There’s no way to profitably run a company like Bird without foisting the externalities on someone else. Their model is literally to dump a bunch of electric scooters on the side of the road with QR codes on them and just hope for the best. Of course they’re going to get fined when their property is left blocking driveways, of course they’re going to be expected to clean up the piles of scooters that get thrown in the bay, of course their scooters are going to get stolen. Yes, all of that is ruinously expensive to deal with - it’s not a viable business plan. It’s not “onerous regulation,” it’s holding the company accountable for the costs of its business model.
It seems in the US regulations seem to be spun as something negative by all major news outlets.<p>For me this reads like sensible government policy at work. If the fines of cleanup eat into profits and are not just a minuscule cost of doing business, they set it just right instead of plain forbid it outright.
Sounds like Bird just doesn’t want to deal with the downsides of their business model.<p>In most cities where I’ve seen them, they’re usually just abandoned by people with reckless abandon. Granted, some of that was probably not the users but other people…<p>I’d see them in the Bay, thrown into peoples hedges, cluttering up sidewalks.<p>While I know they serve a use for many people, they also were indistinguishable from garbage.<p>If their business model depends on other people (not just their customers) taking care of their product and the cities/individuals to clean up after them, then their business model is clearly flawed to begin with.
I've noticed a significant drop in the availability of scooters where I live (a major European city) over the past year or so, including Bird exiting the market. Prices have increased substantially, and high-use subscription plans have disappeared.<p>I wonder how much of that is a change in regulations, and how much is the end of early price competition that was never sustainable.
Even in so called "walkable" cities in the US, the car is king. Cities who have bulldozed entire neighborhoods to save drivers 5 minutes of waiting in traffic cannot fathom anything rising above the slightest accommodation for any vehicle that weighs less than 1000kg.
>> another innovative company, this one focused on the crucial task of getting people out of their cars and onto other modes of transportation as climate changes worsens and our streets feel like one huge traffic jam.<p>Oh please; scooters don't get people out of their cars and they're essentially treated like short-life disposable goods. They're a convenient alternative for short-distance trips, like zipping through a busy downtown core, probably on a sidewalk, through pedestrians at too high a speed and with no signaling or safetly equipment. I don't like much about SF, but would love to import whatever brought about forcing out Bird to my city.
I am 100% in favor of <i>more regulation</i> when it comes to transportation in cities. Solutions like Uber, scooters etc strike me as great ideas; but also somewhat inevitable, and would have benefitted from a growth process other than "all the Silicon Valley VC money fueling everything."<p>(I still maintain that a movement to enshrine the idea that these scooters left around where someone lives fall under the legal category of "mislaid property" and anyone finding one as such gets to keep it and modify as they wish.)
'in the world'?<p>Electric scooters are still outright banned on public roads/pavements in the UK, outside of limited government trials (which appear to have been set up to fail, to keep them banned)
Anecdotally, nobody likes these scooters and I can't imagine any normal person who isn't financially invested in their success would care when they leave. They are a very dangerous and gimmicky mode of transportation in a nation where we could all use to walk much more than we do.
SF resident here.<p>The on-demand scooter rentals model needs more thought. The scooters are often broken, not charged, under powered or unsafe (unless you bring your own helmet) to get around. Ppl leave them blocking sidewalks and etc.<p>Best thing I ever did was buy my own ebike. Battery powered personal vehicles are the answer, and ownership pays off quickly compared to Ubers and parking and rentals.<p>I hope the city bike rollout keeps going. Keep adding bikes and hubs everywhere and lower the price of rentals. Having stations to park and charge and pick up bikes everywhere is better than the free for all of Bird imho.
Once said that the "too high fines" sounds like an excuse, I am not sure to understand the logic of the fines (i.e. the attributing them at least partially to the company).<p>When you rent a car, the driver/renter pays all fines during the rent period, except maybe those related to the car itself not being fit for street use.<p>Why is this different for these scooters?
I always thought S.F. would have made a great "city of the future" and ban cars and go full in on birds. Like <a href="https://culdesac.com/">https://culdesac.com/</a> (wow, when you look at the pictures from culdesac it looks like Sesame Street!)
I also left California because of the regulations and hidden taxes everywhere. They made it Very difficult for a hardware startup company.. If you don't have angel investors, don't bother opening up in Cali, go to a more friendly state