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Ok, 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, o

Ok, 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 ago
Why not driving regular bicycles? Where do you put the bicycle when you get where you need to go?
- Symbiote 7y ago
  In 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 ago
  I 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.
- cbm-vic-20 7y ago
  I take it with me. On the train, restaurants, market, work, etc. I don't own a bike lock. https://www.brompton.com/ https://www.brompton.com/
aleph4 7y ago
Also, it turns out all those batteries are not exactly eco-friendly.
- frankus 7y ago
  If you're truly replacing bike trips (and the cyclist isn't eating or showering* more than they would riding a scooter), then the scooter is less eco-friendly. If you're also replacing an occasional car trip, the scooter is likely a net win (an electric car has something like 300-500 scooter batteries in it). *The energy used by a single hot shower will get you most of the way to LA (from San Francisco) on a scooter.
e40 7y ago
The author of the article, who is by the way the indoor enthusiasts, feels that scooters shouldn't be disallowed on the sidewalks. Pedestrians do not have lanes. Pedestrians are unpredictable. Pedestrians often step around things, like dogshit. I cannot count on my hands and toes the number of times someone > 150 LBS has whipped around me on the sidewalk. The damage they can do, should they collide with me, is great. The max is death. People fall in the bathtub and die all the time, from head injuries. This idea that scooters can coexist with pedestrians is BS and needs to die.
- robbrown451 7y ago
  I think a reasonable rule might be that you can ride them on sidewalks as long as you stay at least 25 feet from pedestrians. So basically if the sidewalk is empty, go for it. It might mean taking the side streets rather than the main ones, but that's ok. I don't think these things coexist well with cars either. (nor do bikes, which is why I don't ride a bike in the city) Pedestrians need to be aware of their surroundings too. (another good rule, pick up your dog shit)
  - e40 7y ago
    I think a reasonable rule might be that you can ride them on sidewalks as long as you stay at least 25 feet from pedestrians. So basically if the sidewalk is empty, go for it. It might mean taking the side streets rather than the main ones, but that's ok. Nope: I once saved a kid from serious harm. I was waiting for my kid to come out of a martial arts test and I was waiting outside on the sidewalk. There was a class after my kid's that had lots of little kids in it. They were waiting inside, mostly. Basically, I saw a guy riding a bike down the sidewalk, about 30m away. I also saw a group of kids about to rush out the door, running. I literally just had enough time to hold out my arms and stop the bicyclist before he could get to where the kids were running. In essence, I put my body in front of him and he stopped. The conversation didn't go well. I said he could have seriously injured the kids as they ran out of the door, 2-3 feet from him, and he decided to yell at me that he would have seen, blah blah blah. > Pedestrians need to be aware of their surroundings too. That means walking in a perfectly straight line and never deviating from that line unless you clear your blind spots. But, that isn't even enough. I've been hit twice, in the last 20 years, by cyclists on the sidewalk, when I was walking in a straight line. Both said: I didn't mean it. Incidentally, 100% of bicyclists, when told it's not legal to ride on the sidewalk reply to me, said "I won't hit a pedestrian" and then somethings I get the f-word yelled at me (I was very polite to start, but not at this point).
zemvpferreira 7y ago
Concerned people have collectively been banging the ride-more-bicycles drum for decades. It hasn't worked. It doesn't even matter why, it's obvious at this point that commuters at large won't use them given a powered alternative. Why keep butting our head against that wall instead of supporting something people will actually use? (I commuted via bike for years and as fun as it is it's beyond impractical. Parking, heat, rain, hills etc etc.)
- molodec 7y ago
  The majority of people will indeed prefer powered bicycle and scooters if available. There are some countries and cities where there many people using bikes for their daily commute. The scooters are too small and underpowered for riding on the streets, and at the same time using them on the sidewalk can be dangerous for pedestrians, so I am not sure where they fit in the transportation picture.
  - zemvpferreira 7y ago
    The hundreds of thousands of people using them (who would never regularly use a bike) seem to disagree that they don't fit in the picture. Why go against a solution that takes cars off the road? Sure let's get scooters off the sidewalks, that's insane. Over here in Lisbon there are plenty of people riding them on streets and (previously deserted) bike lanes.
- 6gvONxR4sf7o 7y ago
  The data I see says bike commuting nationwide grew 43% from 2000 to 2017, despite a dip leading into 2017. It's not just about powered alternatives, but spaces to do it. If you build a road for a powered vehicle and make the barest accommodations for everything else, of course powered vehicles will dominate. People take public transit more when you build more. They bike more when you build protected lanes. It's not about saying people should do these things, but rather saying that cities should better build for them.
rco8786 7y ago
Real talk - sweat. I can pop on a scooter for 20 minutes and get a cool breeze. If I rode my bike for 20 minutes I would arrive a dripping disgusting mess and would remain a stinky ape the rest of the day.

Goronmon 7y ago

Why not driving regular bicycles? Where do you put the bicycle when you get where you need to go?

Symbiote 7y ago
In 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 ago
I 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.
cbm-vic-20 7y ago
I take it with me. On the train, restaurants, market, work, etc. I don't own a bike lock. https://www.brompton.com/ https://www.brompton.com/

aleph4 7y ago

Also, it turns out all those batteries are not exactly eco-friendly.

frankus 7y ago
If you're truly replacing bike trips (and the cyclist isn't eating or showering* more than they would riding a scooter), then the scooter is less eco-friendly. If you're also replacing an occasional car trip, the scooter is likely a net win (an electric car has something like 300-500 scooter batteries in it). *The energy used by a single hot shower will get you most of the way to LA (from San Francisco) on a scooter.

e40 7y ago

The author of the article, who is by the way the indoor enthusiasts, feels that scooters shouldn't be disallowed on the sidewalks. Pedestrians do not have lanes. Pedestrians are unpredictable. Pedestrians often step around things, like dogshit. I cannot count on my hands and toes the number of times someone > 150 LBS has whipped around me on the sidewalk. The damage they can do, should they collide with me, is great. The max is death. People fall in the bathtub and die all the time, from head injuries. This idea that scooters can coexist with pedestrians is BS and needs to die.

robbrown451 7y ago
I think a reasonable rule might be that you can ride them on sidewalks as long as you stay at least 25 feet from pedestrians. So basically if the sidewalk is empty, go for it. It might mean taking the side streets rather than the main ones, but that's ok. I don't think these things coexist well with cars either. (nor do bikes, which is why I don't ride a bike in the city) Pedestrians need to be aware of their surroundings too. (another good rule, pick up your dog shit)
- e40 7y ago
  I think a reasonable rule might be that you can ride them on sidewalks as long as you stay at least 25 feet from pedestrians. So basically if the sidewalk is empty, go for it. It might mean taking the side streets rather than the main ones, but that's ok. Nope: I once saved a kid from serious harm. I was waiting for my kid to come out of a martial arts test and I was waiting outside on the sidewalk. There was a class after my kid's that had lots of little kids in it. They were waiting inside, mostly. Basically, I saw a guy riding a bike down the sidewalk, about 30m away. I also saw a group of kids about to rush out the door, running. I literally just had enough time to hold out my arms and stop the bicyclist before he could get to where the kids were running. In essence, I put my body in front of him and he stopped. The conversation didn't go well. I said he could have seriously injured the kids as they ran out of the door, 2-3 feet from him, and he decided to yell at me that he would have seen, blah blah blah. > Pedestrians need to be aware of their surroundings too. That means walking in a perfectly straight line and never deviating from that line unless you clear your blind spots. But, that isn't even enough. I've been hit twice, in the last 20 years, by cyclists on the sidewalk, when I was walking in a straight line. Both said: I didn't mean it. Incidentally, 100% of bicyclists, when told it's not legal to ride on the sidewalk reply to me, said "I won't hit a pedestrian" and then somethings I get the f-word yelled at me (I was very polite to start, but not at this point).

zemvpferreira 7y ago

Concerned people have collectively been banging the ride-more-bicycles drum for decades. It hasn't worked. It doesn't even matter why, it's obvious at this point that commuters at large won't use them given a powered alternative. Why keep butting our head against that wall instead of supporting something people will actually use? (I commuted via bike for years and as fun as it is it's beyond impractical. Parking, heat, rain, hills etc etc.)

molodec 7y ago
The majority of people will indeed prefer powered bicycle and scooters if available. There are some countries and cities where there many people using bikes for their daily commute. The scooters are too small and underpowered for riding on the streets, and at the same time using them on the sidewalk can be dangerous for pedestrians, so I am not sure where they fit in the transportation picture.
- zemvpferreira 7y ago
  The hundreds of thousands of people using them (who would never regularly use a bike) seem to disagree that they don't fit in the picture. Why go against a solution that takes cars off the road? Sure let's get scooters off the sidewalks, that's insane. Over here in Lisbon there are plenty of people riding them on streets and (previously deserted) bike lanes.
6gvONxR4sf7o 7y ago
The data I see says bike commuting nationwide grew 43% from 2000 to 2017, despite a dip leading into 2017. It's not just about powered alternatives, but spaces to do it. If you build a road for a powered vehicle and make the barest accommodations for everything else, of course powered vehicles will dominate. People take public transit more when you build more. They bike more when you build protected lanes. It's not about saying people should do these things, but rather saying that cities should better build for them.

rco8786 7y ago

Real talk - sweat. I can pop on a scooter for 20 minutes and get a cool breeze. If I rode my bike for 20 minutes I would arrive a dripping disgusting mess and would remain a stinky ape the rest of the day.