<p>As of earlier this month, public transportation ridership was down approximately 70% in the U,S and 80% in Italy and France. <a href="https://thesource.metro.net/2020/05/14/metro-to-pursue-four-phase-plan-to-restore-bus-and-rail-service/" target="_blank">Metro ridership in Los Angeles has fallen</a> from about 1.2 million average weekday boardings to 360,000.</p><p>Scooters have often been billed as a compliment to public transportation, <a href="https://urbanmobilitydaily.com/has-public-transit-finally-found-its-first-mile-last-mile-partner-in-micromobility/" target="_blank">helping riders reach the "last mile."</a> However, Bird is already seeing evidence riders are replacing buses and trains with scooters, a habit the company is optimistic will stick. Bird also hopes that the <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/las-slow-streets-program-closes-streets-to-provide-space-for-activity/2363020/" target="_blank">closing of city streets during the pandemic</a> could make using scooters more appealing since they have always struggled with being too fast for sidewalks and too slow for weaving in and out of vehicle traffic.</p><p>"Over the past month, we've seen sustained increases in trip duration of more than 50%," wrote Ryan Fujiu, chief product officer at Bird <a href="https://www.bird.co/blog/scooter-riders-making-comeback-riding-longer-than-ever/" target="_blank">in a blog post.</a> "Initially we attributed this to a desire to be back outdoors experiencing fresh air and open space, but we're seeing strong indications that it may be a much longer-term trend related to things like public transit concerns nearly a thousand miles of new open streets and a spike in the construction of protected cycling infrastructure."</p><p>Last month, cash-strapped Lime <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=lime+raised+funding&oq=lime+raised+funding&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59j69i60l3j69i61j69i65j69i60.2675j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">raised emergency funding at a steep 80% discount</a>, with Uber as the lead investor. Bird had the good fortune to raise new financing this year before the coronavirus slashed valuations but still has tried to preserve cash, <a href="https://dot.la/bird-layoffs-meeting-story-2645612465.html" target="_self">laying off 40% of its workforce in a widely criticized Zoom call at the end of March.</a> More deals and consolidation could likely be ahead. </p><p>"The pandemic will exacerbate a trend that we were already starting to see early signs of, which is consolidation in the industry," said Daniel Hoffer, managing director of Autotech Ventures.</p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://twitter.com/BirdRide/status/1265649858968317953" target="_blank">Bird unveiled its latest new feature Wednesday called Quick Start,</a> which allows riders to activate a nearby scooter via bluetooth on their mobile phone simply by walking towards it instead of scanning a QR code. Bird says early testing shows the new process, which is gradually being rolled out to markets, cuts the time it takes to unlock a scooter in half.From Your Site Articles
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