7 ms·

Why so much hype over electric scooters? Western people did no adopt gas scooters. Electric scooters are not that different and if anything slightly inferior.

Numberwang 8y ago
Have you ever tried one? They are amazing in so many ways. Silent, compact and environmentally friendly. They are everywhere here in Malta and it is reducing traffic congestion very noticeably.
- rqs 8y ago
  And (For most of the time) easier to park compare to a car.
  - jseliger 8y ago
    Since a scooter is like two feet by four feet and a car is like eight feet by fourteen feet, scooters are going to be far easier to park than cars: like three to five can fit in a conventional parking spot, compared to one car. Given the smaller amount of space needed between vehicles, the numbers might be even more favorable.
  - walshemj 8y ago
    Just don't use the side stand :-(
- secabeen 8y ago
  Weight is also a factor. You can fold and carry a electric scooter into your office and store it next to your desk. You can't do that with a gas scooter, the lightest ones are about 220 lbs.
  - djrogers 8y ago
    You’re thinking of stand-up kick scooters - these are sit-down, electric versions of gas powered road scooters. Not foldable or light.
snaky 8y ago
Western people ain't Americans only. European prospects for electric scooters adoption are not that bad.
coldtea 8y ago
>Why so much hype over electric scooters? Western people did no adopt gas scooters. Who are these "Western people" you refer to? Here in my part of Western Europe (and many others) gas scooters are everywhere and have been for decades... Not to mention there are places with much more bicycles than the US (even despite the weather, like in the Netherlands).
- esrauch 8y ago
  In Zurich they aren't rare but clearly less common than bikes or motorcycles, and way less than cars.
  - coldtea 8y ago
    In the US, motorcycles are quite rare in cities and highways as well. They seem to have the same nominal rates of ownership to Europe or close, but use them much less.
wongarsu 8y ago
In Europe electric bicycles limited to 25km/h. Electric scooters going 45km/h are a good alternative with similar versatility. Both bicycles and scooters are much more space efficient than cars and great for moving quickly inside a city (European cities are much denser than America's Suburbia). So it's useful for the user of the scooter because they can move faster, and better for everyone else because you can fit more of them on a street than the same people in cars. I'm not sure how electric scooters are inferior, the solve a lot of pain points of gas scooters. They can have much better acceleration and start much more reliably. Range isn't a big issue because you wouldn't want to take a trip longer than an hour or so with a scooter anyways.
fit2rule 8y ago
We just got a city-wide deployment of easily rentable scooters here in Vienna. They're immensely popular! And the user experience is great .. open the app, find a scooter, walk to it (Viennese people walk.), rent it with the App, hop on and ride away .. park it where you want, finish the rental, voila .. easy, fun, smart access to an efficient transportation system. People want these services. Its happening.

Numberwang 8y ago

Have you ever tried one? They are amazing in so many ways. Silent, compact and environmentally friendly. They are everywhere here in Malta and it is reducing traffic congestion very noticeably.

rqs 8y ago
And (For most of the time) easier to park compare to a car.
- jseliger 8y ago
  Since a scooter is like two feet by four feet and a car is like eight feet by fourteen feet, scooters are going to be far easier to park than cars: like three to five can fit in a conventional parking spot, compared to one car. Given the smaller amount of space needed between vehicles, the numbers might be even more favorable.
- walshemj 8y ago
  Just don't use the side stand :-(
secabeen 8y ago
Weight is also a factor. You can fold and carry a electric scooter into your office and store it next to your desk. You can't do that with a gas scooter, the lightest ones are about 220 lbs.
- djrogers 8y ago
  You’re thinking of stand-up kick scooters - these are sit-down, electric versions of gas powered road scooters. Not foldable or light.

snaky 8y ago

Western people ain't Americans only. European prospects for electric scooters adoption are not that bad.

coldtea 8y ago

>Why so much hype over electric scooters? Western people did no adopt gas scooters. Who are these "Western people" you refer to? Here in my part of Western Europe (and many others) gas scooters are everywhere and have been for decades... Not to mention there are places with much more bicycles than the US (even despite the weather, like in the Netherlands).

esrauch 8y ago
In Zurich they aren't rare but clearly less common than bikes or motorcycles, and way less than cars.
- coldtea 8y ago
  In the US, motorcycles are quite rare in cities and highways as well. They seem to have the same nominal rates of ownership to Europe or close, but use them much less.

wongarsu 8y ago

In Europe electric bicycles limited to 25km/h. Electric scooters going 45km/h are a good alternative with similar versatility. Both bicycles and scooters are much more space efficient than cars and great for moving quickly inside a city (European cities are much denser than America's Suburbia). So it's useful for the user of the scooter because they can move faster, and better for everyone else because you can fit more of them on a street than the same people in cars. I'm not sure how electric scooters are inferior, the solve a lot of pain points of gas scooters. They can have much better acceleration and start much more reliably. Range isn't a big issue because you wouldn't want to take a trip longer than an hour or so with a scooter anyways.

fit2rule 8y ago

We just got a city-wide deployment of easily rentable scooters here in Vienna. They're immensely popular! And the user experience is great .. open the app, find a scooter, walk to it (Viennese people walk.), rent it with the App, hop on and ride away .. park it where you want, finish the rental, voila .. easy, fun, smart access to an efficient transportation system. People want these services. Its happening.