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What Dockless Bikes and Scooters Are Exposing

haveago.city

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Re: What Dockless Bikes and Scooters Are Exposing

#111

Post by woolvalley »

jwilliams wrote: post #80

I'm pro scooters and dockerless bikes in general -- but I also don't really buy into the logic of this article. In the key markets for these things - there is no presumption of parking. I imagine avoiding parking is the #1/#2 reason for most users would use this service (I'd include ride sharing here too). I specifically don't have a car in San Francisco because I have nowhere to park it. When dockerless bikes were l…

For me its not really parking the things, it's the theft. I don't want to carry 2 - 3 locks so assholes wont steal my tires, seats and so on. I also don't want to take up a lot of space on the train with my bike.

Re: What Dockless Bikes and Scooters Are Exposing

#112

Post by woolvalley »

s17n wrote: post #78

The problem isn't parking, the problem is that to work well they need dedicated lanes. I agree that this should happen but it's not as easy as taking a parking space per block - you'd have to eliminate half of all the parking or reduce the number of car lanes or something.

You ride on the side of the road, like with bikes.

Nobody really does dockless bikes with their personal bikes because of theft.

Re: What Dockless Bikes and Scooters Are Exposing

#113

Post by smallnamespace »

CalRobert wrote: post #110
Lionsion wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US cities also tend to be more spread out, which also reduces the appeal of public transit. Contrast this to a Chinese city of the same size, which due to the fact that literally everyone lives in small apartments, is much more compact and easier to serve via public transport.

"US cities also tend to be more spread out, which also reduces the appeal of public transit." Also could be US cities have no transit, requiring space-intensive auto infrastructure, so they're more spread out.

History is path-dependent.

At some point in our nation's history (namely right after WW2), it was decided that cars, suburbia, and the Interstate highway system was the way forward, and not dense, closely packed cities + public transport + more railways.

Note that we might not think about this now, but cities before WW2 were often disease-ridden, filthy places. The antibiotic revolution did not really come into full swing until after the war. There were reasons people made those choices back then, and some of them we have forgotten since the problems they faced were mitigated.

We're now revisiting whether that choice has outlived its usefulness, but if something took 50 years to build, you can bet replacing it will take just as long.

China never had the luxury of making that choice during its development; it was either public transit or nothing.

Re: What Dockless Bikes and Scooters Are Exposing

#114

Post by F_r_k »

dwighttk wrote: post #88
gkoberger wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean... like Getaround and Zipcar already do? The streets are filled with companies using public spaces: Fedex deliveries blocking the road, sidewalk signs for bars, Getaround rentals, food carts, mailboxes, ATMs, parking meters, Scoot scooters, taxi lines, Lyft/Ubers, Redbox DVD rentals, annoying Greenpeace petition people, construction, billboards, etc. I don't think it's a cost-saving measure for scooter/bike…

>Yes, these scooters/bikes are making money. Are they? Are any of the companies public? It seems like a burn through cash to get a user base sort of thing but maybe these companies are older and more established than it seems to me.

Are you required to be public in order to make money ?

Re: What Dockless Bikes and Scooters Are Exposing

#115

Post by BrainInAJar »

the-pigeon wrote: post #19
burlesona wrote: post #14

From the article: “If cities allow, and mandate that we be able to park cars everywhere, why shouldn’t bikes have the same convenience, especially considering they require 10 times less space than cars and offer the enormous efficiency, environmental, cost, and health benefits listed above?” Alternatively we could drop the entitlement to drive and park cars everywhere and the regulations forcing that choice on the co…

> entitlement to drive and park cars everywhere Most places in the US at least are not very livable without a car. You majorly hurt commerce and people's quality of life by removing vehicles without completely changing the layout of cities to make them work with other options. Not that we shouldn't pursue those sorts of changes but that thinking of it as "entitlement" is shallow and not constructive. The entire syste…

> Most places in the US at least are not very livable without a car

absent subsidies, this would not be the case

Re: What Dockless Bikes and Scooters Are Exposing

#116

Post by s17n »

woolvalley wrote: post #112
s17n wrote: post #78

The problem isn't parking, the problem is that to work well they need dedicated lanes. I agree that this should happen but it's not as easy as taking a parking space per block - you'd have to eliminate half of all the parking or reduce the number of car lanes or something.

You ride on the side of the road, like with bikes. Nobody really does dockless bikes with their personal bikes because of theft.

Have you tried that with a scooter? It's not pleasant.

For bikes, sure.

Re: What Dockless Bikes and Scooters Are Exposing

#118

Post by s17n »

s0rce wrote: post #105
s17n wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem isn't parking, it's where are these things going to drive? Bikes work OK on the street but scooters really don't (even where there are protected lanes, they really need a smoother road surface) so they end up riding on the sidewalk, hence the backlash from pedestrians. The solution is obvious (make dedicated lanes, pave them like a sidewalk) but it would mean taking a lot of space away from cars, not as p…

Roads are way smoother than sidewalks. Not to be condescending but do you bike around the Bay Area? There are certainly bad roads (potholes, patches, etc) but overall the roads are fairly smooth and sidewalks are bumpy from the joints between the slabs and uneven.

Not to be condescending but do you live in the city? Cause the roads are not really scooter ready.

Re: What Dockless Bikes and Scooters Are Exposing

#119

Post by golemiprague »

mrharrison wrote: post #97
jwilliams wrote: post #80

I'm pro scooters and dockerless bikes in general -- but I also don't really buy into the logic of this article. In the key markets for these things - there is no presumption of parking. I imagine avoiding parking is the #1/#2 reason for most users would use this service (I'd include ride sharing here too). I specifically don't have a car in San Francisco because I have nowhere to park it. When dockerless bikes were l…

As a biker, having to park my bike at Walgreens and seeing the same Jump bikes parked at the bike stand, from the day before, and nowhere to park my bike is definitely a nuisance. Didn't really encounter this issue before, people normally come and go with their bikes. As a walker, when entitled scooter peeps jump on the sidewalk and start whizzing around you, and at almost hit you, it's a nuisance as well. I like the…

Maybe instead of docking stations the cities can create designated areas for rental bicycle parking and anything parked outside will be confiscated. That will enforce those companies to keep charging the users if they don't park it in a designated area.

Re: What Dockless Bikes and Scooters Are Exposing

#120

Post by randyrand »

sankyo wrote: post #46

I am all for scooters that are not on the sidewalk. I am all for making it more difficult to own and maintain a car to help eliminate all the problems that they cause. We don’t ask GM, Ford, or Toyota to solve car parking, or even pedestrian deaths, traffic, and other car issues. So why are we asking LimeBike, Bird, or Spin to figure out bike/scooter storage? Lime Bird and Spin own the scooters that are blocking the…

I own my personally electric scooter. Id like a spot to park too.
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