Probably safer than rickshaws. Better run it by Rebecca DeMornay, though. Don't want her mad at you.
Posted on 09/12/2018 4:24:04 AM PDT by Kaslin
DH has his own scooter which quickly gets him the last mile to work from where public transit drops him off. It’s been great for his commute.
In California, they’re throwing them in the ocean.
These things have become a nuisance on the sidewalks of Indianapolis, and it’s not going to get any better.
If the operator of that uninsured scooter drives through a red light and you run him over, guess whose insurance carrier is going to be paying a major claim even if you did absolutely nothing wrong?
I was listening to morning drive radio and they were saying there was probably 500 bikes around their building many of which had been thrown in the river.
How can you make a profit?
Permission less innovation has brought unprecedented congestion to San Francisco. It is easily observed that every 4th or 5th car downtown is a ride share. Traffic has been destroyed.
It is NOT taking cars off the street. People use it instead of the bus.
Now if they took the buses off the street it might make up for it...
...and program the GPS to take th homeless outside the city. Maybe take them to Burning Man.
They make a profit so called by blowing through venture capital. Just like Uber which has never made a profit and run through multiple billions.
Their business model DOES NOT MAKE A PROFIT and I can’t see that it ever will.
Darty little scooters in a dense urban environment? It’s insane. Libertarians may advocate a free for all but they are creating accidents and I see parents with kids running around in the crazy traffic. It is not ok.
How about an armed drone which only needs a coded laser target-designator to paint the target. Keep your subscription up to date, and call down a ground support airstrike on demand.
When I was a kid riding my bike in NYC, potholes weren't that big a problem, bigger wheels and not many potholes. Trolley tracks were another matter entirely. Get into one and suddenly, "no steering!" How do those scooter wheels match up with "light rail" tracks.
>>How can you make a profit?<<
Apparently some cannot.
I think the remaining vendors are hoping the novelty of destroying the bikes just for the heck of it will wear off and the bikes will just be part of the landscape like parking meters or something.
South Lake Tahoe has been trashed with them.
Riders are usually visitors, and they go WAAAAY too fast.
And yet, cement skateboard parks are all the rage in cities across the nation. Kids are getting horrendous injuries in them.
Years ago my city banned fast pitch softball, because someone might get injured.
The key difference is that bicycles are intended to be used on the streets. The scooters will be operated on sidewalks. A "scooter-pedestrian" collision is therefore far, far more likely that a bike-pedestrian crash.
One has to differentiate between these electrified kiddy toys and real, street-legal electric scooters.
To get the permits, each company has to demonstrate that it'll provide user education on sidewalk riding and parking, be insured and have a privacy policy to safeguard users' information. The companies also need to share trip data with the city and offer a plan for low-income riders.
Low income riders? Maybe they can use their EBT cards and ride free! https://www.cnet.com/news/san-francisco-scooter-law-means-goodbye-to-electric-scooters-for-now/
Answering my own question. Here’s how they get recharged (and yes some people steal them and sell the batteries for cash) - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/05/charging-electric-scooters-is-a-cutthroat-business/560747/
Probably safer than rickshaws. Better run it by Rebecca DeMornay, though. Don't want her mad at you.
“Who does the recharge?”
Anyone can freelance using an app to round up the scooters and charge them, then drop them back off and get paid for it.
“Who pays for the scooter initially?”
The company renting the scooters?
How about a homing robot scooter than can drive you home from the bar on autopilot when you’re loaded?
Got to be a market for that.
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