Despite a financially turbulent 2023 for Bird Rides Inc., the electric bike and scooter vendor that has filed for bankruptcy protection is expected to continue service in Providence as the city prepares to issue new permits for shared micromobility operators.
In fact, the administration of Mayor Brett P. Smiley is so eager to keep Miami-based Bird, which also owns Spin Co. – another micromobility service in the city – operating in Providence that the city has extended the previous permit that ended in February until a new one can be approved.
Meanwhile, a third e-bike and scooter company, VeoRide Inc., ended its partnership with the city last October. In that case the city has extended another permit opportunity to the company for the 2024 cycle.
VeoRide told PBN it will “carefully evaluate” any updates to the city’s micromobility program and may return in the future “should the regulatory environment allow.”
“Providence has a robust micromobility program that is heavily used by our community,” said Josh Estrella, a spokesperson for Smiley’s office. “Shared micromobility provides our visitors and residents another flexible mode of transit, and we intend to fully support these partnerships moving forward.”
Indeed, in its first full year operating in the Ocean State, Bird hosted nearly 580,000 rides across Bird and Spin e-bikes and scooters in 2023, according to city data.
Liza Burkin, an organizer for the Providence Streets Coalition, said the company’s 2023 ridership “really goes to show that these devices are an important part of our transportation ecosystem.”
“I use them myself if I have a one-way trip or if my bus doesn’t come, or if my bike has a flat tire. Other people might use it if their cars break down,” Burkin said. As do “those who can’t store their bike ... or folks who live in a neighborhood where bikes are continually stolen.”
Still, there’s room for improvement in the city’s program, Burkin says, particularly due to Bird’s private ownership of the micromobility fleet. Ideally, she’d like to see Providence take a page from Boston and introduce Bluebikes, which operates through a public-private partnership.
“It’s a very volatile industry, and I’m glad, right now, that we’re getting a pretty good service,” Burkin said. “But that means that we’re subject to the volatility of that market, and I definitely think it should be more of a shared, public-private market like it is in Boston or New York.”
Providence permits around 1,800 devices under its Shared Micromobility Program, Estrella said, including 900 Spin scooters, 700 Spin bikes and 200 Bird scooters. Due to seasonal fleet reductions, about 850 of those devices are currently available on the streets.
The city’s micromobility usage figure rose to 604,262 in 2023 when adding 24,301 trips taken through VeoRide.
Bird, which acquired Spin for $19 million last September, says the bankruptcy filing is “proceeding as anticipated” and should conclude by April.
Despite its financial issues, the company wants to continue operating in Providence. Bird “is actively collaborating with program administrators at the city of Providence to secure an extension of our current program while the city builds their permit process for 2024,” the company said in a statement. “Given the program’s success, we are confident that the extension and forthcoming agreement will maintain the program’s core elements and continue to make alternative transportation accessible in Providence.”
