- Aug 1, 2019 : Bolt, a dockless vehicle company co-founded by Olympian Usain Bolt, will soon launch its fleet of scooters in Baltimore.
Bird is a scooter-sharing company that launched in 2017 and has been dubbed the “Uber of scooters.” Bird is based out of Santa Monica, California. Travis VanderZanden, the CEO of Bird was formerly VP of Driver Growth for Uber.
How do Bird and Lime scooter rentals work?
After locating a scooter, users can begin their ride by scanning the a QR code within the Bird or Lime apps, which are available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Scanning the code unlocks the scooter and gives the user the ability to start it. Then put up the kickstand and propel the scooter with your foot three times before pushing the throttle on the handlebar to kick on the electric motor.
Bird and Lime scooters; Gocycle bike; in front of Whole Foods in Baltimore
Currently Baltimore collects funds from the program, totaling about $126,000 at the end of 2018. Dockless vehicle providers pay $15,000 to participate in the program, as well as $1 per scooter per day and a $20 flat fee for each bike.
Currently, Lime and Bird are the only two providers and are each allowed to distribute up to 1,000 e-scooters and 1,000 e-bikes.
Currently Baltimore collects funds from the program, totaling about $126,000 at the end of 2018. Dockless vehicle providers pay $15,000 to participate in the program, as well as $1 per scooter per day and a $20 flat fee for each bike.
Currently, Lime and Bird are the only two providers and are each allowed to distribute up to 1,000 e-scooters and 1,000 e-bikes.
Once you've reached your destination, park the scooter in a safe location, put down the kickstand and open up the app. You can then lock the device and end the ride.
But note: If you lock the device, other users cannot ride it, but you will continue to incur charges. This is useful if you're just running inside a store or making some other quick stop.
To stop incurring charges, you must end the ride within the app. This stops the timer that determines how much you will be charged.
Bird scooters in front of the post office on Wolfe Street in Baltimore (Jan 2, 2019)
How much does it cost to use Bird and Lime scooters?
It costs a flat fee of $1 to ride the scooter plus 15 cents per minute used.
How fast do Bird and Lime scooters go?
The scooters for both brands will zoom up to about 15 mph. Birds scooters can travel about 15 miles on a single charge, while Lime scooters can go about 20 miles.
What time do Bird and Lime scooters stop?
Bird's Chargers begin rounding up the scooters around sunset each evening so that they can be charged overnight. The scooters are then placed back outside at their "nests" by 7 each morning.
Nests are the scooters' starting points for each day. According to a Bird press release, there are typically about three scooters available at each nest, and they're located on private property.
A list of nest locations is not openly available, but a user can find them by opening the app about 7 a.m.
How do Bird and Lime scooters get charged?
People known as "Chargers" for Bird and "Juicers" for Lime are paid to collect the scooters each evening, charge them and redistribute them the next morning.
Chargers — known colloquially as Bird hunters or even bounty hunters — can make anywhere from $5 to $20 per scooter, depending on where it needs to be picked up, for the overnight turnaround.
Lime advertises that people can make up to $150 per night.
Who can have these jobs? Anyone can apply online or in the app.
Do Bird and Lime scooters have a GPS?
Both Bird and Lime scooters are tracked within their respective apps so riders can see where they are and how much battery life is remaining.
How much are the Bird and Lime scooter companies worth?
According to Bloomberg, Bird has been valued at $2 billion just three months after it received a $300 million valuation.
Axios reported that "Venture capitalists have never before participated in such a rapid and rocketing price spike."
Lime has reported more than $467 million in funding over the course of "about 13 months." Investor's Business Daily listed Lime's valuation at $1.1 billion on July 10, but valuation figures vary.
How much are the Bird and Lime scooter companies worth?
According to Bloomberg, Bird has been valued at $2 billion just three months after it received a $300 million valuation.
Axios reported that "Venture capitalists have never before participated in such a rapid and rocketing price spike."
Lime has reported more than $467 million in funding over the course of "about 13 months." Investor's Business Daily listed Lime's valuation at $1.1 billion on July 10, but valuation figures vary.
What type of scooters do Bird and Lime use?
Bird uses the Xiaomi M365 Electric Scooter made by Ninebot Technology Company.
Lime told Quartz in April that the scooters are proprietary and not built in America.
Bird’s Impossible Path to Profitability
- Bird is currently paying $551 per scooter, which includes the GPS device, shipping, assembly and Bird branding. Bird’s original projections of scooter costs were $360 per scooter. (But even at $360 they’d still be losing money as we’ll show in a minute).
- The scooters are generating $3.65 in revenue per ride
- It’s costing Bird $1.72 per ride to charge the scooter batteries
- Repairs are costing on average $0.51 per ride
- Credit card fees come to $0.41 per ride
- Permitting fees are $0.20 per ride
- Customer support equals $0.06 per ride
- Insurance equals $0.05 per ride.
That means Bird is making a grand profit of $0.70 per ride. It’s now starting to look like Uber and Lyft had a better idea – use vehicles that somebody else owns and pays for!
Aug 1, 2019 : Bolt, a dockless vehicle company co-founded by Olympian Usain Bolt, will soon launch its fleet of scooters in Baltimore.
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Lime CEO Wayne Ting on CNBC (Nov 20, 2020)
April 2019 Bird: Previously $0.15 per minute, with a standard $1 fee to start, Bird has now raised its rate to $0.29 per minute, the app shows.
The JUMP scooters are free to unlock and cost $0.15 a minute to ride. The other scooter companies charge $1 to unlock.
Bird’s per-minute prices went up in April from 15 cents per minute to 29 cents.
Update March 2019: Two more escooter companies are entering Baltimore
JUMP and Spin were given the go-ahead to participate in March, joining Bird and Lime as part of a springtime extension through the end of the month.
Uber, which owns JUMP via an acquisition deal last year, said the red scooters will begin deploying in Baltimore on Tuesday. Over the next several days, 300 scooters will be deployed across the city.
The scooters can be located and unlocked via the Uber app, accessed by tapping “mode switch” from ridesharing to scooter on the home screen.
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So-called "dockless" rental companies let people leave vehicles on sidewalks, a practice that is controversial in many cities.
People ride electric scooters run by Lime and Bird on the Embarcadero in San Francisco on April 13, 2018.
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