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The Rise of the Electric Scooter
- melling 7y agoThe last mile has been solved? Now we simply need to make the 50-75 miles in-between more bearable. Hopefully, someday soon we’ll be covering that vast distance at the incredible speed of 100 mph (160 kph) https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/china-driverless-maglev-trains/index.html https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/china-driverless-maglev-t...
- masklinn 7y ago> Hopefully, someday soon we’ll be covering that vast distance at the incredible speed of 100 mph (160 kph) > https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/china-driverless-maglev-t… https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/china-driverless-maglev-t... Intercity / regional trains are already a thing, and 160kph or so is a standard top speed for them e.g. Class 387, SNCF Class B 81500, … [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Régiolis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Régiolis [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCF_Class_B_81500 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCF_Class_B_81500
- AstralStorm 7y agoCurrently the main problem is that trains run late, mostly due to insufficient infrastructure and old stuff breaking down. Sometimes accidents or mismanagement.
- altoidaltoid 7y agoIn the US , the problem is dedicated Rail ROW to run intercity trains at a frequency where they are actually competitive with the car. Otherwise ROW acquisition tends to sink most proposals, and this not counting the actual construction costs
- vonmoltke 7y ago> Now we simply need to make the 50-75 miles in-between more bearable. Mine is 15 miles, and the problem is stops (which top speed does nothing to address).
- melling 7y agoYou're being a little vague so it's impossible to analyze. However, if your average speed is 25 mph and the average doubled to 50 mph, I'm sure you'd be happy. With maglevs, we'd probably want more express trains.
- vonmoltke 7y agoMy point is that top speed is only relevant when a train can reach it. If a train stops every two miles or less (like mine does in the morning), the vast majority of the time is spent accelerating, decelerating, or stopped.
- jefftk 7y agoIs your train an electric multiple unit? Those have far lower stop penalties.
- masklinn 7y agoRolling stock acceleration is specified & designed based on requirements which is based on passenger safety & comfort (especially on regional / intercity trains) rather than rolling stock constraints: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40864-015-0012-y https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40864-015-0012-y Modern "diesel" trains are diesel electric, outside of large freight trains the motors don't really strain to accelerate.
- jefftk 7y ago> If the top speed is 160 km/h, then a good EMU has a stop penalty of about 45 seconds, a powerful electric locomotive about 135 seconds, and a diesel locomotive around 190 seconds. With short dwell times coming from level boarding and wide doors, EMUs completely change the equation for local service and infill stops, making more stops justifiable in places where the brutal stop penalty of a locomotive would make them problematic. -- https://pedestrianobservations.com/2018/06/28/the-value-of-modern-emus/ https://pedestrianobservations.com/2018/06/28/the-value-of-m...
- Slimbo 7y agoIsn't the best solution for "last mile" for all of us is to walk it?
- AstralStorm 7y agoOr bike it. Also healthy and infrastructure and laws are there. People with disabilities cannot use these scooters anyway, they need something different.
- Slimbo 7y agoI cycle a lot, but bikes are a pain in that you need somewhere to park them, something to secure them to prevent them getting robbed, they're horrid in the rain and you have to ride on the road or a bike path. I can see the attraction for scooters that avoid these problems, but for the length of journey they're good for, why not just walk?
- verytrivial 7y agoI think it simply comes down to average speed. Have a click around https://app.traveltimeplatform.com/ https://app.traveltimeplatform.com/ and assume scooters are more-or-less the speed of cycles.
- ses1984 7y agoHow do scooters solve any of these problems? Do you not have to park scooters? Do they not suck in the rain? Do they not need some surface to ride on?
- BurningFrog 7y agoThe great thing about the scooter is that it isn't mine, so I don't have to worry about it getting stolen. That's it. That's the killer feature.
- AstralStorm 7y ago
- segmondy 7y agoLots of places are not even bicycle safe and walkable. So I don't even see how Electric scooter will work in those locations. I notice it's adopted in places where people can walk and bike.
- TulliusCicero 7y agoIt's become somewhat popular in the US, despite the US having no cities with good bike infrastructure. Convenience is a hell of a drug. The way I see it, this increased uptake could help drive greater investment in bike lanes and walkability. Politically, it's always easier to spend money on things people already do than on things they might do if you spent enough.
- beatgammit 7y agoIdeally, we'd have carless urban centers, with only buses, light rail, and small vehicles (bikes and scooters) allowed in a certain radius. This would allow greater density in the downtown area, eliminate most pollution, and promote general health, yet for some reason, nobody seems to propose it. It could even be coupled with free mass transportation in that region, since costs for running such a service would likely decrease (could probably even have it driverless since there aren't as many hazards). The toughest nut to crack would be replacing trucks, which could probably be handled with either light rail handling goods or truck-only roads completely segregated from the rest of the roads (say, tunnel or overpass).
- com2kid 7y agoDrop the speed limit down to 15 mph on all side streets, and some main streets. Leave a few arterial streets here and there. Delivery trucks can still share the space, not huge semis but smaller ones are no problem, they are infrequent enough making deliveries to businesses that they shouldn't be a huge burden (see: How the rest of the world handles it). Keep semis on the main streets of course. For larger arterial streets, separate traffic by size. Honestly fences are cheap and used in other countries, I am not sure why American cities insist on just thin painted white lines. It is not like a fence takes up significantly more space. :/ (Maybe 2 inches extra width, if that?)
- mturmon 7y agoHonest question: How do people lock these things if visiting a shop for a half-hour? (Edited to add: Sorry for confusion! I'm talking about an owned model like the one in OP, the Xiaomi Mi M365 - I looked at some product imagery and it wasn't clear if this was possible.)
- superturkey650 7y agoThere's a "Lock" button in the app. If you press that, the scooter doesn't allow anyone else to start using it, but you still pay per minute that you aren't using it. Though if you're in a popular area there is no need, you can just walk a minute or less and find another.
- joefourier 7y agoI bring mine inside and wheel it around while I shop. It takes up about as much space as a trolley or pram, so it's never inconvenienced anyone.
- Steltek 7y agoOh I'm sure someone felt offended, whether they were actually inconvenienced or not. It's a typical reaction in some people: they don't see you mildly going about your business of picking tomatoes, they see the faceless e-scooter that got in their way earlier.
- monksy 7y agoWhile you're at it, move out of the way I'm pushing my motorcycle through there.
- kennywinker 7y agoYeah locking is... a bit awkward. Bring it into the shop seems to be the best way to go, but there will definitely be situations where that's awkward or impossible... a small cable bike lock in your bag or wrapped around the stem will solve those cases.
- mikestew 7y agoDepends on the scooter. On the Xiaomi in question, yes, I've found it to be problematic. The solution is the Masterlock handcuff lock. One end around the tube between deck and bars, the other end around a post. The Boosted Rev I have now has exposed frame rails so you can use your favorite bike lock.
- eldenbishop 7y agoI rode a non-electric kick scooter (Xootr) for three years working in downtown SF. It is by far the best form of transitional transport there is and superior to bikes for 99% of actual real world travel. It was easily 4-5 times faster than walking and more importantly suddenly made the entire city open due to how insanely efficient it was for "glueing" together various forms of public transport. I could hop from transport hub to transport hub insanely quickly and the entire system suddenly worked in a way that did not happen with walking or biking. Some people say walk, but it's too slow and a 1/2 mile "walk" section on a complicated transport route would be impractical on foot. Biking is fast enough for long trips but massively inconvenient for quick trips to a store or park or restaurant. A scooter on the other hand could be with me all day, I can take it into the store with me, I can take it on the bus. Transition cost from arrival to getting on the bus or walking into a store was seconds instead of minutes with a bike. The scooter had tons of upsides and the only downside was, at the time, that it was kind of embarrassing to be seen on. People talk to much about the "last-mile" as if the only travel people do is on massive transport corridors to and from work. The scooter solves the transport mesh, the hops and transitions of actual day-to-day living.
- shafyy 7y agoI've been biking for 2 years in SF and disagree that it's impractical for short trips. Why do you think that?
- tick_tock_tick 7y agoYou have the deal with the bike afterwords. Go for brunch in the mission and your friends are going back to the outer sunset with a scooter just fold it up and put it in the car with a bike either hope it's there when you get back, bike all the way, or go home then head over alone.
- eldenbishop 7y agoThis exactly: bikes require planning and strategy and are not good for improvisational day-to-day things like you described. Bikes make walking easier but all other forms of travel like bus, train or taxi/uber/cars more difficult or impossible.
- mips_avatar 7y agoI recently bought a Boosted rev and have been using it for my 1.8 miles commute. I strongly disagree with the author's 15mph limit. I think 25 mph is a more reasonable limit, otherwise you have cars aggressively trying to pass you on roads. At 24 mph (my scooters max speed), the cars on my commute (25mph speed limit), still try to pass me sometimes but it's a lot safer.
- tonyedgecombe 7y agoI can’t imagine doing 25mph on such small wheels, one small pothole and you will be off.
- mikepurvis 7y agoElectric skateboards all go that speed and faster, and their wheels are even smaller— usually around the 80-100mm diameter range.
- sagichmal 7y agoElectric skateboards are no less dangerous.
- djrogers 7y agoAt 25MPH, a tiny crack or lip in the concrete would equal a very expensive faceplant. And it's not really even a matter of skill or reflexes - the tiny wheels of the current electric scooters are just not capable of handling imperfections at speed.
- mips_avatar 7y agoThat's why you need bigger better wheels. I agree that going above 15 on a Xiaomi scooter is terrifying, but on the Boosted Rev, it's smooth as butter.
- closetohome 7y ago
- raintrees 7y agoI watched the same battery technology improvement play out in tools at the hardware store. There are now whole kits for the mobile contractor they call "wireless"...
- ocdtrekkie 7y agoAs a suburban dweller who doesn't go into the city much, it's still surreal to hear so many stories about the electric scooter craze, to know its happening thirty or forty miles away... And I've literally never seen it. I do feel its a good companion to public transit in theory, though it still lacks everything I want from you know, just having a car: Somewhere to put stuff. I never commute light enough to live off a scooter.
- peterwwillis 7y agoThis is a great point. I see people bringing up lots of questions and concerns about these devices, but it's missing a critical point: these were designed with specific use cases in mind. They are only useful for people in cities to go short distances. And within that scope, they are an excellent addition to other transportation options. What you mention is actually what I want to build next: micro-mobility for larger errands. If I buy a trunk load of groceries from the Wal-Mart 6 miles from me, I want to be able to bring it home. I'm hoping to start designing devices that fit this use case. Once they exist, they'll provide tons of benefits: more affordable than a car, the ability to perform trips faster than with public transit, and more compact "traffic" on roads compared to cars (to say nothing of emissions). Another use of these devices is actually changing people's life decisions. I moved to my current address because it's very close to a subway and trolley line. But now that I use an electric scooter to get to work, I could move anywhere that's the same distance. I think there'll be tons of these little wins found as the devices expand more. (I should note, my city does not have any rental scooters, but I see people riding their own all over the place) As batteries get better, I think we're going to start seeing more variety of devices tailored for more use cases. The scooter will own the short trip into work, whereas larger devices will be used for cruising off-road, even hauling a sheet of plywood from Home Depot.
- egypturnash 7y ago> If I buy a trunk load of groceries from the Wal-Mart 6 miles from me, I want to be able to bring it home. Have you considered an electric bike plus some kind of trailer, or an electric cargo bike? Or even an electric trike.
- taylorlapeyre 7y agoI wish they didn't look so silly to ride. I know that scooters will slowly become more ubiquitous and, as a result, will be considered more normal and less goofy to ride. But for now, it just kinda looks goofy to a lot of people.
- sagichmal 7y agoI totally agree, the current design language of almost every electric scooter makes the rider look like a total goober. There seems to me to be a clear gap in the market for a scooter that... looks good. One that elevates the rider as little as possible, 2-3cm seems ideal. One with a front pole that lets the rider's arms stay mostly extended downward, rather than the current "water-skiing" posture. And one with significantly larger wheels, to handle anything other than perfect asphalt.
- buckhx 7y agoTo each their own. IDGAF.
- charliesome 7y agoIf electric scooters continue to become more widespread (I think they will), they'll become normalised and people will stop thinking they look goofy. For now, it's easy to not worry about the goof factor.
- notJim 7y agoHonestly, they're so fun to ride that I don't think anyone's going to care for much longer.
- mikestew 7y agoOne looks like a complete idiot riding an 1880s highwheel bicycle (well, in the 1880s for sure, at least). Bicycles still caught on. -- Owner of an 1886 Columbia bicycle and 2019 Boosted Rev scooter
- whenchamenia 7y agoTo use your own example, bicycles only caught on once they started looking reasonable. The huge front wheel on pennys was a huge damper to adoption.
- clairity 7y agonot sure where jeff got the the initial $800 price of the m365. even his camelcamelcamel chart shows a $600 ceiling. i bought mine at $500 and can confirm that getting it at $350 is a no-brainer. as he says, it absolutely extends your range for all kinds of situations (yes, even carry one in your car). it’s not very rugged so put slime in the tires as he says and expect some other things to break. i disagree about taking it in stores—it’s awkward but totally acceptable in most places you’d ride a scooter to (grocery store, cafe, target, etc) definitely looking forward to the pro!
- lacker 7y agoHow steep of a hill can you get up with these things? My street is pretty hilly and I would hate to shell out for a cool device that I have to lug the last two blocks to my house.
- buckhx 7y agoI take mine over the Williamsburg bridge (3-4% grade) to work every day. I can generally get two commutes on one battery charge, but the speed degrades with lower battery levels so I try to keep charged. If you're on lower battery over a hill, kick-pushing a bit helps a lot.
- aaroniba 7y agoI have a Boosted Rev and live in Nob Hill in SF with some steep hills. It zooms up all the hills pretty easily.
- mikestew 7y agoMy Xiaomi becomes impractically slow around 15% (probably less, I've not properly measured). My Boosted Rev, I've yet to find anything in the Redmond, WA area that it won't climb with gusto. The Boosted cost $1600US, though.
- ProfessorLayton 7y agoNot very TBH, I use one to commute to head to the train station. On the way back I have to climb back up the hill omw home and its maybe ~5% grade, and I have to peddle to keep going uphill. My scooter is rated at 250w (600w peak, which is on the low side) but is incredibly compact when folded, which is a huge plus. Considering upgrading to a more powerful one, but losing the compactness might not be worth the trade off to me — I can fit this scooter between my legs in a packed uber pool (!)
- rodgerd 7y agoMine works just fine in Wellington, which has steeper streets than San Francisco.
- dognotdog 7y agoBack in ca 2001-2005 I used to work my summer nights for a tiny electric scooter rental place that had about 10-20 working scooters at a given time, renting them out to tourists at a lake, and they were fun, especially after learning how to tune the controller for a nice speed boost (for staff use only, of course). There were no serious accidents in all the time I worked there, even though the main customers were flip-flop wearing tourists and kids, driving these for the first time in crowded pedestrian areas. For all intents and purposes, they worked and felt like the modern scooters, except that they had quick swap, fast charge AGM batteries. If we wanted to run an errand the next town over that would exceed a 30-40min ride (30min was a typical rental period), we'd just pack some extra batteries! Those scooters were custom inventions, but larger scale commercialization never got anywhere and the business eventually died because of the battery tech being too cumbersome for consumer use, and the same legal questions that still plague us today, though it seems like electric bike usage the past 15 years has allowed at least some legislatures to give alternative powered transport a chance. As they should, as replacing large lumps of metal moving through our cities at unsafe speeds with much smaller lumps of metal moving a lot slower can only be a good thing for residents, pedestrians, and the environment.
- throw0101a 7y agoPerhaps it's because I have a motorcycle, but every time I come across the word "scooter" what comes to mind is a Vespa-like vehicle. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooter#Vehicles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooter#Vehicles * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick_scooter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick_scooter * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooter_(motorcycle) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooter_(motorcycle) I'm curious about the etymology for each type, and how both ended up using the same word.
- com2kid 7y agoIt is super confusing, motor scooter vs motorized scooter, and now there are electric motor scooters vs electric motorized scooters. I'm really not sure how that later one works out grammatically!
- notJim 7y agoThis is something I rant about from time to time. The word scooter is ridiculously overloaded. I'm semi-interested in an electric vespa type scooter, but it's hard to Google for it, because everything about electric scooters online refers to kick scooters.
- Zenst 7y agoHere in the UK they are illegal (unless used on private land), which is sad as whilst they are illegal as technically a motor vehicle, needing some form of test, insurance, mot.... That has not happened and in limbo as clearly a need for some standards control etc, but an unwillingness to address that and more so a periodic fashion stopping of people upon such vehicles in an apathetic way that causes many to get one, go months, even years without knowing they are breach of the law and driven past many police/traffic wardens, then suddenly one day they stop you and caution you saying you can't. They then go back to ignoring it as a low-priority issue and the limbo of not legal as no formal way to allow one, yet readily sold and accessible. So for the UK, such rise is randomly curtailed and no progress upon legal avenues to use them as you would intend beyond private land - which many do not own in London, an area in which such modes of transport are most suited. [EDIT ADD] A better read upon what I said :- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48106617 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48106617
- Blackstone4 7y agoI agree that it’s sad that e-scooters are banned in the UK. I take the train to work and I have ~20mins of waking either end (1 hr 20 mins per day total). An electric scooter could save me ~40 mins per day.... Why are electric scooters banned when e-bikes are fine? What if they were capped at 20mph? Below the 25 for bikes
- smashah 7y agoEbikes are technically restricted to 15mph here. The micromobility laws in the UK are a complete joke and driven by car and tier 1 manufacturers lobbying (e.g Bosch via EU). EBikes and scooters are hands down the best solution to London's pollution issue yet people are getting fined for using them. There is a complete lack of logic in the rulings. The reason why escooters are illegal whereas EBikes are not: throttle. An ebike with a throttle is technically not legal and in the same boat as an escooter. This distinction is ridiculous as an ecyclist/scooterist with a throttle is safer than someone going the same speed under their own effort. The law in the UK should be: - throttle is allowed - fine if not wearing proper safety equipment - Speed limit increased to 25 mph or current vehicle speed limit (e.g 20 near schools) - no power limit (this allows heavier people to go the same speed as others, and it allows heavier cargo-type bikes to be much more useful) - Innovate UK/BEIS grants specifically for electric micromobility projects (right now EBikes and scooters are generally barred from these grant competitions)
- com2kid 7y agoI am amused this is still a topic of discussion in America. Visit China sometime, electric motor scooters (larger than the kids versions we have here[1]) and motorbikes are everywhere, the large majority of small vehicles on the road there are now electric. It is super nice, the streets are far cleaner and quieter than just a few years ago. One huge benefit China has is an existing infrastructure for smaller vehicles, there is either a grade separation or a fence that differentiates small vehicles from larger ones. On narrow urban streets speeds are lower so the separation is not needed. This is actually a great example of how making streets smaller can increase throughput, if bikes + electric bikes + motor scooters + cars all share the same road, more traffic can fit on the street once people who would be in individual occupancy cars feel comfortable moving to more space efficient forms of transportation. Meanwhile in America we paint a tiny narrow bike lane on the road and pretend the white line is going to stop accidents. Bonus: Electric motorbikes / motor scooters can have canopies on top, helping alleviate some of the weather issues. [1] https://wiztem.en.made-in-china.com/product/hygJHVvFMlcN/China-Best-Selling-EEC-Approved-1500W-60V-Electric-Scooter-Harley-City-Coco.html https://wiztem.en.made-in-china.com/product/hygJHVvFMlcN/Chi...
- blacksmith_tb 7y agoI like watching the Cambrian Explosion of electric vehicles unfolding in China now, though it seems like a lot of them will not last. I think it would fair to say that bike lanes in the US are intended more for ease of litigation than safety (but that's true of a lot of US traffic infrastructure). The mix of traffic making things safer sounds a lot like a Woonerf[1]. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woonerf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woonerf
- com2kid 7y ago> I like watching the Cambrian Explosion of electric vehicles unfolding in China now, though it seems like a lot of them will not last. Most of the companies probably won't, but the changes to the market place will. Everyone is used to quiet comfortable electric small vehicles now. Watching hundreds of mothers swarm a school to pick their kids up on electric motor scooters really drilled that home for me. Especially contrasting that to the utter nightmare in America of a similar number of swarming SUVs! American schools end up wasting space for "pick-up zones", in contrast it isn't even a concept in China, an electric motor scooter is what, 4x-5x as space efficient?
- trenning 7y agoI'd love to get an electric scooter for commuting but my commute is a little long (and very hilly in Seattle). I occasionally commute on my electric bike though and it's a blast. It's also the fastest mode of travel hands down in the city, second only to my regular motorcycle. The biggest thing with these low end electric bikes/scooters is that they have a hard time with the hills and really slow down and burn through power on them. My bike will do ~45mph but there's hills on my commute where I top out at ~19mph (with a running start of ~30mph). But if you're commute in <5mi I think the scooter might be the best because as other have noted it's the most convenient, being able to take it inside with you to stores or hop on the bus or toss it in a car are extremely valuable features to me. Theft is my biggest concern but again with a cheap scooter you aren't out too bad if it gets jacked.
- walshemj 7y agoI think with hilly areas having regenerative breaking helps as you can regain some of the loss on the way down.
- Obi_Juan_Kenobi 7y agoRegen is fairly common with direct-drive hubs, but it's not beneficial for range. You get something like 5% more range on a hilly route. The vast majority of energy goes to drag unless you're puttering along at 10mph. It is very useful, but more for saving brake wear.
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- squarefoot 7y agoI would buy one right now if it had larger wheels and proper brakes. In my area such small wheels would turn any speed bump or road irregularities (pretty normal over here) into a fatal accident waiting to happen.
- cryptopeeper 7y agoI am still waiting for segway to be the phenomenon that Bezos promised. They said cities would re-design themselves around them. Instead we have kids zipping on scooters hitting old ladies.
- dawhizkid 7y agoI wonder why mopeds have never taken off in the US. Seems more practical than a scooter for medium to long distances within a city. I have relatives in Taiwan and mopeds are everywhere there (and other parts of Asia).
- walshemj 7y agoI think cars a cheaper relatively in the USA also a lot of places I believe you need to pass the test for a full bike licence. That is a 900 -1200cc super bike that can do a very good time round the TT course or the ring.
- impalallama 7y agoAs much some cities are struggling to figure out how to regulate them I think my city has basically nailed it first try. Give a license or two to certain companies to allow their scooters and other wise just use them like bikes. Keep them off side walks that are for pedestrians and otherwise use bike lanes. Just makes sense.
- jseliger 7y agoYou really need to scrap the massive subsidies that incur to cars via free or nearly free parking in many cities: https://www.city-journal.org/html/high-cost-free-parking-14665.html https://www.city-journal.org/html/high-cost-free-parking-146.... This will lead to an incredible surplus of space for smaller vehicles; it's often easy to fit 6 - 18 of them in a give space currently legally mandated for cars.
- notatoad 7y ago>Keep them off side walks that are for pedestrians and otherwise use bike lanes. this makes the assumption that your city has a functional bike lane network, which is the problem in a lot of cities. If you have bike lanes, it's really easy. If you don't have bike lanes, suddenly you have this friction where there's suddenly a whole lot more people trying to use the streets but not in a car.
- Sephr 7y agoPersonally I've enjoyed this new micromobility solution: https://uniscoot.com https://uniscoot.com
- istorical 7y agoIs this a new class of PEV of it's own? I've seen electric unicycles but not one you sit on and that seems like an unusually wide wheel.
- rvanmil 7y agoI've been riding a Micro Falcon X3 for a few months now. Almost all electric scooters are illegal here in The Netherlands, but Micro sells two models which were adjusted to be legal; the throttle has been disabled and you have to actually kick to start moving and keep kicking regularly to keep the electric motor going. My experience with it is it's a very fun way to commute and I prefer it to my bike. Most of the time I'm moving faster than all bikes, but just like the article I do agree with the 15 mph speed limit, because I really don't want to be going any faster with this thing. When I just started riding and was still learning how to stand and keep in control, a couple of times it shot away from under my feet and I hit the road pretty hard (on my feet luckily). I'm not wearing a helmet or any other protective gear, I don't think that is necessary anymore than when riding a bike in NL (we have bike lanes everywhere). But if I had to travel on the road with cars then I probably would wear a helmet. As for the goofy look mentioned by others in the comments, I don't know if that's true and I'm not the type of person that cares. I do get a lot of people looking at me though, but that's probably because they hardly ever see an electric scooter around here, or they think I'm doing something illegal and in NL the rules are the rules and deviation is not acceptable! ;)
- molodec 7y agoOk, I understand that there is a lot of benefits to electric scooters. They are fun, convenient, and allow to navigate quickly, and great for the environment, or at least better than cars. Why not driving regular bicycles? Obesity is a growing problem, because people don't exercise enough. Mechanical bicycle is a great low impact activity for modern life. Also, bicycles aren't generally allowed on a sidewalk, but I have seen people ride on them sidewalks. The author of the article, who is by the way the indoor enthusiasts, feels that scooters shouldn't be disallowed on the sidewalks. We need to place for people to walk without worrying about being hit by a scooter. We have roads for motor vehicles and we have side walks for people. Let's keep it this way.
- Goronmon 7y agoWhy not driving regular bicycles? Where do you put the bicycle when you get where you need to go?
- Symbiote 7y agoIn Copenhagen, we just leave them outside. In the courtyard, in a bike rack, or somewhere along the street. Huge buildings might have underground parking. It's just like cars in other countries.
- outworlder 7y ago> Where do you put the bicycle when you get where you need to go? Aren't there any light posts close to where you need to go? Not even talking about dedicated bike spots or racks – which may be available on your location. If you are not a bicyclist, you may not have noticed them even if they are present. If you are commuting, surely there is some place at your place employment where you can leave it? More worrying is multi-mode transportation. If you location's public transport doesn't provide space for bikes, then it is a big problem.
- lkbm 7y agoI lock mine at a nearby bike rack (yes, sometimes this requires traveling over a dozen yards). It's slightly more of a hassle than parking a scooter, but a lot less than parking a car.
- paulpauper 7y agoa segway is not like a scooter at all.The segway uses gyroscopic technology to be stable even if it not moving or moving very slowly. This makes segways ideal for malls or anywhere there are a lot of people and speed is not paramount
- aaron695 7y agoElectric bikes are a hundred years old. (oil powered bikes are also that old) These have not taken off. On a bike a battery/motor weights doesn't really matter and costs are low. Explain why scooters will work when bikes don't? Even in many developing countries motorcycles won. You don't see any bikes of either sort in a place were practicality win. Scooters are a fad. When the fad wears off they are not sustainable.
- cdnsteve 7y agoI'm sorry but really? Unless you live in California under a direct and major urban center, this is a joke. Canadian winters are -30 celcius. Future of transportation, no. Large vehicles and smaller forms of transportation should in no way "share the roadway". It's complete madness and dangerous. The Netherlands and Amsterdam in particular have this figured out long ago, smaller, separate lanes - not a white line. North America still doesn't get it.
- outworlder 7y agoI'm sorry but really? How many locations in this planet have -30 celcius winters? Just because it may not work for you doesn't mean it can't work for others. Plus, you are not in a permafrost area, are you? > Large vehicles and smaller forms of transportation should in no way "share the roadway". It's complete madness and dangerous. Nah. It's only dangerous if traffic laws are not respected nor enforced.
- 6gvONxR4sf7o 7y agoIt's weird how so much of the conversation about these is how they look. If everyone rode them, they'd look normal. If the looked normal, more people would ride them. Is the only solution to have early adopters who don't give a crap?
- jossmexico 7y agoif we take the quantum of transportation how small can it get? A scooter?
- russellbeattie 7y agoGot my kid a FreeGoUSA.com scooter a year or so ago before he had his driver's license. This scooter is a dual motor version with a massive battery - it weighs 75 pounds, goes 30mph and has a 20-30 mile range. Once he got his license, I assumed he'd probably want to just drive a car, but he much prefers the scooter: Faster in traffic, no need to fill it with gas. In fact, the scooter has completely reshaped his perception of gasoline and cars - it just seems like a horrible waste of money while also polluting. Can't say I disagree with him.
- mrwww 7y agoI have lived in Shanghai and had an electric scooter as my main mode of transportation for several years, its incredible for city traffic and i miss it. However, I dont get why everyone is using these standup kickbike type scooters... those suck, clearly. Scooters like Niu is where its at: https://www.niu.com/en/ https://www.niu.com/en/
- tekkk 7y agoI saw the scooter/motor bike craze in India and I have to say I was not impressed. It was a necessity, yes, but instead of everyone riding million scooters public transport should be the main mode of transportation for majority of people in big cities. The traffic is already too congested and with every oil-burning vehicle out there unsustainable.
- ZoomZoomZoom 7y agoI ride a regular non-electric scooter regularly and the biggest problem with it is the weather. The scooter solves the "last mile" problem for me, but I can depend on it only for ~7 months in a year, which means I can't really plan my commute, choose the places where I live and work. I don't see this problem discussed enough and can't imagine anything better than public transport for the winter. It's a real bummer.
- Yuval_Halevi 7y agoI'm living in Tel Aviv It's crazy to see how in 2-3 years there are thousands of people using electric scooters and bikes. The only problem is that it grows in such a rapid pace that the city is not built to it. There are many small incidents, and in many cases, those incidents are pretty risky.
- teslaberry 7y agoCycleboard