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One aspect that seems unacknowledged (maybe it is in the article, I haven't finished it) is weather. I bought an electric scooter and happily used it along with

One aspect that seems unacknowledged (maybe it is in the article, I haven't finished it) is weather. I bought an electric scooter and happily used it along with biking last summer. However the moment it turned cold in New York, scootering became significantly less appealing. My hands get really cold; snow, slush and ice increase danger and my friends were less likely to want to come with me. It's quite noticeable that the cities cited are all relatively warm places. I bet that as scooters expand to colder areas, they'll have a harder time with adoption. Edit: the article does acknowledge it! > If nothing else, the day would prove conclusively that scootering is not the best mode of travel in the dead of a New York winter. You can’t put your hands in your pockets while driving or lean into the wind. In a lot of ways, walking that last mile works better, and it’s free.

ryukafalz 6y ago
Can't speak to e-scooters in particular, but cold weather gets cited as a problem for bikes as well, so thought I'd bring this up: for bikes at least it's as much of a question of infrastructure priorities as it is the weather itself. Plenty of people bike in places with much colder weather than New York all the time: https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU ...they just have safe paths to ride on, and those paths get maintained. (So: not a painted bike lane that all the snow gets shoveled into.)
- hardwaregeek 6y ago
  That's true, but there's something to be said about culture. Bikes in the Netherlands are a way of life. Bikes in the US are recreational/occasionally professional. If people are inconvenienced, they just won't use it. Not to mention in New York, there's already significant risks that come with biking/scootering. You always always have to share the road for at least some part of the trip and are constantly at risk of car doors, pedestrians and ironically, really fast e-bikes. I know that during the summer the benefits outweigh the risks, at least during pandemic. During the winter with ice and snow? Hell no.
  - ryukafalz 6y ago
    Culture might be the reason the Netherlands started down the path they're on today of building more bicycle infrastructure and we haven't, but... The thing is, culture influences infrastructure, but the reverse is also true. Bikes in the Netherlands are a way of life partly because it's very safe to bike to your destination there! You don't need Dutch culture to get to that point, look at Vancouver: https://youtu.be/N9JHfFutvik https://youtu.be/N9JHfFutvik You're right that at the moment, bikes in the US are mostly considered to be recreational, and as a result they're not treated seriously as transportation. But I think people will get to where they're going however is most convenient, and as a result we can get more people cycling by making it more convenient. (You can count me as one of those people; I have little interest in cycling for recreation, but I would absolutely bike around the city if it were safer. Given the limited reach of our public transit, it would honestly be the quickest way to get where I need to go most of the time.)
    - m463 6y ago
      It's like finland has bicycle superhighways. What a cool environment.
- jsjsbdkj 6y ago
  As someone who lives in a city with a pretty active winter-biking culture, overcoming the problems of winter with an e-scooter is a non-starter. Riders here have fat bikes, studded tires, and gloves that slide onto the handlebars. Even converting a bikeshare fleet would be tough, but converting scooters with tiny wheels would be impossible.
ygram 6y ago
Well, there are plenty of companies operating in for example Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki. Just like regular bicycles thre are more riders in the summer than in thr winter.

ryukafalz 6y ago

Can't speak to e-scooters in particular, but cold weather gets cited as a problem for bikes as well, so thought I'd bring this up: for bikes at least it's as much of a question of infrastructure priorities as it is the weather itself. Plenty of people bike in places with much colder weather than New York all the time: https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU ...they just have safe paths to ride on, and those paths get maintained. (So: not a painted bike lane that all the snow gets shoveled into.)

hardwaregeek 6y ago
That's true, but there's something to be said about culture. Bikes in the Netherlands are a way of life. Bikes in the US are recreational/occasionally professional. If people are inconvenienced, they just won't use it. Not to mention in New York, there's already significant risks that come with biking/scootering. You always always have to share the road for at least some part of the trip and are constantly at risk of car doors, pedestrians and ironically, really fast e-bikes. I know that during the summer the benefits outweigh the risks, at least during pandemic. During the winter with ice and snow? Hell no.
- ryukafalz 6y ago
  Culture might be the reason the Netherlands started down the path they're on today of building more bicycle infrastructure and we haven't, but... The thing is, culture influences infrastructure, but the reverse is also true. Bikes in the Netherlands are a way of life partly because it's very safe to bike to your destination there! You don't need Dutch culture to get to that point, look at Vancouver: https://youtu.be/N9JHfFutvik https://youtu.be/N9JHfFutvik You're right that at the moment, bikes in the US are mostly considered to be recreational, and as a result they're not treated seriously as transportation. But I think people will get to where they're going however is most convenient, and as a result we can get more people cycling by making it more convenient. (You can count me as one of those people; I have little interest in cycling for recreation, but I would absolutely bike around the city if it were safer. Given the limited reach of our public transit, it would honestly be the quickest way to get where I need to go most of the time.)
  - m463 6y ago
    It's like finland has bicycle superhighways. What a cool environment.
jsjsbdkj 6y ago
As someone who lives in a city with a pretty active winter-biking culture, overcoming the problems of winter with an e-scooter is a non-starter. Riders here have fat bikes, studded tires, and gloves that slide onto the handlebars. Even converting a bikeshare fleet would be tough, but converting scooters with tiny wheels would be impossible.

ygram 6y ago

Well, there are plenty of companies operating in for example Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki. Just like regular bicycles thre are more riders in the summer than in thr winter.