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In several large cities there is already a workable solution for those trips though. Bike share with fixed stations, like CitiBike in NYC or Capital Bikeshare i

In several large cities there is already a workable solution for those trips though. Bike share with fixed stations, like CitiBike in NYC or Capital Bikeshare in DC. As I understand it the fixed bikeshare costs are controllable and those systems are not losing money at anywhere near the rate of Bird. EBikes will be rolling out soon for some of these systems too so that solves another one of the disadvantages they have against eScooters.

2FACTORAUTH 7y ago
The problem with bikes is that you get incredibly sweaty even in the winter. I'm sure there's solutions to that as well but I would prefer not to have to towel down or change clothes after arriving at my destination.
- smallgovt 7y ago
  This problem is fixed by eBikes. Jump on a JUMP bike in San Francisco and you'll find that there's little to no physical exertion.
- lkbm 7y ago
  Maybe it's just because I bike a lot, but during the winter, I don't get sweaty at all. I used to be able to bike 95% of the way to work (2.5mi) in jeans without getting sweaty until late June or July. (Those last two blocks going uphill would usually get me, sadly.) And this is in Austin. Yeah, right now I'll get sweaty, because we hit 107f heat index every other day. During the winter I can bike ten+ miles in jeans and a t-shirt without getting sweaty.
floatrock 7y ago
And in the marketplace of ideas, why must there be only one workable solution? An electric scooter is a fraction of the cost of an ebike, so you can have more of them, creating a denser transport network. Not as durable, sure, but why not let the investors deal with that risk? And as much as I'd love the US be like the Dutch and have personal bikes go everywhere, I don't bike to the coffeeshop a mile away because the only bikes I see locked up outside in my city are missing, lets say, critical pieces. Bikeshare and scootershare offload the risk of personal property theft.
- smallgovt 7y ago
  Well, in this case, there may not be enough (literal) space to fit both solutions. Since cities are regulating this, if one solution is generally superior for last mile commuting it will probably take the cake.
  - dublinben 7y ago
    There's plenty of space in every US city being used for storage of private automobiles to support both a bike and scooter share program.
- Someone 7y ago
  Lease a bike, and offload all repairs to the leasing company (https://swapfiets.de/en/ https://swapfiets.de/en/) That doesn’t guarantee you will have a bike available at all time (if it breaks down, you won’t get a new one in a second), but neither do bikeshare programs.
- DrScump 7y ago
  offload the risk of personal property theft ... which somebody always pays for (the customers, if the business survives, investors if it fails).
itronitron 7y ago
How about a compromise and people start using the Halbrad [0] instead? It has the upright posture that scooter users seem to like with the pedal action that cyclists are used to, plus you can carry it on public transport. Disclaimer, I want these to take off so that the unit costs come down to the point that I can afford one. 0. https://halbrad.de/ https://halbrad.de/
tedmiston 7y ago
The electric bikes are great but having a small number of relatively far apart docking stations is a big inconvenience compared to dockless with scooters. Particularly so when you find a station empty of bikes when you need one or completely full when you need to drop one off. I use scooters way more than bikes personally even though the bike program has been in my city years longer. Convenience is everything for a 5-15 minute trip.

2FACTORAUTH 7y ago

The problem with bikes is that you get incredibly sweaty even in the winter. I'm sure there's solutions to that as well but I would prefer not to have to towel down or change clothes after arriving at my destination.

smallgovt 7y ago
This problem is fixed by eBikes. Jump on a JUMP bike in San Francisco and you'll find that there's little to no physical exertion.
lkbm 7y ago
Maybe it's just because I bike a lot, but during the winter, I don't get sweaty at all. I used to be able to bike 95% of the way to work (2.5mi) in jeans without getting sweaty until late June or July. (Those last two blocks going uphill would usually get me, sadly.) And this is in Austin. Yeah, right now I'll get sweaty, because we hit 107f heat index every other day. During the winter I can bike ten+ miles in jeans and a t-shirt without getting sweaty.

floatrock 7y ago

And in the marketplace of ideas, why must there be only one workable solution? An electric scooter is a fraction of the cost of an ebike, so you can have more of them, creating a denser transport network. Not as durable, sure, but why not let the investors deal with that risk? And as much as I'd love the US be like the Dutch and have personal bikes go everywhere, I don't bike to the coffeeshop a mile away because the only bikes I see locked up outside in my city are missing, lets say, critical pieces. Bikeshare and scootershare offload the risk of personal property theft.

smallgovt 7y ago
Well, in this case, there may not be enough (literal) space to fit both solutions. Since cities are regulating this, if one solution is generally superior for last mile commuting it will probably take the cake.
- dublinben 7y ago
  There's plenty of space in every US city being used for storage of private automobiles to support both a bike and scooter share program.
Someone 7y ago
Lease a bike, and offload all repairs to the leasing company (https://swapfiets.de/en/ https://swapfiets.de/en/) That doesn’t guarantee you will have a bike available at all time (if it breaks down, you won’t get a new one in a second), but neither do bikeshare programs.
DrScump 7y ago
offload the risk of personal property theft ... which somebody always pays for (the customers, if the business survives, investors if it fails).

itronitron 7y ago

How about a compromise and people start using the Halbrad [0] instead? It has the upright posture that scooter users seem to like with the pedal action that cyclists are used to, plus you can carry it on public transport. Disclaimer, I want these to take off so that the unit costs come down to the point that I can afford one. 0. https://halbrad.de/ https://halbrad.de/

tedmiston 7y ago

The electric bikes are great but having a small number of relatively far apart docking stations is a big inconvenience compared to dockless with scooters. Particularly so when you find a station empty of bikes when you need one or completely full when you need to drop one off. I use scooters way more than bikes personally even though the bike program has been in my city years longer. Convenience is everything for a 5-15 minute trip.