Key Points
For Bird to offer convenient rides at the tap of an app, John and other fleet managers must handle the grinding logistics of scattering scooters around cites..
More than a dozen current or former fleet managers in the US, who like John asked for anonymity, fearing retaliation from Bird, described their unstable and sometimes punishing relationships with the company..
And as Birds business struggled, fleet managers were presented with updated contracts that John and others say have cut their income by about half...
Three other fleet managers say they have sometimes carried guns when on the street with Bird scooters, because brandishing a weapon can feel useful when facing off scooter thieves or vandals..
He said that Bird was ending the fleet manager program in some citiesapparently cutting the contractors loose and replacing them with staff or new contractors who handle more scooters and are paid less..
You might be interested in
Blood, Guns, and Broken Scooters: Inside the Chaotic Rise and Fall of Bird
21, Dec, 23Bird was once valued at more than $2 billion—now it has filed for bankruptcy. This is the untold story of the contractors who risked it all to try to make the micromobility dream a reality.