Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters • Hacker News Board

Re: Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters

#161

Post by deanc » Mon, Apr 03, 2023, 6:25 AM UTC

twelve40 wrote: post #130

deanc wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The weight distribution in a scooter is all at the base. People have life changing foot and shin injuries from being impacted. People usually don’t cycle as quick consistently through cities, pressing a button on a scooter gets you to over 20km/h in moments.

first, rental scooters in Paris are very commonly geofenced and restricted second, regarding this: > People usually don’t cycle as quick consistently through cities, pressing a button on a scooter there are at least 8000 electric bicycles for rent scattered throughout Paris, how in the world is pressing a button on an electrical bicycle any different from pressing a button on a scooter? And I highly doubt your claim…

I'm not going to get into the debate on e-bikes. I think there needs to be stricter legislation or oversight on those too, given the amount of close calls I've had in my city with them also (particularly the illegal "uncapped" ones, or the one's that have number plates and should not even be in the cycle lanes as they are legally scooters).

That said, 10km/h into someone's ankles with the weight distribution at that level is going to shatter your legs.

Re: Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters

#162

Post by Lapsa » Mon, Apr 03, 2023, 6:32 AM UTC

solatic wrote: post #132

Here in Tel Aviv, they'll never get rid of them for at least one reason: they're the only form of at-least-semi-public transportation available on the weekend (Shabbat) and Jewish holidays, when the law forbids buses and trains from running. Meet a date at 10 PM on Friday night? Scoot. Catch the Saturday 5 AM tour bus to a day-hike that's meeting on the other side of town? Scoot. They've also helped boost demand for…

I don't roll on Shomer Shabbos

Re: Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters

#163

Post by mikeodds » Mon, Apr 03, 2023, 6:34 AM UTC

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #137

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> An aggressive ticketing campaign isn't very helpful in a city with a lot of tourists, because they'll just go home without having paid the ticket. Is Interpol going to seek out 30 euros? I have proposed this before in my city, ticket the e-scoter company for improper parking not the users. Most of these business have gps trackers on them they will quickly find a way to enforce proper parking onto users. We need to…

>Most of these business have gps trackers on them they will quickly find a way to enforce proper parking onto users. BINGO! Haven't parked your scooter in the designated area? -10 Euros fee on your credit card. Driving recklessly on the scooter? -30 Euros fee.

I’ve seen Lime have the inverse (ie non parking zones) in various US cities where you will be warned then billed (I think $50! in Venice beach) if you finish the ride.

Re: Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters

#164

Post by jalada » Mon, Apr 03, 2023, 6:34 AM UTC

When I was in Paris in 2019 I tried to use their e-scooters and it was nearly impossible because angry locals had sharpie-d over every barcode so you couldn’t scan them. I’m surprised the companies haven’t left already.

Re: Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters

#165

Post by MandieD » Mon, Apr 03, 2023, 6:36 AM UTC

HHC-Hunter wrote: post #86

Honestly, I can get behind this. I'm no NIMBY but; E-scooters were recently put into my city here in Perth. All I have seen is downsides. People acting dangerously on them and so forth.

So far in Nuremberg, the main problem is that even if their users don’t park them directly in the sidewalk, they’ll still occasionally fall over into the sidewalk, which is anywhere from annoying to dangerous for able-bodied pedestrians and stroller pushers, and a serious barrier to people using mobility aids - think wheelchairs and walkers.

Also, many of them are hard to roll a few meters to get them out of the way - no, I’m not trying to steal your scooter, I’m trying to prevent an accident.

They were an absolute plague in Lisbon a few years ago.

Good for Paris. I hope that gives Nuremberg and my adjacent suburb courage to act.

Re: Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters

#166

Post by renewiltord » Mon, Apr 03, 2023, 6:39 AM UTC

easytiger wrote: post #149

flak48 wrote: post #9

London meanwhile, continues to ban personally owned e-scooters - allowing only rental e-scooters!

Now ban them and their bike scheme counterparts in London. An absolute blight on the city. Their USP is they can be left anywhere. https://i.imgur.com/s59Bvf3.png

Those Lime bikes are terrific. Great for access to places that don't have Santander bikes.

Re: Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters

#167

Post by MengerSponge » Mon, Apr 03, 2023, 6:40 AM UTC

lmm wrote: post #142

shtopointo wrote: post #2

Excellent vote from the people of Paris! It's too easy to take these things on the sidewalk, go 20mph and disregard the people around you. Those things also weight quite a bit, so getting hit with that may be life altering.

I've heard there are some crazy people who try to drive vehicles weighing a tonne or more in the city at as much as 40mph, and they often find their way onto the pavements too. Perhaps Paris will treat that menace with the priority it deserves.

I know you're being sarcastic, but yes, Paris is absolutely treating that menace with the priority it deserves. They've removed parking and turned a lot of streets into pedestrian/bicycle only (with gates or bollards for emergency vehicle access). Most streets are limited to 30kph (18mph). Converted entire lanes of some streets to bike lanes.

https://www.childinthecity.org/2021/09/01/streets-to-schools...

Re: Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters

#168

Post by vkou » Mon, Apr 03, 2023, 6:42 AM UTC

publicmenace wrote: post #15

E-Scooters are a public menace. They're way to fast for the sidewalk, dangerous on the road, litter the sidewalks and cause people to trip, and are almost always ridden unsafely, with no safety equipment at all. Get these death traps off the streets.

> E-Scooters are a public menace.

So are cars. They kill hundreds of thousands of people each year. They are incompatible with spaces that are occupied/moved through by humans, dangerous on the road, and consume half the city's livable space through business and residential parking lots. They poison our air, and they damage our hearing.

They also cost tens of thousands of dollars a year to buy and operate, and require untold billions of dollars to be spent on building and maintaining an endless sprawl of road infrastructure.

-----

... Maybe if we consider the benefits, as opposed to only the drawbacks, scooters might look a bit better than you paint them to be?

Re: Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters

#169

Post by MengerSponge » Mon, Apr 03, 2023, 6:42 AM UTC

hackerlight wrote: post #10

FeistySkink wrote: post #3

I hope this becomes EU-wide. Every season it seems like there's a new generation that discovers and abuses them to no end, endangering everybody around.

Cars are far more dangerous, no?

Yes, which is why Paris is also addressing that problem. The French can walk and chew gum at the same time.

Re: Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters

#170

Post by rekoil » Mon, Apr 03, 2023, 6:43 AM UTC

jalada wrote: post #164

When I was in Paris in 2019 I tried to use their e-scooters and it was nearly impossible because angry locals had sharpie-d over every barcode so you couldn’t scan them. I’m surprised the companies haven’t left already.

Huh, that would be pretty effective I imagine, and sounds like a classic French approach to the problem, low effort, high impact.

But wouldn't the rental companies just switch to NFC-scanning? I know most of the bikes in Sweden technically have it, even though I don't think many actually use it because our QR codes aren't being defaced and it's just easier.