When a parking spot costs $400/month... You ditch your car. And when public transit looks like this, you want 2-wheels. So e-scooter pioneer Bird introduced another ride option Tuesday — Bird Cruiser — a motorized moped/bike thing. They'll be available this summer in some cities where Bird operates, helping the $2B startup expand its not-car mobility game (macro-valuation, micro-transit).
For sitting, not standing... Bird and Lime raced for e-scooter domination last summer, parking fleets in every city and college town. Now Bird's trying to differentiate itself with a menu of mobility modes.
- The OG scoot-share: Bird's electric rides go about 15 miles on 1 charge, and can be rented starting at $1/ride through the app.
- "Bird One": The $1,299 version for riders who are tired of renting, but cool with standing on the Razor scooter-with-motor.
- NEW "Bird Cruiser": This thing's got room for 2 butts, and is a bike that doesn't need pedaling. Not for buying yet, just for inclusion in Bird's scoot-share fleets.
Urban + high income + low time... That's the target market. As high-income jobs consolidate in tops cities whose transit systems can't handle that much human cargo, there's demand for "last mile transit" options. Uber and Lyft are both chasing that. But Bird and Lime are totally focused on scoots and bikes to get you to work and home faster.