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They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

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Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

#21

Post by GhostVII »

theandrewbailey wrote: post #14
GhostVII wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the incentive should be to call the police and have them impound it in a legal way, or just move it off of their property, not have a private party come and steal the scooters. Just because something is on your property, does not mean you can legally take it - if you park in my driveway, I can't just steal your car.

What if you have a dozen people show up every morning and leave their pickup anywhere leave anywhere car rentals in your driveway?

Call the police, or (in the case of the scooters), move it off of your property. I mean I sympathize with the property owners encountering problems, but I'm pretty sure it is very illegal to just impound other peoples property like this. If it was an individual property owner taking scooters off their property and throwing them in some dumpster after they got fed up with them, I wouldn't really blame them, but making a business centered around stealing property just to shake down scooter companies and reduce competition for your bike shop doesn't seem very legal or ethical.

Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

#22

Post by grumio »

mgamache wrote: post #20

So the Scooter companies business model is built on a gap in local regulations allowing them to leave there products anywhere without recourse and they are now upset with another business model that found a gap in their gap? Get me some popcorn.

Totally. They're making almost criminally high margins while they wait for the law to catch up. The story of several disruptive startups.

Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

#23

Post by tracker1 »

Simulacra wrote: post #17

I side with the scooter companies. I think these guys are exploiting a gray area in the law and shaking down the companies, and should be stopped. GPS should be able to show it a scooter was in a legit place or not. If it was, then their argument goes out the window. It just smells too much like theft.

Like the scooter companies and riders aren't exploiting a gray area? Most areas the law is perfectly clear, if you park in an unlawful space, you will be towed at owner's expense. The police don't have anything to do with it, unless you're parked in a revenue generating space for the city.

Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

#24

Post by tracker1 »

GhostVII wrote: post #19
theandrewbailey wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...unless the property owner has posted signs with the law.

It says if they have posted signs with the law, they can contact the police to issue a ticket (and tow, presumably). The formatting is a bit messed up, but you are required to both have the signs, and contact the police, you can't just tow it without calling the police, and require the owner to pay for the tow.

Depends on the city in question.

Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

#25

Post by zkms »

citrablue wrote: post #10
GhostVII wrote: post #6

“Their app specifically says you can ride it ‘anywhere’ and leave it ‘anywhere,’” Borelli says as he pushes a Bird scooter through the Pacific Beach neighborhood. If he sounds slightly bitter, it’s only because he owns a bike shop nearby and believes that dockless scooter companies are trying to steal his customers. But to Borelli, it seemed that the scooter industry was really trying to replace bicycles. He threw th…

I live in San Diego, and have followed this with great interest. From my understanding, they are only doing this for scooters that are parked illegally: e.g. on the shop owners property, blocking vehicle access, etc. It's very interesting, because the riders don't have an incentive to park appropriately (and that is sometimes a guessing game -- street signs don't exist for where you can park scooters legally). Howeve…

> because the riders don't have an incentive to park appropriately (and that is sometimes a guessing game -- street signs don't exist for where you can park scooters legally). However, I'd warrant that it's the sheer carelessness of riders who cause this issue.

i think this is not exactly correct. The scooter-riding apps i've tried do make users take a photograph of the correctly-parked scooter after the ride, and even if there wasn't that enforcement in place, if the riders are to use the service more than once, they have an incentive to leave the scooters in positions that will be amenable for further riding.

i'm not denying that the riders can be arseholes, but there's also a significant proportion of people who don't use the scooters but are angry at the presence of those scooters and vandalize them, push them over, and even drop them into bodies of water.

Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

#26

Post by l4yao »

Simulacra wrote: post #17

I side with the scooter companies. I think these guys are exploiting a gray area in the law and shaking down the companies, and should be stopped. GPS should be able to show it a scooter was in a legit place or not. If it was, then their argument goes out the window. It just smells too much like theft.

GPS may not be accurate enough, especially in urban areas. And the current geofence isn't detailed enough. For example: it doesn't account for things like a wheelchair ramp from a private property intersecting with a public walkway.

In San Francisco, scooters were picked up by the city and impounded. I don't see why it's unfair for private property owners to do the same.

Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

#27

Post by observer12 »

GhostVII wrote: post #12
citrablue wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in San Diego, and have followed this with great interest. From my understanding, they are only doing this for scooters that are parked illegally: e.g. on the shop owners property, blocking vehicle access, etc. It's very interesting, because the riders don't have an incentive to park appropriately (and that is sometimes a guessing game -- street signs don't exist for where you can park scooters legally). Howeve…

I think the incentive should be to call the police and have them impound it in a legal way, or just move it off of their property, not have a private party come and steal the scooters. Just because something is on your property, does not mean you can legally take it - if you park in my driveway, I can't just steal your car.

That's not how it works for cars why would it be different for scooters? You generally can't call police to impound a car parked on your private property. That's why you call a towing company.

Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

#28

Post by observer12 »

ericmcer wrote: post #7

It seems like everyone here is in the wrong? A service that moves scooters to proper locations is necessary but these two are clearly in it for the money. It would be easier, cheaper and better for everyone involved if they just moved the scooters to the sidewalk. Holding them ransom behind razorwire is just an attempt to get money while hiding behind a thin veil of public service. Lime/Bird meanwhile trying to get t…

Why would they spend 12 hours day 7 days a week doing what the rider should have done in the first place? If the companies gave incentives for riders to put the scooters in those places these two wouldn't have a business model.

Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

#29

Post by supercanuck »

GhostVII wrote: post #12
citrablue wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in San Diego, and have followed this with great interest. From my understanding, they are only doing this for scooters that are parked illegally: e.g. on the shop owners property, blocking vehicle access, etc. It's very interesting, because the riders don't have an incentive to park appropriately (and that is sometimes a guessing game -- street signs don't exist for where you can park scooters legally). Howeve…

I think the incentive should be to call the police and have them impound it in a legal way, or just move it off of their property, not have a private party come and steal the scooters. Just because something is on your property, does not mean you can legally take it - if you park in my driveway, I can't just steal your car.

Police contract out this sort of work to companies like the one in the article.

Re: They Said You Could Leave Scooters Anywhere, Then the Repo Men Struck Back

#30

Post by chermanowicz »

GhostVII wrote: post #21
theandrewbailey wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if you have a dozen people show up every morning and leave their pickup anywhere leave anywhere car rentals in your driveway?

Call the police, or (in the case of the scooters), move it off of your property. I mean I sympathize with the property owners encountering problems, but I'm pretty sure it is very illegal to just impound other peoples property like this. If it was an individual property owner taking scooters off their property and throwing them in some dumpster after they got fed up with them, I wouldn't really blame them, but making…

https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/sites/default/files/FileC...

Every state/city is a little different with regard to the specifics

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