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Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

nytimes.com

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Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

#221
post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cars address a different set of requirements. You use one when you need to transport many people, heavy cargo, tools, etc. A scooter does not solve any of those problems. A scooter does allow a single person and their possessions to travel at faster than walking pace without getting sweaty. In the CBD that is not necessary, since public transport works so well. In the suburbs a scooter is more effective.

Sure, but look at your typical freeway rush hour traffic jam— how many of those vehicles really have multiple people or heavy cargo? The point is that for short commutes and as a last mile solution to extend the coverage of public transit, scooters are amazing. And a rental system means they can stay downtown instead of needing to take up space both ways on the mass transit vehicle.

> Sure, but look at your typical freeway rush hour traffic jam - how many of those vehicles really have multiple people or heavy cargo?

I'm not sure how that's relevant. You edited my comment to try and make it apply to cars, but it does not - cars are necessary both in the CBD and out for instances where you need to transport cargo etc, while scooters are less necessary in the CBD if you can use good public transport instead.

The fact that many people use cars when they aren't necessary is not relevant, other than to note that there's a lot of potential to reduce traffic by replacing single-occupant cars with personal transport.

And I'm not claiming that scooters or scooter rentals are bad - I love my scooter and see scooter rental companies as a big part of reducing the number of cars on the road. But why do they insist on deploying in areas where scooters are not wanted? Why not focus on the areas where they are most practical?

Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

#222
post #180

Of the scooter companies that have launched in the Bay area, Spin were by far the least technically advanced - the scooters were basically unmodified Xiaomis, to the extent of still having power buttons. Rather than an integrated location and management system, location data came from a off-the-shelf GPS tracker spliced off the battery lines. Since the scooter control board had no cellular link, there was no mechanis…

Is the unlock code unique, or the same for that specific bluetooth serial number?

This is an excellent question that I am going to decline to answer.

Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

#223

Would be really nice to see F turn around: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/f?ltr=1

Detroiter here - I'm off of Adams Ave. downtown, next to Grand Circus Park/Comerica. Ford needs - 1) Better styling. I just bought a Grand Cherokee, and despite the 2020 Ford Explorer being RWD, I would never consider a Ford vehicle. Their exterior/interior styling is bland. 2) An off-road sub brand to compete against Jeep. The upcoming Bronco/baby Bronco/Ranger is a start, but Jeep is making a killing with the brand…

I think for 1/2 the Bronco could be a very, very good start if they get it right. There's a lot of nostalgia for the Bronco and if they can make a Raptor/SVT Bronco they'll move them. I'd like to see a "Bronco Overland" to be honest, as I think that sort of aesthetic would sell bucket loads.

Not sure about 3 with the F150. People are still wary about the turbos over the coyote (including a lot of misinformation and paranoia), much less electric. Maybe it'll be a boon for fleet trucks.

Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

#224

All of the commenters saying e-scooters shouldn't be allowed on sidewalks are right. Sidewalks in most densely populated US cities are too narrow and busy to safely allow a human gliding along at 15 mph within ~2 ft of a doorway where another human may be exiting, or past blind corners. The bigger issue is that e-scooter parking is fundamentally broken right now. Despite being told not to, users still park them in th…

I think a better, albeit more difficult and expensive solution, would be to implement space for scooters and things like them. In the US we only have two spaces: the sidewalk and the street. Adding a third space for bikes, scooters, and other small personal vehicles would go a long way to promote safety and efficiency.

Yeah! A lane for bikes! Why has nobody thought of that?

Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a better, albeit more difficult and expensive solution, would be to implement space for scooters and things like them. In the US we only have two spaces: the sidewalk and the street. Adding a third space for bikes, scooters, and other small personal vehicles would go a long way to promote safety and efficiency.

Yeah! A lane for bikes! Why has nobody thought of that?

Bike lanes aren't great, nor are they a separate space -- they're in the street.

Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

#226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should cars follow the same logic?

In rural or non-traffic-laden areas, yes. If you can see a mile in any direction when in a car, and there is nothing coming, why stop? (also, anecdotally - this is in my DNA, my great grand-father was driving in San Francisco when they were installing stop-lights. He refused to have a machine tell him what to do and would run all lights.)

The problem with that - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8boWQvgo18U#t=04m44s

Not the best example because that place didn't have a stoplight, but in any case, the driver didn't see a firetruck with its lights on because the sun was right behind it.

So even in rural areas with "nothing for miles," the room for error exists.

Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

#227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’ve clearly not lived in San Francisco. My 3 mile commute takes 45 minutes by bus. It’s only a 30 minute bike or scooter ride.

I don’t think that bus can ever be defined as “good public transport” in a dense metropolitan area. Trains or light rails are probably what gp was speaking about.

I found the buses in Beijing to be "good public transport" as long as a) you could do the entire journey on one bus, or one transfer where a lot of buses could be used to get to your destination, b) the beginning stop was close to your location and the ending stop was close to your destination, and c) both stops were served by multiple lines. Given that buses in Beijing are spaced an average of about 10 min apart, C means that you didn't have to wait long for the bus. The subway travels faster, but you typically have to walk ten minutes on either end, so the bus will win. I frequently used the bus on routes that satisfied all conditions.

The down side is that you need to be familiar with Chinese characters, and do a lot of clicking and zooming in and out at ditu.google.cn beforehand.

Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

#228

There I was, sitting at the busy intersection of Sacramento and Ashby in Berkeley, when I saw two boys that couldn't have been more than 8-10 years old fly by on Bird Scooters. And I thought to myself, some kid is going to die. And lots of people do die on these things: https://www.google.com/search?q=bird+scooters+deaths These scooter companies suck, I wish they'd all go away. If they weren't all going for hypergrow…

I understand your frustration, but that’s a remarkably similar response that people had to automobiles first being introduced. Not to imply you’re a Luddite clinging to your horse drawn carriages or anything. Just that these concerns aren’t new. The unfortunate reality is that nothing has solved the last mile problem for public transportation as well as these scooters have. Say you want to go to the store two miles a…

The response to automobiles when they were introduced was the correct response. It took a ton of marketing for the car companies to effectively privatize and ruin our public streets.

Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

#229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah! A lane for bikes! Why has nobody thought of that?

Bike lanes aren't great, nor are they a separate space -- they're in the street.

Not proper ones. Real bike lanes in bike-able cities have a small curb separating them from the street and then another one to separate from the sidewalk.

Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

#230

All of the commenters saying e-scooters shouldn't be allowed on sidewalks are right. Sidewalks in most densely populated US cities are too narrow and busy to safely allow a human gliding along at 15 mph within ~2 ft of a doorway where another human may be exiting, or past blind corners. The bigger issue is that e-scooter parking is fundamentally broken right now. Despite being told not to, users still park them in th…

The fact that infrastructure lags behind scooter reality can be solved either by (1) upgrading infrastructure or (2) banning scooters.

I hope for (1) but expect (2).

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