In a press release sent from Miami this week, the electric scooter micromobility company put a positive spin on what has been a dire shift in its fortunes.
"This announcement represents a significant milestone in Bird's transformation, which began with the appointment of new leadership early this year," said Bird Interim CEO Michael Washinushi. "We are making progress toward profitability and aim to accelerate that progress by right-sizing our capital structure through this restructuring. We remain focused on our mission to make cities more livable by using micromobility to reduce car usage, traffic, and carbon emissions."
It added that "Bird will operate as usual during this process, maintaining the same service for its riders and upholding its commitments to partner cities, fleet managers, and employees."
Bird signed its exclusive three-year franchising deal with Reno last year with the City receiving 25 cents per ride and $20 per scooter in registration fees.
Reno had previously cut ties with another micromobility provider Lime after too much vandalism and its electric bikes being piled up in heaps.
Bird's problems have been of the financial nature as it was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year after failing to keep its market capitalization above $15 million.
It's been a precipitous decline as the Miami-based company had gone public in 2021 with an estimated valuation of $2.3 billion and making its scooters available in over 400 cities.
As operations progressed, disgruntled fleet managers were getting smaller cuts from each ride and newly produced scooters were of inferior quality with brakes failing. Buying off a competitor Spin earlier this year might have added to the pavement aches.
Canadian and European activities for Bird are not part of the bankruptcy as it plans to restructure and sell assets to lenders in a last gasp move to keep scootering.
What have been your own experiences like with Bird scooters in Reno as a rider or a fleet manager?