Who's Killing the BIRDs???? They're Everywhere!!!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

First thing comes to mind, body snatching.

a reply to: DBCowboy

It's got to be something along those lines. The math just doesn't work otherwise. Not even close that I can see.

ETA- I wonder if there's some kind of a lingering government subsidy for this kind of thing.

There's just got to be some kind of angle.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Coorperate subsidies boost the developement of knowledge.

Correction to my earlier math..

I just read that the rate is $0.15 per minute, not per mile. This changes the paradigm a little. A ten mile ride would take 40 minutes, or $7 ($6 for the trip + $1 for the unlock fee).

So it would require 12,857 rentals per month, or 16.1 rentals per unit (roughly .54 rentals per day per unit)...still a lot, just to break even.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
Correction to my earlier math..

I just read that the rate is $0.15 per minute, not per mile. This changes the paradigm a little. A ten mile ride would take 40 minutes, or $7 ($6 for the trip + $1 for the unlock fee).

So it would require 12,857 rentals per month, or 16.1 rentals per unit (roughly .54 rentals per day per unit)...still a lot, just to break even.

I could see it. Especially since I'd wager their cost per unit is half what you're figuring- maintenance, too.

One thing I can't work out, though.
Where do they get power? Is someone rounding these things up at night and charging them?

So, in doing a little more research on BIRD. Venture capital fund raising efforts have been able to raise, get this...2 BILLION dollars for BIRD alone!!!

TWO BILLION!!!!

Oh.

"Each night the scooters are turned off and we have 'chargers' who go out and pick them up, charge them at their homes and then distribute the scooters the next morning to a designated spot," said Sam Reed, a spokesperson for Bird. "Some people are making a couple $100 a night."

He said some "chargers" pick up three or four Birds but the more ambitious bird hunters use SUVs or vans to scoop up 15-25 a night.

The harder a Bird is to find, the more money the "charger" gets paid. They can get $5 to $20 per scooter, depending on the hunt.

www.google.com...

Well, that certainly messes with the pricing dynamic!

a reply to: an325nt

Yikes, your right!!

I didn't include those costs!

This would add a whopping $125,000 per month just itself, for a total of $218,570 per month.

a reply to: an325nt

Maybe. Okay, so cut my numbers in half. All except for the last one. Still a big hunk of cheddar to turn a profit.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: an325nt

Maybe. Okay, so cut my numbers in half. All except for the last one. Still a big hunk of cheddar to turn a profit.

I concur. This doesn't pass the sniff test- I think someone nailed it a few posts back, though.

Two billion dollars in venture capitol.
It sounds trendy but we all know it can't turn a profit. The big investors are tired of this trendy bs making Monday so they're looking for anyone with a suit and a model to throw money at.

These guys are just cashing in. Plenty of overhead for money to disappear, plenty of options for buying parts and service contracts from companies that don't exist, or are owned by friends.
The business was never meant to be profitable as a business- they're just cashing in in venture capital. Free wages for a few years, plus as much as you can steal.
I bet you could write of a jet ski as a company vehicle. Company meetings have a way of taking place in bars and night clubs...

a reply to: an325nt

Really good point!! Overhead and collateral contract costs. Perfect way to siphon off money! Private company so not subject to as much audit regulations either.

Interesting, I'll bet you're onto something here!

a reply to: an325nt

See?

I knew there was a conspiracy in here somewhere!!

Just knew it!

originally posted by: Scrutinizing

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
Okay, now that I have your attention

Not. I have no appreciation for you tools that use a phony, deceptive headline as bait. Go back to the drawing board, if you want some people to read any further, that may consider some attention whore, suckering people, doing a bait and switch, a low life.

Holy cow, a little testy, are we? What the hell button got pushed?

BTW...I just read the cost of the scooter is between $500 and $600, so I was pretty close. (per Fortune mag.).

a reply to: KansasGirl

I know!

Pretty comical, huh?

LOL!!

And another little factoid...

BIRD is in 30 cities as of July 2018.

So I guess we could scale my numbers up by a factor of about 20x. My numbers were based on just one or two cities.

Apparently their target is 10,000 units per large city. This would scale my numbers up by 200x.

WOW!!!

(I'm in the wrong business!!!)

I'm gona play devils advocate here lol but I think it's a great idea!!!

Most cities in Europe now have a rent a bike scheme which is on a similar standing you pick them up from various locations and then somehow throw them in the canal when you are drunk 5 hours later after realising riding them home doesn't make much sense.

I live in a small fishing town on the south coast of England so there is no real call for them, but tomorrow I am off for my monthly gay night out in Bristol and have to get some shopping, clothes, shoes etc for later in the evening so something like this would be brilliant.

Not sure what California is like but the traffic in some UK cities is just stupid! London especially that has an average speed of about 8mph in a CAR. If you could get some of these people out of their cars into quick modes of transport then it has to be greener, safer, faster for everyone. (greener as in less car pollution)

So I'm gona say I think it's great and hope their business model is a success with lots of people using them.

a reply to: ChristianParr

LOL!! What a business model!

"Rent our several hundred dollar product, go out, get drunk and just throw our crap in the canal when you're done!

LOL!!!🤣

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Think they were called Boris Bikes in London and thats pretty much where most of them ended up lol

Apparently now they are called santander cycles so apparently as its like 5 years they have been going they must be doing something right