Bird riders in Spain have passed a significant micromobility milestone: three million kilometers.
That’s enough distance traveled on Bird scooters to make four round-trip rides to the moon, and it comes as the Spanish capital of Madrid has renewed the operating permits of experienced micromobility providers like Bird.
“We are deeply committed to the success of micro-electric mobility in Spain and honored to continue serving riders in the capital city of Madrid,” said Toni Riera, General Manager of Bird in Iberia. “Our local team has worked hard to become the market leader by aligning our operations with the needs and expectations of city officials. These efforts continue every day through initiatives like the introduction of the industry’s most advanced vehicles, including the Bird Two here in Madrid, as well as launches in additional cities of all sizes to ensure that shared scooters can benefit everyone in the country.”
Bird’s Environmental Impact in Spain
Over the past year, Bird has moved into the leading position in Spain with regard to both available scooters and rides taken according to third-party data provided by Fluctuo. This combination of vehicle availability and rider preference is having a very positive environmental impact across the five cities in which Bird operates.
Using conservative estimates, Bird riders in Spain have helped prevent more than 150 metric tonnes of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. That’s about the same amount of CO₂ sequestered annually by 7,140 full-grown trees. Another way to think about it is that these trips have replaced the equivalent of 215 cars from Spanish roadways for an entire year.
“We’re very pleased with this reduction in harmful pollutants and increase in mobility options, however this is just the beginning of our investment in Spain,” said Riera. “Providing eco-friendly mobility to everyone means continuing to work closely with elected officials and community partners to bring more modes of transportation to more cities, both large and small, throughout the country.”
Community Programs in Spain
Beyond rides and pollution reduction, Bird aims to lead on community integration in Spain through a series of initiatives designed to make scooters and scooter safety education more accessible.
This year, we worked with our Spanish partner cities to introduce free rides to the polls, a robust suite of ride passes to reward consistent micromobility use and safety courses to high-school students as part of this initiative. We were also proud to support COGAM, an LGBTQ+ collective in Madrid, as a part of this year’s Pride Month program.
As our service grows throughout Spain and the Iberian peninsula, we will continue to partner with cities and community organizations to ensure that micromobility is a force for good. To learn more about Bird’s investment in Spain, subscribe to the Bird Cities Blog.