Electric scooter and bike rental company Bird files for bankruptcy

MEDFORD, Ore.- Bird, the electric scooter and bike rental company, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The Chapter 11 filing allows Bird to sell its U.S. assets for the next three to six months. Before the filing, Bird called itself the largest micro-mobility operator in North America, impacting 350 cities during its peak.

Medford’s City Planning Director Matt Brinkley told NBC5 he received an email from the company saying the bankruptcy won’t effect the city’s scooters. At least, not yet.

“He indicated that they would continue to provide service in the city of Medford, so we expect to continue to see the Bird scooters out on the road and available,” he said.

Brinkley told us the city is unsure how long these scooters will remain available and how the company will proceed in the future due to the bankruptcy. Bird’s losses grew as the company focused more on growth and market share rather than profitability. The company was de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange in September after Bird admitted it overstated its revenue for the last two years.