Bird scooters are parked on the corner of Grand Avenue and 2nd Street in downtown Laramie. The company introduced the scooters to Laramie in August 2021, but they may not be available for use this summer after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last December.
Bird scooters are parked on the corner of Grand Avenue and 2nd Street in downtown Laramie. The company introduced the scooters to Laramie in August 2021, but they may not be available for use this summer after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last December.
Laramie may be losing its e-scooters after the U.S. company Bird Rides, Inc, once valued at $2 billion by investors, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 20, 2023, in a Florida federal court.
Bird is the largest micro-mobility operator in North America. It is an electric vehicle company dedicated to providing environmentally-friendly transportation solutions such as e-scooters and bikes to communities around the world. The company, based in Santa Monica, California, provides electric vehicles in more than 400 cities across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Middle East and Australia.
In July 2021, the city of Laramie and Bird entered an agreement that would allow standup e-scooters through Dec. 31, 2021, as a trial period. The city and the company extended the agreement until December 2023.
The scooters were widely accepted in the first few months with nearly 23,700 rides on the fleet of 200 placed in town. It was reported that the scooters were driven nearly 40,000 miles, saving more than 5.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Although the scooters are still a popular mode of transportation around Laramie, they also became a nuisance for residents complaining that the scooters were left blocking sidewalks and right of ways.
“As far as the impact to the city, it’s unfortunate that a micro-mobility form of transportation may not be available for our local users,” Assistant City Manager Todd Feezer stated in an email. “However, as there is not any binding fiscal impact, the city will not be harmed by the news of Bird’s bankruptcy filing.”
The company began in 2017 and quickly rose in popularity before the COVID-19 pandemic. When lockdowns took effect in 2020, customers stopped riding and the company struggled to recover. Bird’s bankruptcy proceeded after the New York Stock Exchange delisted the company in September 2023 after failure to comply with the exchange requirements.
The company has entered into a stalking horse agreement with its existing lenders. A stalking horse agreement is for potential buyers to place an initial bid on the assets of the company. Bird said it will use the bankruptcy proceeding to perform a sale of its assets, which is expected to finish within 90-120 days.
“Bird will operate as usual during this process, maintaining the same service for its riders and upholding its commitments to partner cities,” Bird Senior Director of City and University Partnerships Austin Marshburn said in an email. “We look forward to working with the city administration as a partner in the future.”
The bankruptcy will not affect the U.K. or Canadian portions of the company.
