Bird Electric Scooter Sharing

[BoulderSooner]

I've wondered if their disbursement folks are temporary imports until they get locals or if they were always locals. If locals, you'd think they'd eventually put them at various trails. If not locals, they probably wouldn't know any better.

regardless who is putting them back in the morning Bird selects the spots

[Sooner.Arch]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnGMJnI1mwA

Video from casey neistat about the scooters. He starts talking about them at 4:30.

[DoctorTaco]

Fed-up locals are setting electric scooters on fire, smearing them with poop and burying them at sea: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...htmlstory.html

(Should specify this is in Santa Monica, not OKC)

[shawnw]

Some people just want to watch the world burn

[Rover]

Was walking in the Myriad Gardens a couple hours ago and a couple on the scooters came racing by and nearly hit me and some others. This on the sidewalks through the park. They were going way too fast.

[gopokes88]

I think this is a fad versus a long term structural shift like Uber

[ultimatesooner]

Fed-up locals are setting electric scooters on fire, smearing them with poop and burying them at sea: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...htmlstory.html

(Should specify this is in Santa Monica, not OKC)

poop on the streets seems pretty common from some of the stuff i have read about San Fran in the past year or two

[ultimatesooner]

$500 to buy your own, BTW

https://qz.com/1257198/xiaomi-makes-...san-francisco/

https://www.amazon.com/Electric-long.../dp/B076KKX4BC

My 1.2 mile ride the other day was $2.20

That's 200+ miles of rides to break even on that scooter.

Technically less at the $320 price in China mentioned in the article...

I'm sure their bulk price is way south of that

[BoulderSooner]

I'm sure their bulk price is way south of that

And even if it is not. That means they are breaking even in less than 2 weeks

[shawnw]

How do we know the timeframe to break even? Is there an odometer in the app that I missed?

[Urbanized]

I think the fleet has been doubled or tripled and as of the past couple of days the beginning-of-day nests are creeping outward from downtown. Friday I noticed multiple nests in Uptown and yesterday morning there were at least a half-dozen more nests along NW 23rd at least as far as Penn. there were also some on Western (one in front of Cookies!) and in Plaza District.

[Urbanized]

I think this is a fad versus a long term structural shift like Uber

It’s possible but I’m not fully convinced of this, and even if kick-scooters specifically aren’t the future I think it’s the tip of the iceberg for dockless GPS app-enabled electric assist micro transit sharing services. Just a couple of weeks ago a service featuring actual electric motorized SCOOTERS (as opposed to Bird and Lime, which are technically kick-scooters) started in Brooklyn: https://bklyner.com/revel-scooter-launch/

Having been pretty close to the original Spokies launch I got a real understanding for how limiting the docked model is. There is tons of demand but the convenience factor is very low. Being unencumbered by (very expensive) dock locations is the first piece of the puzzle, and the second piece is electric assist. I really do think that dockless electric assist bicycles, kick-scooters and even step-thru-frame Vespa-styled scooters take away many of the elements which currently keep people from walking or riding bicycles, and I think they will work hand in glove with services like public transit, the streetcar (I don’t think scooters will detract/compete) and Uber/Lyft.

These services will be viable alternatives on short trips, ESPECIALLY if we can build acceptable bicycle infrastructure.

This is totally anecdotal but also personal story: on Thursday my office manager and I hopped on a couple left outside of our office in Bricktown to go to lunch. We didn’t have a destination in mind. When we were westbound on Main at Oklahoma Avenue, a friend and notable downtown developer rolled up beside us in his SUV. He asked about the Birds we were on, mentioned that he was on the fence, as we encouraged him to hop on one nearby and go to lunch with us. He took us up on our lunch offer but didn’t want to do the scooter as he was pressed for time as he had to get to a board of adjustment meeting at City Hall after.

So we agreed to meet at Cultivar for lunch. He said he would go ahead and order when he got there since he was in in a hurry, laughed and sped off into the distance. So we rolled that direction, and as we turned onto EK Gaylord we noticed he had a huge head start. We poked along, following the rules - with the addition of a couple of Idaho Stops - and rolled past him on 8th as he parked, laughed and waved as he was climbing out, and rolled our scoots right up to the door as we waited for him to catch up. He was convinced and right then and there asked us how to set up the app and use the scoots.

I think as long as they (dockless electric vehicles in general) are plentiful and reliable that they are a reasonable transportation choice in dense areas, and often will be more convenient with cars when you factor parking.

[Pete]

It was super cool seeing so many people out on the scooters yesterday.

More than anything, OKC needs ways to get people *out* and around and to help bridge the still large gaps all around town but particularly in the core.

I believe that OKC will benefit from the micro transit movement more than most cities. We simply have way too many people in cars and anything that helps to change this is a very positive step IMO.

[ultimatesooner]

we went to an event in the plaza district yesterday and there was quite a few over there

[BoulderSooner]

How do we know the timeframe to break even? Is there an odometer in the app that I missed?

Because they stay in use for 9+ hours a day. So at the min they are making 6 bucks an hour. So let’s say 40 bucks a day (Which is a very low estimate). That is 10 days to 400 bucks 14 days they are at 560and have made profit per scooter

[shawnw]

I see. It would be interesting to see actual usage numbers and actual costs and such. They have to pay for the folks collecting them and putting them out, too. I'm just curious if it's a sustainable model.

[chuck5815]

Yea, the break even on the hardware has to be pretty quick, I’d imagine. And a unique advantage is that Bird doesn’t need to pay operators like Uber does. That leaves a lot more revenue to cover overhead, fines, etc.

[BBatesokc]

Watched a hipster wipeout this afternoon from my office window. He was making a turn onto Hudson and hit some water and went rolling off the scooter. Have to admit, I chuckled. *He was fine - other than a bruised ego and man bun.

[BoulderSooner]

I see. It would be interesting to see actual usage numbers and actual costs and such. They have to pay for the folks collecting them and putting them out, too. I'm just curious if it's a sustainable model.

5 dollar fee to the charges to collect charge and put back out in the am pre 7am

[OkiePoke]

I just looked on the map and I couldn't find any Birds. Have they been disabled?

[shawnw]

It's raining. Maybe a factor?

[OkiePoke]

I'm not near downtown, maybe it won't locate beyond a certain distance?

[KayneMo]

I'm not near downtown, maybe it won't locate beyond a certain distance?

I believe so. When I'm at work in Edmond I don't see any on the map in downtown. I live near downtown and can currently see them on the map.

[Urban Pioneer]

The Birds

[Urbanized]

This article sums it up perfectly: https://www.theatlantic.com/technolo...tation/561440/