Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100 • Hacker News Board

Re: Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100

#321

Post by asdff » Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 6:14 AM UTC

bagacrap wrote: post #312

asdff wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too much competition, but really the infrastructure is not there in warm cities in the U.S. They also increased the price so you are more inclined to take an uber or public transport than spend $6 on a bird ride. Riding on a pothill filled gutter while cars clip you at 35mph in LA is not ideal. If there were more bike lanes that were longer than 1 block, these things would be way more popular. Not sure why these comp…

As someone who spent 8 years heavily biking around LA, I'm glad I got out of there before the bike lanes became overrun with motorized drunks.

Currently far more overran with motorized uber drivers/delivery/meter maid/mailmen/police/random pricks using it as free overflow parking. The drunks prefer driving anyway.

Re: Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100

#322

Post by pasttense01 » Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 7:24 AM UTC

zymhan wrote: post #186

Hasz wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, but public transit is inherently the slowest option. I have no desire to make 10 stops before I get where I'm going. I also have zero desire to rent my modes, as that encourages literally rent seeking behavior. Either we need to figure out how to drop off and pickup passengers at speed, or penalize individualized transport that is space inefficient (like cars). Good luck pursuing the latter in the US; punitive me…

I work 4.5 miles from my apartment in Atlanta. I can either spend 40 minutes in traffic getting home every day, or I can spend an equivalent amount of time on a train, and the a bus ride or walking. In a lot of cities, driving is not faster. It's just sometimes the only option.

So how frequently does the train run? If it runs every hour that means on average there is a half hour wait for the train--in addition to the 40 minutes for the trip. Conversely the car is instantly available.

Re: Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100

#323

Post by Rebelgecko » Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 7:24 AM UTC

asdff wrote: post #320

Rebelgecko wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I wish, but corruption and graft has lead LA's metrobikes to cost something like $2500 each That doesn't seem too excessive to me. What do you think would be a more reasonable price for purchasing an electric bike* with a fair degree of customization and a corresponding maintenance contract? * IIRC the bikes have integrated NFC readers for your TAP card, built in U-locks, probably GPS, and that sweet sweet Metro pai…

Well they are neither maintained nor electric for the most part

Only the pedal assist ones cost 2500, the non-electric ones (still have batteries, but just for internal stuff) cost like $1200 each

Re: Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100

#324

Post by pasttense01 » Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 7:28 AM UTC

zymhan wrote: post #177

logifail wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The whole model of needing to own your own transportation devices is flawed. 99% of all our family journeys begin and end at our home. Happily we own two (ICE) vehicles, they're sitting outside the house right now ready to be used tomorrow. (As an aside) I've just booked a flight for Sunday (o/w flight $46 including all taxes and fees). I'm flying the best part of 600mi, so I've booked a rental car at the destinati…

I'm not sure how this refutes the idea that you don't need to own a car in a well-designed city

Do any of these "well-designed cities" have reasonable housing costs?

Re: Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100

#325

Post by icebraining » Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 10:01 AM UTC

dustinmoris wrote: post #27

ckuhl wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the biggest advantage scooters have over ebikes is that for a lot of people, there’s a place to store a scooter at both ends of a commute (under a desk) but not necessarily secure bike storage.

Also a huge advantage is the mobility of a scooter over a bike. With a scooter you are more flexible to changes in your day. Did a friend just message you during lunch to meet up for drinks in a different part of town? No probs, just take the scooter on the tube after work. Did the weather just change drastically? No probs, can quickly change to a different way of commute and the scooter doesn't feel like a huge show…

Subways are hard, but many big cities have overland metros and/or buses that can take bikes just fine. Maybe the trip takes 10m more than the subway ride, but then you have the bike at the other end, speeding up the last mile.

Re: Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100

#326

Post by Grue3 » Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 10:05 AM UTC

Symbiote wrote: post #105

mumblemumble wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see personal e-scooters as being a great alternative to cars for short trips such as commuting less than 5-ish km to work, or taking the kids to school. However, I still think bicycles are vastly preferable. With a pannier rack you get quite a bit more cargo space, and in the winter, the fact that you're physically exerting yourself helps to keep you warm, which makes for a more comfortable and pleasant trip. A…

I visited Moscow last year, and noticed they have docked scooters: https://www.rbth.com/lifestyle/328422-how-rent-electric-scoo... Plenty of places have undocked bicycles, so a fair comparison is possible.

I live in Moscow and far more people use docked bikes than docked scooters. There aren't that many places where you can ride the scooter smoothly so they're only available in the very center of Moscow where a lot of sidewalks have been repaved recently. And half of the year the weather is not suitable for riding a scooter.

Re: Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100

#327

Post by tim333 » Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 11:55 AM UTC

bransonf wrote: post #42

Does anyone actually think this is a profitable market? Electric scooters are expensive, repair and charging is expensive. It’s a seasonal business. Vandalism/abuse is fairly common. In terms of any environmental benefit, I highly suspect more gasoline is being consumed to collect and distribute scooters than the offset of a few last mile transports. I suspect the cost to the consumer would have to double for it to m…

I use Lime ebikes rather than scooters in London and they get quite a lot of money off me - a short trip (5mins) is about £1.50 which means if you pop to a shop and back then somewhere else and back that's £6. You don't need so many of those a day to make a profit.

Re: Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100

#328

Post by bosie » Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 2:10 PM UTC

asdff wrote: post #318

lazyasciiart wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An ebike solves that. Which one is more comfortable/safer? I haven't ridden an electric scooter so I don't know.

ebikes for sure. Bigger wheels go over potholes better, and only the original bird scooters actually had air in their tires, the rest are just hard rubber that feels pretty rough/bone-rattly on bad roads. Safety wise, I'd say they are about even. Cars aren't going to value your life either way.

I have never tried a scooter, is it really that easy doing a full stop with a scooter at 25km/h safely?

Re: Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100

#329

Post by asdfqwer234 » Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 2:11 PM UTC

mason55 wrote: post #58

asdfqwer234 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was able to rent a scooter from Bird for $25/month in a city and it cut my transportation cost from $170 to like $50. It eliminated ubers to/from events, public transit to/from work, bike rentals to/from gym. Definitely recommend owning a scooter

I'm curious, was there a specific scooter that was yours? Or you just paid $25/mo for unlimited rides?

It was a specific one that was mine. I would open the app and only my scooter would show up (other users couldn't see it). I'd store it in my apt and what not

Re: Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100

#330

Post by MandieD » Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 2:13 PM UTC

usaphp wrote: post #149

the_imp wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole model of needing to own your own transportation devices is flawed. 9/10 times, I'm moving from one location with many other people in it to another location with many other people. I would prefer not needing to own any medium in order to move between them, but instead be able to use a public service to do so. Bus, tram, metro, citybike, scooter. I'd really rather not own stuff with really high capital costs…

For a single person - probably, but most people have kids. It’s much more complicated to use public transport with small kids, they require a lot of stuff to be carried around for them

I see loads of mothers with small children on the underground and buses in Nürnberg if I’m traveling outside of rush hour. Having observed my German and American sisters-in-law, it comes down to what you think the kid really needs.

The German sister-in-law can get everything into a backpack and midsized rolling suitcase to bring my niece along for the train ride to her parents at the other end of Germany.

The American sister-in-law traded in her Tahoe for a Suburban when my nephew was born and manages to fill the cargo compartment for a week at her parents, where she still has her own room.