Let’s talk about e scooters

[Dewey]

Thanks Judd, given NPS controls the Virginia MUP/trail approaches it will probably take Congressional action to effect change for Potomac river crossings. When Maryland (Virginia maybe next year) adopt the 3-Class model ebike legislation, that will legalize Class 1 and 2 ebikes riding on trails and MUP’s unless localities choose to prohibit them, it’s unclear if that will oblige local jurisdictions to review their reasoning and change the regulatory wording to explicitly call out Classes of ebikes and electric scooters to which a ban might continue to apply. I believe it’s worth making the regulatory changes to DCMR & Arlington County Code now to apply a consistent region wide legal framework for Class 1 and 2 ebikes and electric scooters enabling riders to commute safely and legally to and from the District then transition to on-street bicycle infrastructure when we reach the other side. As Buschwacker points out, encouraging more commuters to choose Capital Bikeshare Plus or dockless electric scooter should hopefully mean more people on bikes and scooters advocating for safer cycling infrastructure. It might also encourage more electric bike and scooter riders to consider taking out liability and/or personal injury insurance. There is no justification for denying legal protection from driver’s lawyers when we ride in the street.

[huskerdont]

I yielded to an e-scooter today.

Yesterday an e-scooter rider couldn’t stop for some reason and rammed into the bulletproof glass at our guard building. He came up with his face all bloody.

There, now I’ve talked about e-scooters.

[dbehrend]

Quartz had an interesting article on the lifespan of Bird Scooters in Louisville, KY.
https://qz.com/1561654/how-long-does-a-scooter-last-less-than-a-month-louisville-data-suggests/

The authors found that the average scooter had a lifespan of 28.8 days and traveled 163.2 miles over 92 trips. They also estimated that Bird lost $293 per scooter.

I recall reading somewhere that someone analyzed Lime data in DC and estimated those scooters lasted about 28 days.

I like that scooters are getting people out of cars and provide another great option for short trips. I’m a little concerned about how much waste might be involved.

[Dewey]

Streetsblog mentioned a recent study of e-scooter injuries in Austin, TX https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Health/Epidemiology/APH_Dockless_Electric_Scooter_Study_5-2-19.pdf

[ImaCynic]

@dbehrend 188748 wrote:

Quartz had an interesting article on the lifespan of Bird Scooters in Louisville, KY.
https://qz.com/1561654/how-long-does-a-scooter-last-less-than-a-month-louisville-data-suggests/

The authors found that the average scooter had a lifespan of 28.8 days and traveled 163.2 miles over 92 trips. They also estimated that Bird lost $293 per scooter.

I recall reading somewhere that someone analyzed Lime data in DC and estimated those scooters lasted about 28 days.

I like that scooters are getting people out of cars and provide another great option for short trips. I’m a little concerned about how much waste might be involved.

Fascinating numbers. Wonder what the original business cost/revenue projections pitched to the investors looked like.

[lordofthemark]

@dbehrend 188748 wrote:

Quartz had an interesting article on the lifespan of Bird Scooters in Louisville, KY.
https://qz.com/1561654/how-long-does-a-scooter-last-less-than-a-month-louisville-data-suggests/

The authors found that the average scooter had a lifespan of 28.8 days and traveled 163.2 miles over 92 trips. They also estimated that Bird lost $293 per scooter.

I recall reading somewhere that someone analyzed Lime data in DC and estimated those scooters lasted about 28 days.

I like that scooters are getting people out of cars and provide another great option for short trips. I’m a little concerned about how much waste might be involved.

People are trying to change that

https://mashable.com/article/escooter-lifespan-shared-new-models/

[ImaCynic]

@lordofthemark 190557 wrote:

People are trying to change that

https://mashable.com/article/escooter-lifespan-shared-new-models/

It seems these companies were a bit naive when it comes to understanding the type of abuse these machines might see. But better durability usually translates to higher cost, it will be interesting to see how they navigate through this. Wonder what the life expectancy of a regular e-scooter user is?

[AnneLagarde]

Yes. I agree. I am new to this forum and hoping to talk with all the bike enthusiasts!

[ImaCynic]

Apparently e-scooters do not need to be ridden to cause harm…

https://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/The-Latest-Woman-beaten-to-death-with-electric-13842925.php

[Drewdane]

The view from Trollheim, 5/17/2019.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]20086[/ATTACH]

[peterw_diy]

The free weekly Alexandria Times this week pulled a hard 180 this week and published a piece sympathetic to scooters, focusing on new riders. It has nice bits about replacing car trips, reducing environmental impact, etc. — but I LOLed on this scooter apologist quote about Scofflaw Scooterists:

Quote:

If you are already going to be inconsiderate and leave something in the way and diminish a public good, you were already going to do that. The scooter didn’t change it.”

As if the riders who park the bikes badly and the residents who abuse the scooters wake up with a “let’s go do some crimes” mentality and, you know, it’s just a question of which large metallic object they were gonna block the sidewalk with. Ha!

[Drewdane]

@peterw_diy 190841 wrote:

The free weekly Alexandria Times this week pulled a hard 180 this week and published a piece sympathetic to scooters, focusing on new riders. It has nice bits about replacing car trips, reducing environmental impact, etc. — but I LOLed on this scooter apologist quote about Scofflaw Scooterists:
As if the riders who park the bikes badly and the residents who abuse the scooters wake up with a “let’s go do some crimes” mentality and, you know, it’s just a question of which large metallic object they were gonna block the sidewalk with. Ha!

I think the point is that some people are going to be inconsiderate no matter what. The people who park bikes on wheelchair ramps and toss scooters into the creek are the same ones who ditch their shopping carts in the middle of the lane in parking lots and spit their gum out on the sidewalk. IOW, just standard, run-of-the-mill nest-shitters.

[dasgeh]

@Drewdane 190916 wrote:

I think the point is that some people are going to be inconsiderate no matter what. The people who park bikes on wheelchair ramps and toss scooters into the creek are the same ones who park their cars blocking curb cuts, ditch their shopping carts in the middle of the lane in parking lots and spit their gum out on the sidewalk. IOW, just standard, run-of-the-mill nest-shitters.

FTFY

Cars can’t be picked up and moved aside, so I’d say if the inconsiderate have to get around, I rather have them on scooters.

[OneEighth]

I’m gonna guess that the last user is typically not the one who tosses an e-scooter into a creek, off a bridge, whatever. However, holding that last user financially responsible for the scooter may encourage a little more user attention to leaving them in places less likely to result in the e-scooter winding up in a creek, off a bridge, whatever.
I am also gonna guess that the e-scooter providers are not going to want to go that route because it may hurt business more than it reduces equipment loss.
Getting successfully sued by someone who sustains injuries as a result of an improperly abandoned e-scooter might move the needle.

[lordofthemark]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/05/21/e-scooter-startup-spin-will-place-dozens-solar-powered-docking-stations-two-cities-this-summer/?utm_term=.bf9fd116ec1b

[Author]

Posts