msean101

StrangeDays said:

Of course the ride-hailing companies want to outsource fleet ownership to unsuspecting rubes. Why cover the cost of repair & replacing jacked scooters when customers can do it for you!?

The headline for the article is poorly worded and misleading, but if you go to Bird's website it's much more clear: You can purchase one of these scooters for $1200. It's yours. To keep. And use however you want. With your purchase you get a $100 credit for renting publicly available Bird scooters, in case you happen to be traveling: "Bird One owners get access to additional rides on our dockless shared network in 100+ cities worldwide—so even if you’re away, you’re never without Bird."

The company is not just selling this model, however. The "sharing" part of the headline refers to the fact that they will be launching these models in cities where they currently operate to replace older scooter models. So if you don't want to own one, it will eventually be an option to rent if there are Bird scooters available for rent in your city.

They are definitely not expecting people to spend $1200 and let random people use it. That is nowhere on their website. It's not a thing.