141–150 of 488 posts
DC had a scooter death a couple months ago marking among the first in the country: https://dc.curbed.com/2018/9/26/17905378/electric-scooter-de... The wheels are way too small for some of the pot holes in cities.
Only a matter of time before these Lime and Bird sidewalk riders kill a pedestrian.
These scooters and scooter companies seem pretty divisive, especially on HN. I understand they're operating in grey areas, I guess kinda like Uber before them, but they are causing (I think) positive disruption. I personally love these scooters. I'm living in Australia now where we don't have them. But last month I took a 3 week road trip from LAX to DC and back so I could hit cities I hadn't been to before. And in m…
I could not be more upset that people who have stated progressive goals such as cutting down on fuel and providing cheap public transportation are against these. They are an absolutely great alternative that makes these goals possible without having to completely overhaul city designs. The only externality really seems to be they are parked in random places - but I don't see how that is any different than cars parked…
I cannot stand the Limes and Birds around Santa Monica. I walk out of my apartment, and the streets are littered with them. It's annoying when walking, it's even more annoying when jogging, and riders are constantly riding them (without helmets) on sidewalks even though we have bike lanes. They're even a nuisance when driving. I'm hoping for some legislation that will ban them -- I might set up a grassroots campaign…
Set up a shop buying and selling "secondhand scooter parts" - don't ask too many questions and you could make a nice profit while incentivizing others to dismantle their inventory.
My guess is that Lime and Bird's latest investors don't actually believe in these insane valuations. Instead, they see these companies as a safe place to park their money due to the limited downside provided by liquid preference terms.
A 1x return on a large investment like these would not be good for a venture fund. They probably need to return 3x on the whole fund to get their carry/bonus, so a 3x return for a given investment is the bare minimum for success. They almost certainly would not have made these investments unless they believed they could make a return of >3x.
Softbank isn't like a traditional VC. They structured their fund like private equity where they retain a percentage of returns above x% per year. In addition to this, they take a 1% management fee regardless of returns.
For most VC's, you'd expect the carry to represent the majority of incentive. But, Softbank is unique in that their fund is $100bn. They take home a hefty $1b in management fees regardless of how their portfolio performs.
I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if they make 'safe' bets for the sake of boosting their allocation numbers, even if they think there's a nil chance of 3x EV.
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I think the big issue that most people have with them is the large externality of having scooters littered around the sidewalk. In a lot of places in West Los Angeles, you are having to step around them constantly if you walk down the street. People literally just drop them in the middle of the sidewalk, because there is no incentive for them to not do that. This means that everyone who doesn't use the service has to…
I don't so much mind them littering the sidewalk as them being ridden on the sidewalk. They are extremely dangerous for pedestrians. Should I step around that dog poop, I might be hit by a scooter coming up from behind me. I have had close a dozen close calls when I was walking in a straight line. I walk 4 miles/day on sidewalks with these things.
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I liked it so much, I bought my own for my commute. It kept me from buying a second car, and ultimately saving 25 miles of driving each day.
Holy crap. You ride on one of those standing electric scooters for at least 37 minutes each way?! (20 mph) That's a long time... I could understanding biking but not stand up scootering.
I love these scooters BTW, super convenient!
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I think the big issue that most people have with them is the large externality of having scooters littered around the sidewalk. In a lot of places in West Los Angeles, you are having to step around them constantly if you walk down the street. People literally just drop them in the middle of the sidewalk, because there is no incentive for them to not do that. This means that everyone who doesn't use the service has to…
Functionally this is the easiest problem in the world to solve. It's the same solution for scooters and dockless bikeshare. Take two parking spots in each block. Put beacons on the corners or some kind of signaling tape around the whole thing. Only let users drop off rides inside that spot. Bonus points for having non-locking racks to help organize. People get to litter their car on the side of my road, often in the…
Cities should simply impound any scooter not properly parked and charge $200 to get it back. Since solving the parking problem is so easy, this will push Bird/Lime into finally solving it.
These scooters and scooter companies seem pretty divisive, especially on HN. I understand they're operating in grey areas, I guess kinda like Uber before them, but they are causing (I think) positive disruption. I personally love these scooters. I'm living in Australia now where we don't have them. But last month I took a 3 week road trip from LAX to DC and back so I could hit cities I hadn't been to before. And in m…
Helmet laws for adults tend to reduce riders' willingness to use these services because they create inconvenience. In my opinion people should have the choice of whether or not to wear a helmet. Personally, I usually wear a helmet, but if I happen to not have mine with me it won't stop me from taking a bike or scooter. Having good situational awareness of surrounding cars, pedestrians, and other road users as well as…
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Why are cars allowed to litter the public roads and park all over the place, taking up a massive amount of space with mostly empty seats and driven around less than 10% of the time?
Cars are parked in designated areas in an organized matter and get ticketed when they obstruct pedestrian traffic. Also, your comment is a logical fallacy.
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Santa Monica has a TON of parking laws. You certainly can NOT just park your car anywhere you want. Pretty much every parking spot available in the city has rules - how long you can park there, how much you have to pay to park there, who is allowed to park there, what permits you need, etc. We have NONE of this for scooters. We need these same rules for scooters that we have for cars.
Yes, rules, but probably not the same rules. Allocating space for scooter parking should be a lot easier than for cars, so fewer rules should be needed.
Obviously the rules are going to be different because the vehicles are different and are used differently, but the rules will still have the same basic form: you are allowed to park in these areas, for this amount of time, for this much money.