5 ms·

Very simple, have you ever rode a scooter? Once I took a ride along the beach in Southern California, it was immediately obvious, and, I was hooked! It's a disr

by holler 7y ago

Very simple, have you ever rode a scooter? Once I took a ride along the beach in Southern California, it was immediately obvious, and, I was hooked! It's a disruptive, perfect combination of technologies, that immediately antiquates riding a bike for short distances. The main problem is that it's too good, and people with poor balance, poor judgement, or bad luck, have been in accidents which ruined it for everyone else. I could see scooters completely wiping out local ride-share, taxi, and bicycle shares in many places. But again, people have been injured and because of that, along with the excessive inventory that has littered some areas, cities are cracking down and writing new regulation to curb their use. In the short term they will win and we might not enjoy their full potential for awhile.

catalogia 7y ago
Like three quarters of American men, I'm overweight. I'd never use an electric scooter because the absolute last thing I need in my life is an excuse to walk less. I'd wager at least a significant portion of that three quarters probably have thoughts similar to mine. Of the rest, most probably drive instead (which for the particularly obese, is probably a lot more comfortable than a scoooter.) I see a ton more scooters on the sidewalk than I see people riding them. From my perspective these scooter companies have greatly overestimated the demand.
- holler 7y ago
  Have you ever used one? I get what you're saying, but as an example: my girlfriend and I have on multiple occasions, in multiple cities, used scooters to explore local geographic regions that would otherwise not have been possible in the same time constraint. We would ride across town, then get off and walk around for a bit until we decided to hop back on and ride way across town to another place and do the same thing. So it is possible to still get the exercise etc, with the benefit of being able to cover more turf than possible strictly through walking. Of course you could do the same thing with a bike, but it's more cumbersome and less agile imo.
HenryBemis 7y ago
Depending where in the world you are, these scooters are as expensive as Uber for the same distance (in Europe). But you cannot carry a suitcase, it is not safe, you get wet when it rains, etc. I get that it feels like a 2-dollar-Harley, and once parents realize that their kids are both at risk AND it costs as much as an Uber, I expect loses to grow. Unless something drastic happens and the cost drops dramatically.
NewsAware 7y ago
For me when rarely riding a scooter (in Berlin) it is always frustrating that I am (at capped 20km/h) a bit slower than the flow of numerous bicicles. This also understandably increases frustration for the cyclists (I feel the same when usually taking a bike to work). This alone rules out taking a scooter over a bike whenever possible.
abduhl 7y ago
It's been a while since I hit a buzz word bingo while browsing a HN comment thread. I've got "disruptive," "obvious," the free space in the middle, "synergy" (which I'm counting combination of technologies for), and "ride-share".
stephen_g 7y ago
Yeah, I actually had never seriously considered riding one, and thought it was a bit silly, then a friend just randomly suggested going for a ride after we had caught up one time. It's actually really, really fun and pretty great for getting around urban areas. That said, I'm not sure how sustainable their business model will be because riding Lime and Neuron (a Singaporean competitor that we have operating in some Australian cities) is probably leaning me more towards wanting to get my own e-scooter than regularly hiring theirs...
jsemrau 7y ago
On paper Singapore, should have been the perfect market for eScooters. A central, urban, well-developed infrastructure, low crime, stable warm weather without seasons, you name it. Starting December PMD's were banned. Mostly because people behaving like idiots riding scooters on the sidewalks leading to at least two serious accidents per day. Bicycles are still allowed. Lessons learned : The urban infrastructure needs to have space for the eScooters to co-exist with other participants (cars and pedestrians alike)

by holler 7y ago

catalogia 7y ago

Like three quarters of American men, I'm overweight. I'd never use an electric scooter because the absolute last thing I need in my life is an excuse to walk less. I'd wager at least a significant portion of that three quarters probably have thoughts similar to mine. Of the rest, most probably drive instead (which for the particularly obese, is probably a lot more comfortable than a scoooter.) I see a ton more scooters on the sidewalk than I see people riding them. From my perspective these scooter companies have greatly overestimated the demand.

holler 7y ago
Have you ever used one? I get what you're saying, but as an example: my girlfriend and I have on multiple occasions, in multiple cities, used scooters to explore local geographic regions that would otherwise not have been possible in the same time constraint. We would ride across town, then get off and walk around for a bit until we decided to hop back on and ride way across town to another place and do the same thing. So it is possible to still get the exercise etc, with the benefit of being able to cover more turf than possible strictly through walking. Of course you could do the same thing with a bike, but it's more cumbersome and less agile imo.

HenryBemis 7y ago

Depending where in the world you are, these scooters are as expensive as Uber for the same distance (in Europe). But you cannot carry a suitcase, it is not safe, you get wet when it rains, etc. I get that it feels like a 2-dollar-Harley, and once parents realize that their kids are both at risk AND it costs as much as an Uber, I expect loses to grow. Unless something drastic happens and the cost drops dramatically.

NewsAware 7y ago

For me when rarely riding a scooter (in Berlin) it is always frustrating that I am (at capped 20km/h) a bit slower than the flow of numerous bicicles. This also understandably increases frustration for the cyclists (I feel the same when usually taking a bike to work). This alone rules out taking a scooter over a bike whenever possible.

abduhl 7y ago

It's been a while since I hit a buzz word bingo while browsing a HN comment thread. I've got "disruptive," "obvious," the free space in the middle, "synergy" (which I'm counting combination of technologies for), and "ride-share".

stephen_g 7y ago

Yeah, I actually had never seriously considered riding one, and thought it was a bit silly, then a friend just randomly suggested going for a ride after we had caught up one time. It's actually really, really fun and pretty great for getting around urban areas. That said, I'm not sure how sustainable their business model will be because riding Lime and Neuron (a Singaporean competitor that we have operating in some Australian cities) is probably leaning me more towards wanting to get my own e-scooter than regularly hiring theirs...

jsemrau 7y ago

On paper Singapore, should have been the perfect market for eScooters. A central, urban, well-developed infrastructure, low crime, stable warm weather without seasons, you name it. Starting December PMD's were banned. Mostly because people behaving like idiots riding scooters on the sidewalks leading to at least two serious accidents per day. Bicycles are still allowed. Lessons learned : The urban infrastructure needs to have space for the eScooters to co-exist with other participants (cars and pedestrians alike)