into downtown Austin and these are always zoooming around, apparently driven by psychopaths with a deathwish.

Electric scooter company Bird files for bankruptcy | TechCrunch

Bird has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, capping off a turbulent year for the electric scooter company after it was delisted from the NYSE.

techcrunch.com

Bird has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, capping off a turbulent year for the electric scooter company.

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. The company went public in late 2021 via a SPAC merger, but in a crowded market built on questionable economics, its stock went into a perennial nosedive, with its market cap dropping from more than $2 billion at its New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) debut to just $70 million 12 months later. This decline led the NYSE to issue a warning that Bird’s share price was too low.


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.

 

[MinTrut]

Pioneers get slaughtered...

 

[Dekster]

Those were actually really popular around here for about a year and the poof they were gone. The bikes are still around but you seldom see people renting them other than to ride on the paved trail system.

 

[Lord Long Rod]

The problem is that if there is not a market for a large enough market for a product, and production costs, and other overhead costs, are not sufficiently in excess of revenue, then a business will fail.

I just thought I would drop some Business 101 here for the whiny leftists that will mourn over this.

 

[badger2]

Leftists are a false problem. Thinking the concept through, Austin is not serious enough of an area for micro ev innovation to evolve, Wisconsin is.

The problem with this Chinese unit is that it's not convertible enough to morph with the weather, even though it sells well in Europe:

 

[Lord-Humungus]

I’ve used them a few times. It was nice to be able to park in one city catch the ferry to another jump on one go the mile or so to the res or concert venue verse sitting on the interstate in traffic. However the irresponsible people really have ruined it for many. I’ve seen kids and drunk adults literally jump off and leave them in the midd of an intersection when time ran out. They litter the side walk from people just not caring enough. The market was flooded with them and as the new fade appeal wore off they sat dormant or at least in my area they did. Also because of accidents and pedestrians many cities in my areas started placing more and more restrictions on how wind were they could be used and that effected the market. They remind me of Segways and hover boards they dominated for a few years then faded away

 

[Invisibleflash]

What will happen to all the hotels, motels and restaurants along the Interstate when we all live in 15-minute cities? What will the gas stations do when we all drive EV's? Will they be converted to charging stations? If we all live in 15-minute cities, we won't need all those gas stations converted to charging stations along the Interstate. Have you seen even 1 gas station converted to an EV station?

The Petroleum Institute says there are 145,000+ gas stations in the USA. IBISWorld says there are 102,258 hotels and motels in the USA. And according to Food Industry dot com, there are 749,000 restaurants in the USA.

 

[badger2]

I’ve used them a few times. It was nice to be able to park in one city catch the ferry to another jump on one go the mile or so to the res or concert venue verse sitting on the interstate in traffic. However the irresponsible people really have ruined it for many. I’ve seen kids and drunk adults literally jump off and leave them in the midd of an intersection when time ran out. They litter the side walk from people just not caring enough. The market was flooded with them and as the new fade appeal wore off they sat dormant or at least in my area they did. Also because of accidents and pedestrians many cities in my areas started placing more and more restrictions on how wind were they could be used and that effected the market. They remind me of Segways and hover boards they dominated for a few years then faded away

Difficult to ban on sidewalks if there's no pedestrian traffic. Dangerous close to cars and busses. Out of the question in snow and ice.

 

[Lord-Humungus]

Difficult to ban on sidewalks if there's no pedestrian traffic. Dangerous close to cars and busses. Out of the question in snow and ice.

I have to admit the first year we had them downtown they were hella fun after a hockey game in the light snow. We were in an empty parking lot so there is that but was it smart, Nope. Could I have been seriously injured, Absolutely little surprised I wasn’t. Did we look like a bunch of jackasses, For sure. But man you can get a nice fishtail and power slide on an icy surface with one.

 

[badger2]

I have to admit the first year we had them downtown they were hella fun after a hockey game in the light snow. We were in an empty parking lot so there is that but was it smart, Nope. Could I have been seriously injured, Absolutely little surprised I wasn’t. Did we look like a bunch of jackasses, For sure. But man you can get a nice fishtail and power slide on an icy surface with one.

All weather all surface will probably evolve to tilting etrike and fast compartment changes according to weather, visibility with lights and signals mounted high. Current experimental unit has in-transit solar recharging like the Aptera, can cut deep snow like butter @ 1000 watts.

Tilting Examples

 

[MinTrut]

Those were actually really popular around here for about a year and the poof they were gone. The bikes are still around but you seldom see people renting them other than to ride on the paved trail system.

A lot of people bought bikes & things during the CovidScam.

Some even rode them once or twice.

 

[MinTrut]

What will happen to all the hotels, motels and restaurants along the Interstate when we all live in 15-minute cities? What will the gas stations do when we all drive EV's? Will they be converted to charging stations? If we all live in 15-minute cities, we won't need all those gas stations converted to charging stations along the Interstate. Have you seen even 1 gas station converted to an EV station?

The Petroleum Institute says there are 145,000+ gas stations in the USA. IBISWorld says there are 102,258 hotels and motels in the USA. And according to Food Industry dot com, there are 749,000 restaurants in the USA.

View attachment 876114

Buggy Whip Manufacturer Lives Matter!

 

[MinTrut]

All weather all surface will probably evolve to tilting etrike and fast compartment changes according to weather, visibility with lights and signals mounted high. Current experimental unit has in-transit solar recharging like the Aptera, can cut deep snow like butter @ 1000 watts.

Tilting Examples

Current cost?

This is definitely part of the future.

 

[TheParser]

The problem is that if there is not a market for a large enough market for a product, and production costs, and other overhead costs, are not sufficiently in excess of revenue, then a business will fail.

I just thought I would drop some Business 101 here for the whiny leftists that will mourn over this.

I feel sorry for the employees that have lost their jobs.

But many pedestrians on sidewalks will be delighted by this news.

 

[Zincwarrior]

All weather all surface will probably evolve to tilting etrike and fast compartment changes according to weather, visibility with lights and signals mounted high. Current experimental unit has in-transit solar recharging like the Aptera, can cut deep snow like butter @ 1000 watts.

Tilting Examples

Tronnnnnn!!!!

 

[Dekster]

A lot of people bought bikes & things during the CovidScam.

Some even rode them once or twice.

It is winter now, but really I have seen fewer bikers on the road since covid. Before COVID we would always have these swarms of spandex wearing old people clogging up traffic riding in the road beside the empty bike lanes they demanded but I have only encountered them a couple times since. We have built a fairly extensive walk/bike trail system though along the purty parts of our hell hole in the wall people do use and where they can and do rent bikes.

 

[Lord Long Rod]

I feel sorry for the employees that have lost their jobs.

But many pedestrians on sidewalks will be delighted by this news.

They can get other jobs.

 

[MinTrut]

I feel sorry for the employees that have lost their jobs.

But many pedestrians on sidewalks will be delighted by this news.

The problem is that cars are so dangerous, non-automobile drivers must operate on the sidewalk.