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So they're competing with Uber/Lyft for the short random trips that you might occasionally take at almost the same price. In NYC people use citi bikes for thei

by m_ke 8y ago

So they're competing with Uber/Lyft for the short random trips that you might occasionally take at almost the same price. In NYC people use citi bikes for their daily commute because most of us don't have space for a bike and locking one on the street is a bad idea. I see people with regular scooters, skateboards and boosted boards at coffee shops and on the subway all the time so an electric scooter shouldn't be that big of an issue.

adamnemecek 8y ago
It's for anyone who needs to go somewhere 0.7 miles away but doesn't want to walk or get an Uber. It's not whether it would be an issue or not, it's whether I want to carry it around.
- ghaff 8y ago
  Honest question. What is this demographic which will ride a scooter but don’t want to walk less than a mile. Just seems weird to me personally. I wouldn’t think twice about walking that far given infrastructure that supports scooters.
  - alasdair_ 8y ago
    >Honest question. What is this demographic which will ride a scooter but don’t want to walk less than a mile. Professionals that don't want to arrive at work all sweaty because it's a hot day. People who need to be somewhere in 5-10 minutes and don't want to jog. People who generally value their time more than the cost of the ride.
- m_ke 8y ago
  I don't doubt that there are edge cases where these are convenient. I'm really just questioning the business model. Right now these services are a novelty so a lot of people use them but they don't really pass the toothbrush test. Their top users will do the math at some point and end up buying a scooter to use for their daily commute.
  - Symbiote 8y ago
    That seems very likely. The bike hire system in Copenhagen is underused -- most of the business is from tourists rather than locals, since most locals own a bicycle, or quickly buy one. If the scooters become popular, the risk of theft will drop significantly, and then there's not much reason not to own one.
  - Aditya_Garg 8y ago
    You could say the same for Starbuck's daily customers. At 2 dollars a day (the cheapest option), they should all be making coffee from home. Don't underestimate the power of convenience.
- kwindla 8y ago
  In my experience in San Francisco (before all the scooters were taken off the streets last weekend), going ~3 miles on a scooter was much easier, more practical, and more fun than I expected. (And affordable.) I agree that 0.7m is right on the edge of whether it's worth walking versus grabbing a scooter. But 3 miles is a nice sweet spot. ~20 minutes on the scooter. ~25 minutes on the bus. ~50 minutes walking. Scooter and bus are about the same cost. And our hills make part of almost any 3 mile walk a pretty strenuous activity.
usrusr 8y ago
> So they're competing with Uber/Lyft for the short random trips that you might occasionally take at almost the same price. Random trips create more random trips, they complement each other. When everybody is tied to their personal vehicle, the return leg will always be on the same mode. One-way friendly TaaS makes all other forms of one-way friendly transportation now attractive, relative to personal vehicle use.

by m_ke 8y ago

adamnemecek 8y ago

It's for anyone who needs to go somewhere 0.7 miles away but doesn't want to walk or get an Uber. It's not whether it would be an issue or not, it's whether I want to carry it around.

ghaff 8y ago
Honest question. What is this demographic which will ride a scooter but don’t want to walk less than a mile. Just seems weird to me personally. I wouldn’t think twice about walking that far given infrastructure that supports scooters.
- alasdair_ 8y ago
  >Honest question. What is this demographic which will ride a scooter but don’t want to walk less than a mile. Professionals that don't want to arrive at work all sweaty because it's a hot day. People who need to be somewhere in 5-10 minutes and don't want to jog. People who generally value their time more than the cost of the ride.
m_ke 8y ago
I don't doubt that there are edge cases where these are convenient. I'm really just questioning the business model. Right now these services are a novelty so a lot of people use them but they don't really pass the toothbrush test. Their top users will do the math at some point and end up buying a scooter to use for their daily commute.
- Symbiote 8y ago
  That seems very likely. The bike hire system in Copenhagen is underused -- most of the business is from tourists rather than locals, since most locals own a bicycle, or quickly buy one. If the scooters become popular, the risk of theft will drop significantly, and then there's not much reason not to own one.
- Aditya_Garg 8y ago
  You could say the same for Starbuck's daily customers. At 2 dollars a day (the cheapest option), they should all be making coffee from home. Don't underestimate the power of convenience.
kwindla 8y ago
In my experience in San Francisco (before all the scooters were taken off the streets last weekend), going ~3 miles on a scooter was much easier, more practical, and more fun than I expected. (And affordable.) I agree that 0.7m is right on the edge of whether it's worth walking versus grabbing a scooter. But 3 miles is a nice sweet spot. ~20 minutes on the scooter. ~25 minutes on the bus. ~50 minutes walking. Scooter and bus are about the same cost. And our hills make part of almost any 3 mile walk a pretty strenuous activity.

usrusr 8y ago

> So they're competing with Uber/Lyft for the short random trips that you might occasionally take at almost the same price. Random trips create more random trips, they complement each other. When everybody is tied to their personal vehicle, the return leg will always be on the same mode. One-way friendly TaaS makes all other forms of one-way friendly transportation now attractive, relative to personal vehicle use.