Originally published at: Bird scooters files for bankruptcy - Boing Boing
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So much for my hope that someone would pick up all those scooters littering the pavement.
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Grab them all and combine them into Howl’s Moving e-Castle.
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It’s almost like a period where money was effectively free to the investor class led to some really stupid ideas getting the green light on a substantial scale.
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Based on all the discarded inventory I see around town and sometimes in the river I’m not at all surprised.
I have a neighbor who tried for weeks to get them to come pick one up from her yard. She finally put the scooter into the trash took a photo and sent it to them. It was picked up later that day.
Good riddance.
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This always made me wonder whether there was a legal mechanism to impound – or claim outright ownership of – these scooters if they get left on your property. Any property law types out there?
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IKR The scooter in question was left or tossed up into her yard at least 6 feet and not a on public sidewalk or on city/power/water egress.
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The good think about bikeshare e-bikes is it’s not your problem if it gets stolen.
I’m always worried that my $4k e-bike is going to get snatched.
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I still see some hacked e-scooters being used by homeless folks on occasion, which is always excellent.
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Like children leaving their toy trucks on the stairs, too many renters are wildly self-absorbed and irresponsible. Urban bans reacting to this behavior will kill what should have been a good idea. You’re an adult. Put your toys away and maybe you won’t be grounded.
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Thin-skinned corporations have always been with us, but the media has never been more vulnerable… — Cory Doctorow
Gotta give C-list lawyers in Big Business legal departments something to do.
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They gotta be at least 80% recyclable: Scoop up; break down; cash in.
The combination of greed-addled investors’ and banks’ thinking processes, and the unbridled exuberance (where have I heard that before 
) of ambitious starry-eyed next-big-idea techies, mirrors something like the “absolutely anything goes” Age of the Dinosaurs and earlier, where Evolution’s looniest out-gassings hilariously came and violently went.
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… not about Bird specifically, but related
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the company had the power to both encourage and ensure good behavior. fees for not putting it in an approved location, discounts for doing so, restricting rides for repeat offenders. designated locations negotiated with cities where scooters could be put. daily collection of scooters that were in places they shouldn’t be.
and on. and on.
the business model hinged on externalizing the cost of their trash. don’t blame the users that the model was bad, or unprofitable. this is all down to the techbros
( unless it’s true that the techbros can’t fail us, it’s only we who can fail them. )
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Oh yeah, try to silence Cory of all people with a lawsuit. Great idea
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I lived in Europe for awhile and really liked the scooters. It was a very walkable city with dedicated bike paths. Scooters were throttled in areas with a lot of dense foot traffic and geofenced where certain areas weren’t allowed. There were small dedicated parking areas where you were either required or incentivized to park. I can’t remember if Bird was one of the companies, but there were 2 or 3 brands in town.
I didn’t own a bike, but my m.o. was to walk everywhere. If I was in a hurry or tired I would take the bus. If I was very late I’d rent a scooter. Each one cost more than the previous but got me there quicker.
The scourge seemed to be delivery drivers on small motorbikes—but that also meant someone was ordering food and if it was a huge problem it could be policed.
I wished the influx of scooters was a path to making cities more walkable in the US by giving an alternative to cars.
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Thankfully, we were spared this particular outbreak of “disruption” to transport, as it was quickly pointed out that these powered scooters were completely illegal. They weren’t vaguely road legal, and all vehicles are illegal on the pavements (something that is, alas, difficult to get into some thick skulls).
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… DISRUPT DISRUPT DISRUPT
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