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Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

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Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#271

Post by IshKebab »

jyrkesh wrote: post #126
cortesoft wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Just let people have a certain power and max speed and they will drop the car and replace it with a powered scooter I think many Americans have a higher expectations for safety than many people in China. No way I am packing my kid onto a scooter and driving them around downtown.

Why stop at comparisons to China? Parents have no problem doing this across Europe too, with both bikes and Vespa-style scooters. I.e. to me, the problem is the US mentality towards car-minded transportation infrastructure, not the expectation of safety in a given culture.

I think you haven't been to Europe... Or maybe China. The difference in attitudes to road safety is very significant.

For example, deaths per 100k cars per year in China is 105. In Europe it is 19. In Western Europe it's about 7.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#272

Post by [deleted] »

wpietri wrote: post #261
bb2018 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 don't have any problem at all with people who own scooters. They seem great. I have a lot of problems with a) companies seizing arbitrary amounts of public space for private businesses, b) venture-funded litter cluttering the streets, and c) novice scooter riders with no training turned loose on sidewalks I am trying to walk and not die on. And I also have a lot of left-over ire for scofflaw companies. Yes, Uber go…

[deleted]

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#273

Post by guelo »

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…

> don't directly use fossil fuels

I feel like this is a bit of misleading marketing since a ton of fossil fuel is used to round them up and distribute them around town every day.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#274

Post by brookside »

xkcd-sucks wrote: post #270
Uehreka wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a stupid question! The bikes in the Baltimore bike share (and I think also the NYC bike share) had electric motors that would work with the rider to make peddling easier. Thus they had to be left in charging “yokes” when you were done with them. As for why a non-powered bike couldn’t just be left around, here are a few thoughts: - As some people have mentioned, bikes are just bigger, and take up way more sidewalk…

Uhh the antitheft devices don't actually do anything, the police won't follow up on a good theft report, and passers-by don't care either. Literally all of the Chinese ebikes and escooters have standardized parts, so it's easy to sell parts or buy cheaper replacements. The lipoly cells themselves are also nice. I've personally converted birds back to stock xiaomi scooters for about $20usd per scooter (replace the "da…

Do you not subscribe to the idea stealing=bad?

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#275

Post by ravenstine »

beambot wrote: post #138
cortesoft wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Curious thought: Disincentivize bad behavior. Scooter companies know who the last user was, so they could develop techniques to apply "parking violations." Whether that means GPS-enabled (sufficient resolution?) or crowdsourced (next rider taking picture) doesn't really matter. But this is like the automobile equivalent of a parking ticket.

What incentive would Lime and Bird have to do this? I think that'd have to come about through policy being passed in enough cities.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#276

Post by bunfunton »

xkcd-sucks wrote: post #270
Uehreka wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a stupid question! The bikes in the Baltimore bike share (and I think also the NYC bike share) had electric motors that would work with the rider to make peddling easier. Thus they had to be left in charging “yokes” when you were done with them. As for why a non-powered bike couldn’t just be left around, here are a few thoughts: - As some people have mentioned, bikes are just bigger, and take up way more sidewalk…

Uhh the antitheft devices don't actually do anything, the police won't follow up on a good theft report, and passers-by don't care either. Literally all of the Chinese ebikes and escooters have standardized parts, so it's easy to sell parts or buy cheaper replacements. The lipoly cells themselves are also nice. I've personally converted birds back to stock xiaomi scooters for about $20usd per scooter (replace the "da…

Where can I find details on how this is accomplished? I'm curious how the GPS/Brake is wired in, and what you would replace the front panel with. For science.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#277

Post by tuxxy »

qudat wrote: post #92
sonofaplum wrote: post #47

Full disclosure, I'm anti scooter. People drive them on the sidewalks, leave them in front of my front door, and I genuinely hope that both of these companies, specifically, fail. With that disclosure, was anyone else horrified that the lifespan of these scooters is only 3 months? Are they really removing enough vehicle trips to make these a net positive from an environmental standpoint?

> People drive them on the sidewalks Where else would they drive them? On the road? They would just contribute to the thousands of cyclists that die or are seriously injured every year. If you are suggesting that every electric vehicle be banned because sidewalks are for pedestrians only then I disagree. Streets are for cars only, don't let these fake bike lanes fool you.

The sidewalk is a far more statistically dangerous place for cyclists (and scooters, by extension).

Here's an FAQ from Cornell on this: http://www.bike.cornell.edu/pdfs/Sidewalk_biking_FAQ.pdf

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#278

Post by phil248 »

superfrank wrote: post #97
fourmii wrote: post #50

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…

Personally, I love the scooters and bikes these companies provide and I think you make a really good point about them being a positive disruption. It's pretty clear that there is a growing demand for ways to get around other than driving yourself. Lyft and Uber are great for covering distances, but have their issues. In busy metro areas it can often be quicker to walk than it is to drive if you're only going a mile a…

I imagine if more people in the US were willing to reevaluate "too long to walk" these types of scooters would be next-to-useless.

Walking a mile or two is easy, healthy and does not take very long.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#279

Post by mixmastamyk »

0xADEADBEE wrote: post #263
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…

I must be in a bit of a minority but my main objection to these would be the installation of an app to use them - I am perhaps too privacy-conscious and admit I haven't attempted the signup process but even with a throwaway email address, I'm not comfortable installing it on a device I take with me when I leave the house; I even Uber via the web interface and would probably stop using the service if they hamstrung th…

If they were all on the same system I might consider it, but the are like a dozen transportation options in my town.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#280

Post by rotexo »

rotexo wrote: post #137
superfrank wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I love the scooters and bikes these companies provide and I think you make a really good point about them being a positive disruption. It's pretty clear that there is a growing demand for ways to get around other than driving yourself. Lyft and Uber are great for covering distances, but have their issues. In busy metro areas it can often be quicker to walk than it is to drive if you're only going a mile a…

I visited Sacramento from the Bay Area recently, and the Jump bikes were a revelation. It seems to me that electric-assist bikes are an easier sell safety-wise than scooters (bike lanes often already exist). I’m from Austin Tx and I really hope that the electric assist bikes see widespread adoption there, especially given the horrific traffic and historical resistance to public transit there (biking in the summer the…

AND I could see electric assist leading to cyclists making full stops at stop signs (since the need for momentum hacking is not so great). Based on what I've read here, that would go a long way towards drivers and cyclists getting along better.
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