Lime and Bird are growing rapidly • Hacker News Board

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#401

Post by PavlovsCat » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 8:30 AM UTC

spookthesunset wrote: post #319

aantix wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it exhausting to live like that? Will convenience ever win out for you? This is a serious question.

> Isn't it exhausting to live like that? I always wonder why these kind of folks even bother to visit sites like this at all? Isn't this a tech focused site? Why are you here if you hate advancements in technology so much? It reminds me of all the bitter old curmudgeons on Slashdot back in the day. Every post about advancements in HDD storage or more memory had at least a few highly voted comments droning on about th…

> Why are you here if you hate advancements in technology so much?

Hating the abuse of something isn't hating that thing, and

> I just roll my eyes at the old grumps and move on with my life.

going to such lengths to smear someone indirectly and calling isn't moving on with your life. Adapting to "the world" (which is people doing things, and you're one of them) isn't either.

> when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness...

-- Carl Sagan

Without the laughter of fools, there is no tao.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#402

Post by the_clarence » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 8:30 AM UTC

sdinsn wrote: post #15

marcell wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It's not a "get off my lawn" comment. Regulations about these scooters don't exist in the large majority of places- meaning the default local regulations about illegal dumping apply. Whether people derive value from it or not is not important to local laws. These scooter companies are operating in a grey area; that's a fact. Please don't quickly dismiss discussion about this issue, especially in such an ignorant mann…

San Francisco now has limited the use of these scooters so much that they are effectively useless. You can’t find them anywhere, it’s not practical, and you need a driver license to ride one. They effectively killed an alternative to cars...

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#403

Post by rb666 » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 8:31 AM UTC

kasey_junk wrote: post #160

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…

They are fairly commonly left in ways that make it difficult for pedestrians in wheel chairs/walkers/blind.

All those giant-ass trucks Americans ride around in (usually on their own) are making it difficult for bike lanes or walking paths to even exist!

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#404

Post by the_clarence » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 8:32 AM UTC

whymsicalburito wrote: post #12

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?

They covered my city with them recently and I'm yet to see anyone use them for actual transportation. I tried Bird out over the Thanksgiving holiday with my parents for fun. The app was a bit complicated but overall were pretty fun. Riding the scooter felt a bit dangerous and I wouldn't be able to bring anything back from a store on a scooter, so I'm not sure when I would use one. Also you can't ride them at night, s…

I wish I had them in my cities :( they are so practical.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#405

Post by rb666 » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 8:32 AM UTC

the_clarence wrote: post #390

analogmemory wrote: post #342

As a cyclist, I'm hopeful that these bike/scooter/wheel-shares programs will force governments to examine their plans for keeping people safe. More low-speed travel lanes for bikes, scooters, one-wheels, hoverboards, etc. Keep the sidewalks for walking and wheelchairs. Otherwise we are sure to end up like China in these photos: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/03/bike-share-oversup...

Less cars! These huge roads need to be shared to other modes of transportation.

Exactly this, Americans need to detox from their truck-obsession. Size of your car does not make you a tough guy.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#406

Post by the_clarence » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 8:34 AM 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 completely the opposite. I wish they were everywhere in SF so that we would have less cars and I wouldn’t have to take cabs to commute everywhere.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#407

Post by stef25 » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 8:39 AM UTC

tuxxy wrote: post #383

spookthesunset wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Isn't it exhausting to live like that? I always wonder why these kind of folks even bother to visit sites like this at all? Isn't this a tech focused site? Why are you here if you hate advancements in technology so much? It reminds me of all the bitter old curmudgeons on Slashdot back in the day. Every post about advancements in HDD storage or more memory had at least a few highly voted comments droning on about th…

> old grumps I'm 22 and privacy-conscious. I also love tech, but I really enjoy my personal privacy and knowing that I'm not being surveiled all the time. I am also a FSF supporter and try to run libre code wherever possible. Convince me: why should I give up my privacy to use products that will inevitably treat my data irresponsibly?

Define irresponsibly. Your plaintext passwords, ID scans and physical address getting leaked is one thing. Using your basic demographic data for advertising is something else.

An obvious solution is just to use bogus data: name, email, dob, address, burner phone.

Only thing you can't fake is your credit card but I'm sure a lot of companies do actually accept payments where the name of the card differs from the name on the account.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#408

Post by lazyasciiart » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 8:39 AM UTC

anonytrary wrote: post #371

lazyasciiart wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know bike shares with docks is a super common existing model, and dockless bike share is specifically built as an improvement to that?

I would imagine it would be a lot easier for civilians to host scooter waypoints at their residence. Bike docks seem like more effort, I can't seem them being a popular option for homes. At scale, the idea is that half of the houses in a neighborhood would host hubs for scooters. At high hub densities, the distinction between docked and dockless becomes negligible, however the hub solution has the added benefit of pe…

I don't understand why you think anyone would do this, but I am also not sure that it would be any more legal to run a scooter rental hub at most homes than it is to put a pile of scooters on the sidewalk.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#409

Post by masonic » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 8:41 AM UTC

Uehreka wrote: post #313

guelo wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Fair, it’d be worth doing some math on this. Let’s assume a scooter Travels distance T on a full battery (across multiple trips of course) and has efficiency TE based on the efficiency of the (presumably fossil fuel) power plant and that the person picking it up for Charging drives distance C Picking Up PU scooters with a fossil fuel engine that has CE efficiency. Of course, we need to assume that TE and CE are measu…

The distance the charger drives to/from the charging location and then to the vendor-determined deployment point has nothing to do with the distance the previous rider rode.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#410

Post by masonic » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 8:42 AM UTC

gibolt wrote: post #340

guelo wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

A huge number of chargers (the people) ride the scooters and stack them on the one they are riding. Even if a vehicle is used, it is nowhere near the fuel consumed by all the scooter trips combined. It collects multiple and is only after several days per scooter.

I saw one such charger break a pedestrian's ankle doing this on a sidewalk.