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Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

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Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#201

Post by lbacaj »

Facts are facts but to me this always seemed like the dumbest idea. I thought it was a dumb idea before the City Bike program was introduced here in NYC then I thought so many people would get hurt with the way Cabbies drive out here.

Fast forward a few years and the program is a huge success here in NYC, there was some accidents but no where near what I thought there would be. People obviously love Biking and I was completely wrong.

What’s even crazier now I think with the technology and access becoming even easier this has the power to completely transform cities. Obviously people love this and politicians that don’t support it will be voted out, it’s looking more and more like there could be entire roads dedicated to bikes and scooters as this becomes more popular.

Mayor Bloomberg wanted to limit the amount of cars in the city and put a toll on any any cars going below 95th street in Manhattan, people rebelled back then but if something like this had been in place the Cabbies and Car owners would be out of luck.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#202

Post by TrainedMonkey »

tjr225 wrote: post #197

I am a frequent user of lime bikes. I think they have a few drawbacks that make them difficult to use all the time however. Mostly: 1. Consistently Well Working Bikes can be hard to find 2. I often use these to get from the residential part of Seattle to the urban parts for date night... it can be very difficult to find two of these near each other. 3. They really need some sort of limited reservation system. This wo…

Figure out how to use 1 - makes for a way better date.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#203

Post by justinator »

jyrkesh wrote: post #116
justinator wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Privately owning a bike is not cost prohibitive, you know.

It could be from the perspective of storage and maintenance. For me, one of the hardest things about owning a bike is where the hell to put it. I live in a city where I can't lock it up outside overnight or it'll eventually be stolen. And as someone else mentioned, flat tires are a pain, checking/maintaining brakes are a pain...I can afford to have someone else do it, but that's still way more of a hassle than just b…

* It could be from the perspective of storage and maintenance. For me, one of the hardest things about owning a bike is where the hell to put it. I live in a city where I can't lock it up outside overnight or it'll eventually be stolen.*

Hang it from a hook.

And as someone else mentioned, flat tires are a pain, checking/maintaining brakes are a pain...I can afford to have someone else do it, but that's still way more of a hassle than just booping a bike on the sidewalk.

Squeeze the tire to see if it's holding air, squeeze the brake lever to see if it's stopping the wheel, then go! Not too difficult. Flat tires aren't too common these days. Wheels can be tubeless these days, even.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#204

Post by taneq »

anonytrary wrote: post #193
Uehreka wrote: post #27

I live in Baltimore and these things have been awesome. Over the summer and early fall, I used them a lot for trips that were between 3-15 blocks. They were usually less than half the price of a Lyft, were fun to drive, don't directly use fossil fuels and were usually available (in one app or the other) within a block or two of my house. I used them to meet friends for brunch, to pick up my car from getting worked on…

> Baltimore used to have a bike share, but I've heard it's being shut down and even when it was up they had a hard time keeping bikes in all the stalls. Sorry if these are stupid questions, but isn't this a problem with Bird? I see random birds all over the place. Can someone explain why bikes can't be left around randomly like a bird can?

Bikes are a lot bigger, for starters?

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#205

Post by hamandcheese »

anonytrary wrote: post #193
Uehreka wrote: post #27

I live in Baltimore and these things have been awesome. Over the summer and early fall, I used them a lot for trips that were between 3-15 blocks. They were usually less than half the price of a Lyft, were fun to drive, don't directly use fossil fuels and were usually available (in one app or the other) within a block or two of my house. I used them to meet friends for brunch, to pick up my car from getting worked on…

> Baltimore used to have a bike share, but I've heard it's being shut down and even when it was up they had a hard time keeping bikes in all the stalls. Sorry if these are stupid questions, but isn't this a problem with Bird? I see random birds all over the place. Can someone explain why bikes can't be left around randomly like a bird can?

Well, a scooter is much smaller than a bike therefore less of a nuisance (though the last bit depends on who you ask/how much of a NIMBY you are).

Also there are dockless bikes, see Jump in SF.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#206

Post by EnderWT »

walshemj wrote: post #186
Uehreka wrote: post #27

I live in Baltimore and these things have been awesome. Over the summer and early fall, I used them a lot for trips that were between 3-15 blocks. They were usually less than half the price of a Lyft, were fun to drive, don't directly use fossil fuels and were usually available (in one app or the other) within a block or two of my house. I used them to meet friends for brunch, to pick up my car from getting worked on…

How far is a block on average for us non USA types?

However, as reference points for US cities, the standard square blocks of Portland, Houston, and Sacramento are 264 by 264 feet (80 m × 80 m), 330 by 330 feet (100 m × 100 m), and 410 by 410 feet (120 m × 120 m) respectively (to the street center line). Oblong blocks range considerably in width and length. The standard block in Manhattan is about 264 by 900 feet (80 m × 274 m); and in some U.S. cities standard blocks are as wide as 660 feet (200 m).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_block

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#207

Post by ProfessorLayton »

randyrand wrote: post #139

A lot of this evaluation assumes the price stays the same. $1 + 15 cents a minute. I think we'll see prices come down 80%. These scooter companies will face more competition than uber and Lyft do because people are happy grabbing the first scooter they see when walking. My personal scooter costs a third of a cent per mile of electricity + $350 to buy it. I'm at 150 miles so far, and could easily see this thing lastin…

Mind sharing which make/model you purchased? I've been looking at buying one recently, and all the well-reviewed ones seem to be significantly more than $350

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#208

Post by dvt »

prawn wrote: post #188
dvt wrote: post #28

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…

"without helmets" - curious why you felt this was worth mentioning?

Because, by law, you need to wear a helmet when riding a scooter.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#209

Post by anonytrary »

hamandcheese wrote: post #205
anonytrary wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Baltimore used to have a bike share, but I've heard it's being shut down and even when it was up they had a hard time keeping bikes in all the stalls. Sorry if these are stupid questions, but isn't this a problem with Bird? I see random birds all over the place. Can someone explain why bikes can't be left around randomly like a bird can?

Well, a scooter is much smaller than a bike therefore less of a nuisance (though the last bit depends on who you ask/how much of a NIMBY you are). Also there are dockless bikes, see Jump in SF.

I've seen birds left around private property around campuses (e.g. businesses). Why would a business complain about a bike leaning against their wall but not a bird? They are both foreign objects leaning up against their wall. Is size really important here?

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#210

Post by randyrand »

ProfessorLayton wrote: post #207
randyrand wrote: post #139

A lot of this evaluation assumes the price stays the same. $1 + 15 cents a minute. I think we'll see prices come down 80%. These scooter companies will face more competition than uber and Lyft do because people are happy grabbing the first scooter they see when walking. My personal scooter costs a third of a cent per mile of electricity + $350 to buy it. I'm at 150 miles so far, and could easily see this thing lastin…

Mind sharing which make/model you purchased? I've been looking at buying one recently, and all the well-reviewed ones seem to be significantly more than $350

Segway ES 1 (highly highly recommend it)

For a time they were $300 on amazon. And then I also bought an external battery pack for cheap somewhere else.

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