11–20 of 152 posts
While it was interesting, I can't say that I'd prefer it over walking or public transportation. Also, South Park definitely nailed it.
This is the first I've heard of people tampering with the brake systems - it's incredibly malicious. I understand some people might be frustrated by the scooters, but is manslaughter really the right way to go about it?
This is the first I've heard of people tampering with the brake systems - it's incredibly malicious. I understand some people might be frustrated by the scooters, but is manslaughter really the right way to go about it?
Seems like the main flaw in the ones the author labeled "awful" was a geofence policy that limited the top speed on a "bike path", or locked them out of it altogether. Makes it a bit difficult to generalize their conclusions, especially without knowing more about the path to be able to judge whether that policy is reasonable (and/or mandated by the city).
As for appropriate speeds, a jog is about 5mph. That sounds reasonable and safe for a small-wheeled scooter. A townie/cruiser bicycle will do 10mph without too much effort, so that could be the upper bound too. Much faster with those small wheels seems dangerous regardless of location.
> We’ve restricted our entrants to scooter-type vehicles (as opposed to e-assist bicycles) And then the conclusion is that the most bicycle-like one is best because it's more bicycle-like. Seems like a category arbitrage rather than a fair analysis of mobility options.
And refusing to take bike paths with not-a-bike is apparently eliminatory rather than making the device shoot up to the top of the ranking.
Give the article opens up with
> they want the rights of a pedestrian, the rights of a bicycle, and the rights of a car, all at the same time, which is an incredibly dangerous mindset.
that'd be hilarious if it weren't so maddeningly lacking in self-awareness.
Also
> And it has Bluetooth speakers, so you can play your music from the bike itself, freeing you from having to dangerously (and in Santa Monica, illegally) ride on the street wearing headphones.
fucking great, because if there's one thing I want more than an electric moped doing 30km/h on a bike path, it's that moped blaring shit music.
> We’ve restricted our entrants to scooter-type vehicles (as opposed to e-assist bicycles) And then the conclusion is that the most bicycle-like one is best because it's more bicycle-like. Seems like a category arbitrage rather than a fair analysis of mobility options.
Maybe it means scooters aren't the ideal form-factor for this service.
Also, some cities are banning those pedestrian focused areas. In Austin, they banned ebikes and scooters from our waterfront area that has a 10 mile walkway around it.
I ride scooters in austin, tx every weekend. Its half as cheap as a lyft and there are lots of competitors. Here’s my top two:
1. Bird - cheaper per mile and pretty reliable
2. Lime - often faster than the others, but more expensive and sometimes have minor defects (braking issues, throttle delay, etc)
> We’ve restricted our entrants to scooter-type vehicles (as opposed to e-assist bicycles) And then the conclusion is that the most bicycle-like one is best because it's more bicycle-like. Seems like a category arbitrage rather than a fair analysis of mobility options.
WTF is wrong with people? I understand these things are annoying and litter sidewalks, but intentionally cutting brakes to harm someone? Jeez, this is just shitty behavior