How Do Bird Scooters Stay Charged?

Recently, it seems like scooters are taking over certain cities like Los Angeles. Everywhere you look, there’s a scooter waiting to be taken for a ride. If you’re too busy looking at the many deserted scooters on the sides of the street, you might just miss the scooter whizzing right by you. Scooters have quickly become part of the cityscape getting people from point a to b and cutting down on street traffic. 

Bird is arguably the most recognizable scooter company in today's landscape as they were the first to market (though many others are providing stiff competition!). The company is currently valued at over two billion dollars. Bird came into the market at a pivotal time and allows travelers the flexibility to pay by the minute and go anywhere within their range. With so many scooters available on the streets, many people are wondering, how exactly do these bird scooters stay intact and charged?

Bird has come up with a pretty ingenious idea to keep their scooters charged and put a little extra money into gig worker’s pockets. Every night, people in cities leave their homes to track down Bird scooters, charge them in their homes, and "release" them the next morning for people to use and enjoy. 

The scooters need to be charged every night, otherwise they will not have enough juice the next day to help people get around. The Bird Charging Program has people find and charge in the evenings to release the next morning. It sounds like a pretty easy gig, but there is a trick to it. Finding the scooters can be a little bit of a challenge sometimes and some chargers can get a little territorial over which areas they tend to pick up Bird Scooters for charging.. Howoever, it is a great side gig for people who love Easter egg hunting or hide and go seek. Although, the scooters do give a helping hand because they want to be found. Birds scooters actually "chirp" so Bird Chargers can easily find them. The newer models also have a blue light, which turns on at night to help chargers find them. Chargers use the app to help locate the Bird scooters. Once found, the QR code is scanned, and it’s ready to be taken home and charged. Birds take between three and five hours to charge completely. They require very minimal electricity to charge completely; it’s not usually more than ten cents a scooter for a full charge. 

Being a Bird Charger is a great way to make a little extra money and also test your seeking skills. The pay for charging a bird scooter is between $5 and $20, but most are right at $5. The pay depends on how far away the scooter is, how hard it is to find, battery level, and time of last ride. Bird Chargers and Riders use the same app. Once you’re approved to be a Charger, you just toggle to "Charger" and get to seeking!