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Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

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Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#61

Post by cortesoft »

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.

> 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.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#62

Post by cortesoft »

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...

Bit of a selection bias... you are much more likely to notice the ones that are in the same spot day after day, and not notice the once that are in constant use.

This is the average revenue, I am sure there are some that generate a lot less/barely any.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#63

Post by cortesoft »

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 am not sure if it IS mostly tourists. I see a lot of people riding them from the office to lunch places and the like.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#64

Post by numair »

rb808 wrote: post #55

Lime and Bird have collectively raised nearly a billion dollars within 14 months of founding at valuations of $1.1 billion and $2 billion, respectively. For reference, American Airlines has market cap of $18 billion and 950 jet planes.

Actually, I’m pretty sure American Airlines has 950 jet planes on lease, and they have a century’s worth of pension and other obligations that remain hidden in their books.

Companies are far too complicated to compare based on single numbers. Try not to make this mistake —- it’s great for clickbait, not so much for critical thinking.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#65

Post by qudat »

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...

I live in a small university town and people are always on them.

When I spent a week in Denver they were being used everywhere as well.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#66

Post by nullorundefined »

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?

3 months? Wow. Definitely not, then. Especially considering that cars drive around every night to pick them up, charge them, and drop them off again.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#67

Post by qudat »

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?

> litter all the public sidewalks

Is it really that big of a nuisance? You literally walk around them, I don't see the issue.

You should give them a ride one day to "see what all the fuss is about." They really are an incredible idea and allowing them to be "parked" anywhere is one of its main appeals.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#68

Post by cortesoft »

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…

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 suffer.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#69

Post by oh_hello »

I finally had a chance to try one out recently and was very frustrated with the experience. After attempting to use several shown on Bird's map I gave up. Some were broken, some were almost certainly being hoarded inside of apartment buildings, and some simply could not be found anywhere near the map marker. The experience was a huge letdown after being tempted to try the product so many times.

Re: Lime and Bird are growing rapidly

#70

Post by whymsicalburito »

cortesoft wrote: post #62
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...

Bit of a selection bias... you are much more likely to notice the ones that are in the same spot day after day, and not notice the once that are in constant use. This is the average revenue, I am sure there are some that generate a lot less/barely any.

Even with some of them being in constant use, the math still doesn't work out.
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