4 ms·

Specifically "rental e-scooters" not "e-scooters" in general and the main complaint (https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-melbourne-vote-rental-scooters.html htt

Specifically "rental e-scooters" not "e-scooters" in general and the main complaint (https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-melbourne-vote-rental-scooters.html https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-melbourne-vote-rental-sc...) is: scooters had been scattered around the city "like confetti" I am very sympathetic to this argument against rentals. With no skin in the game, renters abandon these things tipped over anyplace they like: in the middle of the road, on people's lawns, on sidewalks, and even in the canal system where I work. Worse, some providers who presumably want to achieve a first mover advantage also seem disinclined to care about what happens to these things. Where should people leave them? I assume they should leave them at a set of standard lots scattered about, but rental companies where I am seem to drop them off randomly wherever they like and seem disinclined to secure standard parking options for their fleets. If no one cares about rentals not the owner nor the renter then of course that will be reflected in how they are treated and the result is as described.

marssaxman 2y ago
We have lots of rental scooters here in Seattle too, scattered around the city like confetti, and I love it so much! Anywhere you go, it's easy to find a ride. I use them all the time, especially because they make the streetcar and light rail systems so much more useful. (So what if the place you want to go is half a mile away from the nearest station? You can expect to find a dozen scooters waiting on the sidewalk, ready to whisk you away.) We used to have a bike-share program which used standard lots as you propose, but it didn't work. There simply couldn't be enough lots set aside to make the system convenient: you'd have to walk a few blocks to the nearest lot, look up wherever there might be another bike lot near your destination, ride there, then it'd be a few more blocks' walk getting where you actually wanted to go after parking the bike. There just weren't many trips short enough that you'd want to get there by bike which were also long enough to justify that much extra walking. Nowadays, we have dockless e-bike rental provided by the same companies which operate the scooters: the bikes, too, are scattered around the city like confetti. They are easy to use and very popular.
- uberman 2y ago
  Perhaps your rental provider does a better job of maintaining and managing thier fleet than what we have. It is a regular thing to find rentals tipped over on the side of the road or blocking the sidewalk. I can see two at the moment in the canal.
helph67 2y ago
Also the disregard of the rules including wearing of a helmet and only one person per e-scooter and local hospitals reported significant injuries due to their use.

marssaxman 2y ago

We have lots of rental scooters here in Seattle too, scattered around the city like confetti, and I love it so much! Anywhere you go, it's easy to find a ride. I use them all the time, especially because they make the streetcar and light rail systems so much more useful. (So what if the place you want to go is half a mile away from the nearest station? You can expect to find a dozen scooters waiting on the sidewalk, ready to whisk you away.) We used to have a bike-share program which used standard lots as you propose, but it didn't work. There simply couldn't be enough lots set aside to make the system convenient: you'd have to walk a few blocks to the nearest lot, look up wherever there might be another bike lot near your destination, ride there, then it'd be a few more blocks' walk getting where you actually wanted to go after parking the bike. There just weren't many trips short enough that you'd want to get there by bike which were also long enough to justify that much extra walking. Nowadays, we have dockless e-bike rental provided by the same companies which operate the scooters: the bikes, too, are scattered around the city like confetti. They are easy to use and very popular.

uberman 2y ago
Perhaps your rental provider does a better job of maintaining and managing thier fleet than what we have. It is a regular thing to find rentals tipped over on the side of the road or blocking the sidewalk. I can see two at the moment in the canal.

helph67 2y ago

Also the disregard of the rules including wearing of a helmet and only one person per e-scooter and local hospitals reported significant injuries due to their use.