Bird's new scooter rolls out next week with damage sensors, bigger battery
The Bird Two boasts 50% more battery capacity and puncture-proof tires, the company says.
It looks like a new e-scooter is coming to town. The Bird Two, set to arrive next week, will boast 50% more battery capacity, self-reporting damage sensors and enterprise level antitheft encryption sensors, according to a Thursday blog post from Bird. The Bird Two will be joining the company's global fleet of electric vehicles, which also includes the mopedlike Bird Cruiser.
Additional features include puncture-proof tires with higher traction, dual anti-tipping kickstand for the model to stand on its own two feet, and an absence of visible screws, Bird says. The company says "seamless screws" will lessen the chance of injuries and vandalism. When damage does happen, sensors will bring immediate attention to areas of the scooter that need repair.
The release comes at a time where e-scooters have received backlash for high rates of reported injuries. Previous CNET reporting mentions that accident rates could be as high as 1,000 per month. And though companies such as Bird and Lime have sticker reminders telling people to wear helmets, one San Francisco doctor says only 30 percent of riders take heed.
The Bird Two comes three months after the company unveiled the Bird One, a scooter that's part of Bird's shared network but can also be purchased for $1,299.
Earlier this year, advocacy group Disability Rights California sued Bird along with e-scooter rival Lime for allegedly violating the Americans With Disabilities Act. The assertion was that the companies were making public sidewalks unsafe for disabled pedestrians.