As of Q2 2023, Bird Global states in their
earnings release that "the Company had $6.8 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents which, without additional funding, will not be sufficient to meet the Company’s obligations within the next 12 months."
Even with the reopening of the economy since the lockdowns, demand for electric scooter rentals hasn't been as stellar as it once was. Besides these scooters being something we normally see lying on the streets of tourist cities, many don't have a need to rely on these scooters to go from Point A to Point B. Many times, people would rather ride their own bike to work or take an Uber.
As much as riding the scooters was fun when they were first deployed in the streets of NYC, SF, etc., it's difficult to learn how to balance on them and ride them safely. Injury rates for these electric scooters are high to the point where they're
becoming a problem for cities. According to researchers at
UCLA, the injury rates for electric scooters are higher than the injury rates for motorcycles. The high risk of injury is a big reason why people would prefer to not travel on an electric scooter.
If there's one thing that caused Bird's collapse, it will be the safety issues of their service.