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Can they crack down on rampant use of cars? Are car companies paying operating fees? (Not quite the same, I know, but still).

wpietri 8y ago
It has happened in some cities. Look at London's congestion charge, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge And in NYC, taxis and psuedo-taxis like Uber and Lyft are indeed paying fees: https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/02/new-york-surcharge-uber-lyft-manhattan/ https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/02/new-york-surcharge-uber-... It's politically much harder to impose fees like that when people are used to something being free. But there's no reason for them to repeat that mistake with novel things like scooters.
almost_usual 8y ago
If cars start driving on sidewalks I’m sure they’ll crack down on it.
- dionidium 8y ago
  The irony of this statement is that cars created the modern, rigid distinction between street and sidewalk. The term "jaywalking" was around before cars, but its modern meaning was heavily promoted by pro-automobile interests in the 1920s: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/transport/2009/11/in_defense_of_jaywalking.html http://www.slate.com/articles/life/transport/2009/11/in_defe... Cars don't need to drive on the sidewalks, in other words, because they already took over everything else (and in doing so relegated all other transportation modes to what was left).
  - almost_usual 8y ago
    Kind of what I was getting at. Car culture isn’t going away any time soon. It’s a lot easier to regulate something new than something that’s been a part of American society for nearly a hundred years.
jseliger 8y ago
Every time I see these absurd city government efforts to strangle human-sized personal vehicles, I think of "Wow. Look at These Astounding Photos of Abandoned Dockless Vehicles in America." https://slate.com/business/2018/04/astounding-photos-capture-graveyards-of-unused-dockless-vehicles-in-american-cities.html https://slate.com/business/2018/04/astounding-photos-capture...

wpietri 8y ago

It has happened in some cities. Look at London's congestion charge, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge And in NYC, taxis and psuedo-taxis like Uber and Lyft are indeed paying fees: https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/02/new-york-surcharge-uber-lyft-manhattan/ https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/02/new-york-surcharge-uber-... It's politically much harder to impose fees like that when people are used to something being free. But there's no reason for them to repeat that mistake with novel things like scooters.

almost_usual 8y ago

If cars start driving on sidewalks I’m sure they’ll crack down on it.

dionidium 8y ago
The irony of this statement is that cars created the modern, rigid distinction between street and sidewalk. The term "jaywalking" was around before cars, but its modern meaning was heavily promoted by pro-automobile interests in the 1920s: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/transport/2009/11/in_defense_of_jaywalking.html http://www.slate.com/articles/life/transport/2009/11/in_defe... Cars don't need to drive on the sidewalks, in other words, because they already took over everything else (and in doing so relegated all other transportation modes to what was left).
- almost_usual 8y ago
  Kind of what I was getting at. Car culture isn’t going away any time soon. It’s a lot easier to regulate something new than something that’s been a part of American society for nearly a hundred years.

jseliger 8y ago

Every time I see these absurd city government efforts to strangle human-sized personal vehicles, I think of "Wow. Look at These Astounding Photos of Abandoned Dockless Vehicles in America." https://slate.com/business/2018/04/astounding-photos-capture-graveyards-of-unused-dockless-vehicles-in-american-cities.html https://slate.com/business/2018/04/astounding-photos-capture...