Lime and Bird are growing rapidly • Hacker News Board

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#31

Post by whoisjuan » Mon, Dec 03, 2018, 11:19 PM UTC

kerng wrote: post #6

Will be interesting if Uber or Lyft will postpone IPO in favor or buying one of them. Cant imagine it's possible to acquire one of them and still IPO in near future - but who knows. Exciting to see scooters and bikes get nice adoption! Changing the form factor to be more like a mini car (with at least a seat) would be neat, scooters just dont feel that safe.

Uber has around 7 billion (last time I heard) and this year they will lose around 5 billion, maybe more.

Uber is on track to run out of money in 2019, so a financial event is inmminent. I don't know if we will see an Uber 2019 IPO, but if it doesn't happen is more likely due to the current bear market and not so much because they are considering a large acquisition.

If they acquire a scooter company I presume they will do it through a mix of debt and a heavy stock component. In fact it seems that they already raised another 2 billion through private placement bonds.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#32

Post by trhway » Mon, Dec 03, 2018, 11:20 PM UTC

gibolt wrote: post #19

sdinsn wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not littering since local statues have rules about parking. FYI, in some areas, parking is illegal, and in most areas leaving your car in a spot for too long will allow the city to tow it. Since the majority of places don't have statues for scooters, the default actually is littering, it's no different than dumping anything else on the sidewalk.

Scooters are definitively vehicles. What would governments do if people just started parking bikes and scooters in free full-size car parking spaces :)

Scooters aren't vehicles licensed for public roads. So it will probably still be littering, of public roads and parking spaces this time.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#33

Post by nullorundefined » Mon, Dec 03, 2018, 11:20 PM UTC

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #11

umvi wrote: post #3

Remind me again why they are allowed to litter all the public sidewalks and street corners with their scooters? Regulation hasn't caught up yet?

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.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#34

Post by oh_sigh » Mon, Dec 03, 2018, 11:20 PM UTC

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…

Is there a reason these don't count as just trash? If I leave my scooter lying on the side of the road, I would never assume that it would still be there if I came back to it.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#35

Post by cwkoss » Mon, Dec 03, 2018, 11:21 PM UTC

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…

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.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#36

Post by oh_sigh » Mon, Dec 03, 2018, 11:21 PM UTC

whymsicalburito wrote: post #18

This article says these scooters make $16/day in revenue?! Where are they making that kind of money? The scooters in my city just sit in the same place for DAYS without moving... I don't buy those numbers at all...

Maybe you live in a low usage area, and scooters that just go back and forth in high usage areas generate far more than $16/day?

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#37

Post by hyperbovine » Mon, Dec 03, 2018, 11:22 PM UTC

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #11

umvi wrote: post #3

Remind me again why they are allowed to litter all the public sidewalks and street corners with their scooters? Regulation hasn't caught up yet?

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?

Because the law says they are. You don't like it, vote.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#38

Post by etrautmann » Mon, Dec 03, 2018, 11:22 PM UTC

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…

I feel exactly the same... about cars.

In all seriousness, they should have dedicated docking spots but even one parking spot per block would be more than enough and would solve the problem.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#39

Post by hyperbovine » Mon, Dec 03, 2018, 11:23 PM UTC

marcell wrote: post #9

umvi wrote: post #3

Remind me again why they are allowed to litter all the public sidewalks and street corners with their scooters? Regulation hasn't caught up yet?

Because people derive value from the service. It's faster than walking, more convenient than an Uber, and doesn't require a car. Let's leave the "get off my lawn" comments off HN.

As someone who has literally had Bird scooters discarded on my lawn...

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#40

Post by vinceguidry » Mon, Dec 03, 2018, 11:23 PM UTC

hocuspocus wrote: post #23

askaboutit wrote: post #7

Stand up scooters feel so unstable. Why not just add a seat and allow a seated scooter that’s foldable. The problem with last mile transport is that the laws in many countries need electric bikes to have peddles and peddle assistance. Just let people have a certain power and max speed and they will drop the car and replace it with a powered scooter. Aka, China.

*Pedal. Some EU countries have already announced that scooters will soon be treated similarly to e-bikes, i.e. max 250W and 25km/h for the ones that don't need registration and plates. While more expensive and less portable, a bike is a lot safer and more versatile.

I feel far less safe on a bicycle than I ever do on a Bird/Lime-style scooter. Main reason is I can go a lot slower, bicycles have to maintain a certain amount of inertia and that seriously affects riding habits. If I'm coming up on an intersection I can slow down a lot but if I'm riding a bike, I'm incentivized to blow through. With a scooter, I can go at a safe speed around pedestrians on sidewalks and stop abruptly if necessary with my feet. The inertia requirement makes it difficult to go sufficiently slow around pedestrians on a bike and I always feel like I'm an asshole no matter where I am if not a dedicated bike lane.

I think only familiarity leads people to think that bikes are safer than scooters. Given a choice between an electric bicycle and an electric scooter, now that I've ridden both, give me the scooter any day.