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E-scootering around Berlin as a tourist this past fall was incredibly fun. Fast, cheap, and the lack of responsibility to lock up a bike or find a specific bike
by hoelle 7y ago
E-scootering around Berlin as a tourist this past fall was incredibly fun. Fast, cheap, and the lack of responsibility to lock up a bike or find a specific bike rental return spot is very freeing. It's such an effective way to explore cities that suit it, that I'll now factor their availability into vacation travel planning.
So I'll be sad if these die off. I just learned how amazing they are!
- Aperocky 7y agoWhat I think can happen is cities taking over and designate good amount of space for parking these things everywhere. And commission the scooters as a form of public transportation. I don’t see private enterprise ever making a profit here
- snarf21 7y agoExactly. They take up so much less space than the bike share bicycles.Plus, with designated areas, they can be recharged on the spot with no need for people to drive around collecting them.
- gabaix 7y agoIn Paris scooters need to be parked in small designated areas. The apps won’t allow you to park unless you stop in one of them.
- vsyu 7y agoTotally agree! It will be interesting to see how this fares as a business model...
- lawlorino 7y agoI've only really experienced them in Helsinki so maybe it's a different situation than Berlin, but from a pedestrian's POV I see them pretty negatively. Firstly, people are often just dumping them wherever they like with no real regard, especially in the center you'll get loads of them just scattered close together on the pavement. The city is pretty windy so I'm not sure if that is also contributing though. Second point, and much more serious, is that people ride them like arseholes even in pedestrian areas.
- jessriedel 7y agoBicyclist complain about how cars drive. Car driver's complain about bicyclist. Same for pedestrians, etc. There should be reasonable rules to reduce frictions and accidents, but "my life would be easier if people taking other forms of transport disappeared" is not novel or constructive.
- ghaff 7y agoI don't think in general pedestrians care whether or not escooters disappear. They just don't want them on sidewalks by and large. By and large bicycles aren't allowed on sidewalks either and cars certainly aren't so I'm not sure why escooters would be.
- jessriedel 7y agoScooters are banned from sidewalks in almost all places that bikes are, which is reasonable. (And, for both vehicles, people sometimes break the law.) I think many pedestrians absolutely would like to see scooters banned; I've heard them say this in person. Just think of all the complaining about, horror of horrors, a scooter being poorly parked on the sidewalk. ("I nearly tripped!")
- ghaff 7y agoThere are legit reasons to complain about scooters scattered on sidewalks especially for people who are mobility-impaired in various ways. But I actually mostly agree that lots of stuff blocks sidewalks in cities and I'm not at all sure scooters are an outsized offender.
- jessriedel 7y agoAgreed. But as you say, scooters do not seem to be outsized offenders. And I hear a lot more complaints from able-bodied people (who also seem to complain about new construction changing the neighborhood, etc.) than I do from my grandmother.
- riffic 7y ago> I'll be sad if these die off I wouldn't worry about that yet. This is merely the "trough of disillusionment" if you're familiar at all with the Gartner Hype cycle.