Can Bird build a better scooter before it runs out of cash? | Hacker News Reader

Can Bird build a better scooter before it runs out of cash?

latimes.com

12 pointsmicrodrum9 comments

> Experimentation is the norm at start-ups, especially young ones. But moves that prioritize balance sheets over growth are more common in firms short on cash or those looking for an exit, either through acquisition or an initial public offering.

This really seems to be a uniquely American (and maybe Chinese?) approach. In Europe you simply don't get the VC, but also the expectations are different - if you're not clear on your plan to become profitable you won't get far.

As of now the scooter companies, like previously some ride sharing companies, seem to be very unsustainable. Where I live at least 3 of them compete, and it's become a real nuisance that scooters are badly parked or lying on the floor and block sidewalks, making it difficult especially for the elderly, disabled and parents with strollers to get around. Clarity on the traffic rules seem to be low - I've seen plenty of risky riding on streets, sidewalks and bike lanes and 2 scooter-caused accidents up close in just a few monts.

One region has introduced fines for companies and riders for bad parking, but I've yet to hear about any actual enforcement. More legislation I'm sure will follow.

On Venice Beach I was walking a year ago and surprised by the animosity of the “regulars” (venice bums mostly) toward Bird scooters. Knocking them over, throwing them in the street, I even saw one guy through one into the ocean.

I was a surprised by the vitrol. I rode one for 30 minutes and it was fun. Maybe the locals feel it is for tourists and was including them? I’m not sure, but I was considerably saddened by what I saw. “This is why we can’t have nice things.”

I see them around Washington, and it appears that the riders are having a good time. Certainly many of the riders are tourists, but so are many of the pedestrians.

I do find it obnoxious to encounter them left on the sidewalk or beside a bike trail.

I also visited Venice Beach a year ago. The scooters littered the place, and they're a nuisance. Between the riders who nearly hit me twice in as many days, and the omnipresent tripping hazards, I'm with the "bums," as you call them. Though much of the problem lies with the riders, it's much more trouble to throw them into the ocean

Good luck making the unit economics work. I can't imagine that people would respond well to a price hike in general, but in a market this saturated, any competitor will be happy to undercut them. The key here is that they're running out of cash, so any player who can last longer will have a better shot to make the business model work.

There really isn’t a good solution here: poor quality scooters will break fast, good quality scooters will get stolen more often. And there probably never be a safety lock good enough to prevent that.

> good quality scooters will get stolen more often. And there probably never be a safety lock good enough to prevent that.

I wonder if they could just make the electronics too costly to replace? Use a five phase brushless motor. Have ten different paired versions of drive electronics and motor, and no way to tell which is which without the right app to query the electronics. Cell packs with built in DRM.

Basically come up with ways that make it difficult to easily/reliably replace the main drive electronics.

Locks work for bike rentals, they can also work for scooters.

But isn't one of the Bird's selling points that you can park the scooter anywhere, after the ride? If you want locks you'd probably end up with docking stations, like this: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Me...

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