Rental/Sharing

Spin Scooters Corporate Office

Founded in 2016 by Derrick Ko, Euwyn Poon, and Zaizhuang Cheng, Spin began by renting dockless bicycles in the Seattle, Washington, area. The company logged more than 5,000 rides in their first week, far exceeding other bike rental companies. The company has evolved to include electric scooters.

Spin began offering scooter rentals/sharing in San Francisco, California, in early 2018 and in Texas in March 2017.

San Francisco Public Works confiscated dozens of the dockless bicycles after pedestrians stated that the bikes were blocking sidewalks and creating a hazard.

Ford Motor Company acquired the company in November of 2018 for an undisclosed sum. The company was worth approximately $90 billion at the time of sale. Ford says that they intend to greatly expand the company, which currently operates in 24 cities across the US.

In July 2021, the city of Seattle, Washington, gave Spin a permit to operate their scooters on city streets.

Headquarters for Spin are currently located in San Francisco, California. It is unknown if Ford will move or integrate the corporate office for Spin with their office in Detroit, Michigan.

Spin Scooters

Spin began offering scooter rentals/sharing in San Francisco, California, in early 2018 and in Texas in March 2017.

History

San Francisco Public Works confiscated dozens of the dockless bicycles after pedestrians stated that the bikes were blocking sidewalks and creating a hazard.

In July 2021, the city of Seattle, Washington, gave Spin a permit to operate their scooters on city streets.

Headquarters for Spin are currently located in San Francisco, California. It is unknown if Ford will move or integrate the corporate office for Spin with their office in Detroit, Michigan.

Lime Scooter Corporate Office

LimeBike was founded in January of 2017 by Toby Sun, Brad Bao, & Adam Zhang. The first location chosen for these electric scooters was the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The company operates a fleet of electric scooters and bicycles for rent in urban locations.

In July 2017, the company expanded into other states and cities including South Lake Tahoe, California, and South Bend, Indiana. Later that same month, the company put 500 bicycles on the streets of Seattle, Washington.

In May 2018, the company rebranded itself simply as Lime, although most people refer to the company as Lime Scooters.

In early 2018, the city of Coronado, California, impounded more than 100 Lime Bicycles, forcing the company to $9,300 to recover them.

In August 2018, the company signed up with Uber to provide Uber with electric bikes for their spin-off company, Uber Bike Service.

In May 2018, the company announced that they planned to deploy “transit pods” in 2019. Transit pods would be very small electric cars capable of holding no more than 2 persons.

The company has been widely criticized as their scooters and bikes are often dumped on sidewalks and other public spaces, creating a nuisance.

After talking to city officials, Lime dropped off 500 scooters in Virginia Beach on July 13, 2019. While city officials admitted that they had discussed a deal with Lime, they insist that nothing was firm and that they were just as surprised as residents to see the scooters.

Company headquarters were recently relocated to the building that Uber occupies in San Francisco, California.

Lime Scooter

History

In May 2018, the company rebranded itself simply as Lime, although most people refer to the company as Lime Scooters.

In early 2018, the city of Coronado, California, impounded more than 100 Lime Bicycles, forcing the company to $9,300 to recover them.

In August 2018, the company signed up with Uber to provide Uber with electric bikes for their spin-off company, Uber Bike Service.

In May 2018, the company announced that they planned to deploy “transit pods” in 2019. Transit pods would be very small electric cars capable of holding no more than 2 persons.

The company has been widely criticized as their scooters and bikes are often dumped on sidewalks and other public spaces, creating a nuisance.

Company headquarters were recently relocated to the building that Uber occupies in San Francisco, California.

Bird Ride Scooters Corporate Office

Travis Vanderzanden founded Bird Ride Scooters, usually referred to as Bird or Bird Scooters, in 2017 in Venice, California. Vanderzanden says that he has been fascinated by transportation since he was a kid. His mother was a bus driver and he often went along with her on the route after school. He watched (and wondered) with fascination at how people managed to get to the bus stop or get home after getting off of the bus.

Believing that bicycles are a thing of the past, Vanderzanden found that people were extremely interested in renting electric scooters, which provide a simple, economical, and green way to “catch a ride.” Scooters can be left virtually anywhere and picked up the same way. The company charges $5 for the rental, then charges by the minute. Vanderzanden solved the recharging problem by adding a section to the mobile app showing which scooters needed charging and where they were located. The company pay $4 per scooter for people to pick them up, take them home and recharge them. All scooters are picked up and put back in their original rental spaces after 9 PM when it’s illegal in most places to ride them due to a lack of lighting on the scooters.

Vanderzanden says that more than 1 million people have taken rides on his scooters, which are now found in 7 metropolitan cities, including San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Many cities, however, are unhappy with the electric scooters, claiming that riders violate the laws and that scooters are dumped anywhere and everywhere, causing a nuisance. Vanderzanden says that the company tries to educate people on scooter laws and etiquette but the company itself is not to blame if people don’t obey the laws.

Bird Ride currently has headquarters in Santa Monica, California, known as the “Beach Silicon Valley” since numerous startups have offices in this city on the ocean.

Bird Ride Scooters

History

Vanderzanden says that more than 1 million people have taken rides on his scooters, which are now found in 7 metropolitan cities, including San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Bird Ride currently has headquarters in Santa Monica, California, known as the “Beach Silicon Valley” since numerous startups have offices in this city on the ocean.

WeWork Corporate Office

WeWork was founded in 2010 by friends and business partners Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey. Office space in New York is extremely expensive and finding, furnishing, and maintaining a nice office in an upscale neighborhood was out of the question for most small businesses.

This led Neumann and McKelvey to offer shared office space for entrepreneurs, start-up companies, or even for larger companies who want a satellite office but don’t want to pay for expensive office for only a handful of employees, such as PepsiCo, who rented space in 2011.

WeWork investors included J.P. Morgan, Wellington Management, Goldman Sachs, and Benchmark. Starting off with a single building in New York’s SoHo district, the company now has 270 locations in 90 cities. In July 2017, the company announced that it would expand into China and later that year, that it would expand into Southeast Asia.

Early in 2017, WeWork opened an online store which offers its clients software and discounts on

In November of 2017, the company acquired MeetUp and a few months later, acquired Conductor.

In April of 2018, the company announced that it had merged its China operations with local competitor Naked Hub.

In November 2023, the company, once valued at $47 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork maintains a corporate office in New York, New York.

WeWork

History

Early in 2017, WeWork opened an online store which offers its clients software and discounts on

In November of 2017, the company acquired MeetUp and a few months later, acquired Conductor.

In April of 2018, the company announced that it had merged its China operations with local competitor Naked Hub.

In November 2023, the company, once valued at $47 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

WeWork maintains a corporate office in New York, New York.

Avis Rent a Car Corporate Office

Avis Rent a Car was founded in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 1948 by Warren Avis. Originally, Mr. Avis had only 3 cars and operated out of the Willow Run Airport.

Today, Avis is one of the largest car rental companies in the US and the largest for business travelers. Avis was the first car rental company to be located at an airport. The company is a subsidiary of the Avis Budget Group, which includes Budget Rent a Car and Budget Truck Rentals. In early 2013, the company acquired Zipcar for $491 million.

Avis stock is down 25% in the first half of 2018 due to competition from ride-sharing companies like Lyft and personal driving services like Uber. The CEO insists that car rentals are still popular, despite falling sales and stocks.

Headquarters are located in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company currently has more than 5,550 locations around the world, employs approximately 30,000 people, and has more than 373,000 cars worldwide. In 2015, the parent company had annual revenue of $8.5 billion.

In June 2022, a customer complained that the company overcharged him $4,000 saying that he had kept the car 10 days past the contract. When video surveillance proved that he didn’t overstay the contract, the company STILL refused to refund the extra charges.

Avis Rent a Car

Avis Rent a Car was founded in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 1948 by Warren Avis. Originally, Mr. Avis had only 3 cars and operated out of the Willow Run Airport.