Electric scooter company Bird Rides Inc. plans to launch its service in New York City on Aug. 17 as part of the city's pilot e-scooter program.
The Los Angeles-based startup is providing 1,000 of its new Bird Three vehicles to the Bronx under the New York City Department of Transportation program, which was part of legislation passed by the city council in June 2020.
Bird was one of three companies chosen to provide a total of 3,000 shared electric vehicles to the Bronx under the program's first phase. San Francisco-based Lime and Chicago-based Veo were the other two companies selected for the program.
Focused on improving transportation equity, the program is designed to test the use of these vehicles in the city and collect relevant insights, as well as focus on providing the area with affordable and sustainable transportation options.
Bird said it was selected based on the criteria of past performance in other cities, accessibility options, familiarity with the metro area, rider safety features, and more.
Bird said its experience and ties to the New York community also played a key factor in its selection. It was the first company to launch a shared e-scooter program in 2017 and the first e-scooter provider to launch in New York State when it entered Yonkers in 2020.
Bird’s expansion into New York City and launch of its third-generation e-scooter comes as it plans to go public through a reverse merger with Switchback II Corp. (NYSE: SWBK).
Bird said its latest scooter, Bird Three, is the industry's most eco-conscious e-scooter and features benefits such as smart accelerating technology to comply with local speed limits, real time monitoring and diagnostics to ensure superior vehicle function, and more.
"The traffic, congestion and unacceptable road safety statistics in large cities were a driving factor in founding Bird,” Bird founder and CEO Travis VanderZanden said in a statement. "Through our collaboration with local legislators, community groups and the NYC DOT, we are working to eliminate transit deserts and provide the foundation for the citywide implementation of these environmentally friendly transportation alternatives."
