Bird: Bird Scooter bankruptcy to have little impact locally for now

Dec. 31-The future is uncertain for a national company that has a foothold in the St. Joseph area. Bird Scooter, which has motorized conveyances parked throughout the city for public use, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 20. The company has had assets in the city since 2021. The company's stock lost nearly 80% of its remaining value at 8 cents per share, according to an Associated Press report. At the end of 2021, shares were priced at $154. Since then, the company has lost more than $430 million. Clint Thompson, St. Joseph planning and community development director, said while the company is under bankruptcy protection, operations will continue locally. "They (Bird) will continue to operate as normal from what we (the city) understand," Thompson said. "We don't look for the customers within the St. Joseph market area to be affected negatively by this national company filing for bankruptcy." According to the Associated Press report, Bird has lined up $25 million in financing from MidCap Financial. While the company has struggled in the nationwide market, in the St. Joseph area it has found success. Thompson said St. Joseph is a unique market that goes against the grain of many national trends. "In the retail sector, there have been national brands that have had success locally, but for whatever reason nationally have struggled," Thompson said. "The negative effect to having a national business located within your community is sometimes the national forces that exist outside of your immediate area can be a negative." Thompson said the scooters have been a positive asset for the city. From young residents using the vehicles to explore Downtown to visitors seeing the community from a different perspective, this transportation platform shows that there is a need for it in the community. Whether or not Bird stays in the area, Thompson said there is a market for scooters in St. Joseph. "It opens the door for other potentially local companies to begin a business in this area," Thompson said. "The platform and the success of the platform has shown that the market is strong and can support this type of business model." Riley Funk can be reached at riley.funk@newspressnow.com .