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What are people's thoughts on how Bird can maintain marketshare compared to something like Uber/Lyft. Like bike sharing, scooter sharing isn't a marketplace (r

What are people's thoughts on how Bird can maintain marketshare compared to something like Uber/Lyft. Like bike sharing, scooter sharing isn't a marketplace (right?), the only thing stopping competitors is the purchase of scooters, and building an app. Does Bird have a highly defensible position I'm not understanding?

089723645897236 8y ago
First mover is a pretty strong advantage.
- brian-armstrong 8y ago
  Especially since it takes scooters so long to get up to speed.
bmelton 8y ago
I honestly don't know what they might have other than early mover advantage, but in this case, that could be huge. I was in a DC suburb last week looking for parking, and found two parking lots across the street from each other. They were both 'smart' parking lots, in that I could pay to park with an app. One of the lots was ParkMobile, which I've used before, and the other was another vendor (I don't remember which) that I hadn't. The latter was the far more convenient spot, but I was in a hurry, and I've used Parkmobile in the past, so I already have a login, payment details saved, etc. The thought of taking the time to download a new app, go through the registration process, pull out a credit card, type it in, save it, and potentially put my data out there for more risk? It seemed like a lot to do relative to circling the block again, even in traffic.
- uptime 8y ago
  Ditto for EV charging. Lock-in is the goal vs credit card pay on the spot
- tehlike 8y ago
  Sounds like something that could be solved with integrations into apple pay etc.
oh_sigh 8y ago
I feel like Uber could jump into this business in 2 months and outpace Bird in every market. You could even have drivers pick up scooters for in-trunk charging and drop them off in high demand spots.
- rorykoehler 8y ago
  They're much better off just buying Bird
idoco 8y ago
They basically crowdsource the charging operations- https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/05/charging-electric-scooters-is-a-cutthroat-business/560747/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/05/charg... It is not exactly like the Uber/Lyft model, but you can think of it as the supply side of the equation, and it does create barriers for entry.
laxatives 8y ago
There's a very strong correlation to Uber/Lyft in the industry. Both are investing heavily in companies like Bird to capture the last mile of transportation. Acquiring companies like Bird that help with that are opportunities to upsell customers for a few dollars more to get into a car.

089723645897236 8y ago

First mover is a pretty strong advantage.

brian-armstrong 8y ago
Especially since it takes scooters so long to get up to speed.

bmelton 8y ago

I honestly don't know what they might have other than early mover advantage, but in this case, that could be huge. I was in a DC suburb last week looking for parking, and found two parking lots across the street from each other. They were both 'smart' parking lots, in that I could pay to park with an app. One of the lots was ParkMobile, which I've used before, and the other was another vendor (I don't remember which) that I hadn't. The latter was the far more convenient spot, but I was in a hurry, and I've used Parkmobile in the past, so I already have a login, payment details saved, etc. The thought of taking the time to download a new app, go through the registration process, pull out a credit card, type it in, save it, and potentially put my data out there for more risk? It seemed like a lot to do relative to circling the block again, even in traffic.

uptime 8y ago
Ditto for EV charging. Lock-in is the goal vs credit card pay on the spot
tehlike 8y ago
Sounds like something that could be solved with integrations into apple pay etc.

oh_sigh 8y ago

I feel like Uber could jump into this business in 2 months and outpace Bird in every market. You could even have drivers pick up scooters for in-trunk charging and drop them off in high demand spots.

rorykoehler 8y ago
They're much better off just buying Bird

idoco 8y ago

They basically crowdsource the charging operations- https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/05/charging-electric-scooters-is-a-cutthroat-business/560747/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/05/charg... It is not exactly like the Uber/Lyft model, but you can think of it as the supply side of the equation, and it does create barriers for entry.

laxatives 8y ago

There's a very strong correlation to Uber/Lyft in the industry. Both are investing heavily in companies like Bird to capture the last mile of transportation. Acquiring companies like Bird that help with that are opportunities to upsell customers for a few dollars more to get into a car.