Bird Canada reaches one million rides milestone

Aug. 5, 2021
Bird Canada has already more than doubled its ridership this scooting season compared to 2020.

Bird Canada has reached the one million rides milestone.  

Bird Canada currently operates in six Canadian towns/cities – four in Alberta: Calgary, Edmonton, Okotoks and Red Deer; and two in Ontario: Ottawa and Windsor – and continues to expand into new markets each year. In addition to the one million rides milestone, Bird Canada has already more than doubled its ridership this scooting season compared to 2020.  

Later this summer, Bird Canada will see its shared e-bike program take flight in Windsor. 

To support its continued growth, Bird Canada has closed an additional round of funding led by new investor MKB, a Montreal-based private investment firm focused on next generation energy and transportation companies, with participation from existing investors Obelysk, Relay Ventures and Alate Partners.  

Bird Canada says it will use the funds to expand into additional markets, extend its reach to new cities, double the size of its team and acquire more e-scooters and e-bikes to support its growth. 

“This fresh injection of capital will enable us to bring our industry-leading, safe and sustainable operations to more cities across Canada, and at the same time ensure we continue to meet the needs of the cities in which we operate,” said Stewart Lyons, CEO of Bird Canada. “We’re proud to add a Quebec-based fund to our roster of investors, especially as we work to add cities in the province to the growing number of Bird Canada municipal partners across the country.” 

MKB brings a focus on sustainability and transportation to Bird Canada, along with a leadership team with extensive experience in both these markets.  

“While we drew considerable interest from potential investors for this funding round, there was strategic alignment with MKB. They will provide us with invaluable support as we execute on our growth objectives,” said Lyons. 

“Bird Canada has very quickly established itself as the number one choice for Canadian cities planning to deploy shared e-scooters and e-bikes as the company is not only focused on developing long-term relationships with cities, but also consistently puts the people it serves first by prioritizing safety,” said John Bitove, chairman of Bird Canada and founder of private investment company Obelysk.