Bird Canada hopeful to keep e-scooters, e-bikes operating in Windsor

Bird scooters are seen in Windsor, Ont. (Robert Lothian/CTV New Windsor)

The company behind the readily available e-scooters and e-bikes on Windsor streets says they have no intention of pulling their operations out of the city.

On Friday, the City of Windsor announced that an agreement with Bird Canada will come to an end on April 22, and the rentals will no longer be available.

Patrick Graham, the General Manager of Bird Canada, told CTV News the move is directly linked to ongoing contract talks.

“We were hopeful that we would have an extension in place by this point. That’s why I think it probably seemed sudden to lots of folks because, you know, we were hoping that we would not be at this point,” Graham said.

Over a five-year agreement, the company, providing 450 e-scooters and 100 e-bikes, has seen nearly 500,000 trips.

Due to the potential for service disruptions, Graham said they have temporarily laid off just over half of their 20-person team. If it continues or becomes permanent, he said, they will be forced to lay off the whole team.

“We’re hopeful that the service will be back up and running shortly, and we hope to bring those other folks back very quickly,” he added.

Last year alone, Graham said about 16,000 people took trips on their equipment, with a third using it five or more times.

Through an agreement, Bird Canada has paid for the right to operate in Windsor and does not receive any financial assistance from the city.

Since the city’s announcement, the company has heard from people worried about how they will be impacted.

In some cases, Graham said users have explained the e-scooters and e-bikes are their only affordable transportation to work.

“So we know this is an essential service for, particularly, lower-income folks in Windsor, and we’re very hopeful that the service will be back up and running to serve those people.”

Talks with the city have been ongoing with more planned in the coming days, he said.

The general manager declined to comment on any sticking points between the two sides.

“We believe we have a great proposal in front of the city and hopefully, you know, the fact that we had to get to this point, you know, adds some urgency from both sides.”

If an extension is not reached by the end of Tuesday, Graham said they will begin collecting their equipment to be stored at a warehouse in Windsor.