BardTech

The post It’s Friday, so here’s a rap video about scooter startup Bird appeared first on BardTech . Listen, if you’re the kind of person who wants to watch a rap video about scooters, here’s a rap video about scooters. Don’t let me stop you. Also, if you make it to the end, you might as well stick around for the credits. For one thing, you’ll learn that it was directed by Andrew Oleck, the man who created that fake Mark Zuckerberg video , “A World Without Facebook.” And then there’s the disclaimer: “This video is not an advertisement. It is comedic satire. Bayview Drive Films is not endorsed, affiliated or otherwise sponsored by Bird .” It’s the kind of message that raises more questions than it answers. Like: What’s the joke here? Is the video pro-scooter, anti-scooter, neither, both? Was I supposed to laugh? I mean, I chuckled a little at the rubber chicken, but mostly I cringed. Is that normal? Would I have gotten more out of it if I listened to more rap? Or if I’d ever been ...

The post Skip and Scoot are the only companies awarded scooter permits in SF appeared first on BardTech . The great San Francisco scooter decision has been made. And Skip and Scoot have claimed the prize. The  San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency  (SFMTA) issued one-year permits to Skip and Scoot on Thursday, a decision that ends months of waiting for 12 companies that applied to operate within the city. JUMP, which  Uber acquired in April , as well as  Lyft,  Skip, Spin, Lime, Scoot, ofo, Razor, CycleHop, USSCooter and Ridecell all applied for permits in San Francisco. The permits will allow a maximum of 625 scooters for each company in the first six months. Scoot and Skip may have the potential to increase their number of scooters in months seven to 12 to a cap of 2,500, at the SFMTA’s sole discretion. “The SFMTA’s decision is based on the strength of the proposals submitted by the two companies, combined with their experience of owning, ...

The post Santa Monica will allow Lime, Bird, Lyft and JUMP to operate e-scooters appeared first on BardTech . The city of Santa Monica has officially awarded Bird , Lime ,  Lyft and  J UMP Bikes , which Uber acquired in April , permits to operate both electric scooters and/or bikes in the city as part of its 16-month pilot program beginning September 17. The city will allow Bird  and Lime to each manage 750 scooters. Lyft and JUMP were granted permission to release 250 scooters each, as well as 500 bikes. In San Francisco, which is similarly launching a scooter pilot program this fall, city leaders chose Skip and Scoot as their official scooter providers. Earlier this month, the committee had officially recommended to David Martin, the city’s director of planning and community development, that only Lyft and JUMP receive permits .  Lime and Bird, however, followed up immediately with a protest , asking their riders to speak out against the recommen...

The post SF and Santa Monica expected to award official permits to scooter companies today appeared first on BardTech . The day has arrived. After more than two months of waiting,  the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency  (SFMTA) is poised to determine which of 12 companies will successfully procure one of the city’s five permits.  The permits are hot commodities for those competing for scooter market dominance, which includes Uber and Lyft, which applied for permits to operate e-scooters despite not yet having any. San Francisco is a key market for e-scooters; for some of these companies, failing to receive a permit could mean the end of the road. Santa Monica, where Bird is headquartered, is also expected to award four permits for its electric scooter and bike pilot program today. Bird is the most valuable scooter startup; it hit a $2 billion valuation in June after raising hundreds of millions in venture capital funding.  Bird, Lime and Spin...