The city has been one of the strongest markets for “shared micromobility” company Spin, according to city transportation manager Raymond Hess. But the company was sold last fall—and in December, its new owner filed for Chapter 11 liquidation.

Founded in 2017, Spin was acquired by Ford a year later for an estimated $80–$90 million.The automaker paid for new scooters and expansion into about 400 cities, building a fleet that peaked at more than 60,000 vehicles.

Spin rolled out 100 e-bikes at Argo Park last April. Five months later, the company was sold—and by year-end, the new owner filed for liquidation.

Spin’s scooters arrived in Ann Arbor in 2019, followed by its bikes last year. Unlike the blue “ArborBikes” that came and went in the mid-2010s, they can be picked up and dropped off anywhere. The city welcomed them. They contribute to both its Moving Together Towards Vision Zero Comprehensive Transportation Plan, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries resulting from crashes by 2025, and its A2Zero goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

The city wants to “reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 50% and also increase the use of electric vehicles,” Hess emails. “E-scooters and e-bikes check both of these boxes. While we recognize that e-scooters and e-bikes can’t fulfill all trip purposes for every resident of Ann Arbor, it is part of a multi-faceted approach to encourage and provide sustainable mobility options.” Last year, riders took 214,091 trips totalling more than 200,000 miles.

But popularity hasn’t brought profitability. As early as 2021, Spin was laying off staff and withdrawing from cities. The next year, Ford sold most of its shares to German scooter operator Tier, and this past September, Tier tossed it to U.S.-based competitor Bird Global Inc.

The price was just $19 million—and only $10 million was in cash. Within three months, Bird itself was bankrupt.

Austin Marshburn, a spokesperson for Bird, emails that the company will “operate as usual during this process, maintaining the same service for its riders and upholding its commitments to partner cities … I can also confirm that we expect to continue operations in Ann Arbor as normal and we look forward to working with the city administration as a partner into the future.”

“This development does not impact our goals at all,” Hess emails. “If Spin is no longer able to deliver the service we’ve agreed upon, then the City will pivot and possibly engage another micro-mobility provider.”

According to the website Axios, Bird expects to sell its assets as early as next month. It seems doubtful however, that any buyer will be able to carry on the business in its present form, because the entire shared micromobility concept is looking shaky.

In 2019, the New York Times reported that investors valued Bird at $2.5 billion. After losing $430 million in 2022 and 2023, its market valuation is now less than $1 million.