Instead of the 'park it anywhere and inconvenience everyone else model' of deployment, the dockless scooter companies should advocate for dockless scooter dedicated parking spots/landing zones around the city.<p>The dockless scooter companies should negotiate (and pay a daily fee to) the cities to convert say every 100th car parking spot into a dedicated spot to park your scooter/bike.<p>I think this would be fair as one existing car parking spot could serve 10-20 dockeless scooters/bikes [1]. And it would require no effort other than repainting the parking spots and the city revenue (i.e $20 per day per spot) would be about the same if not slightly more.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/06/bike-share-dock-parking-space-citi-bike-new-york/531936/" rel="nofollow">https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/06/bike-share-do...</a><p>[additional edit] Or alternatively, the city could just mark/paint out dedicated spots on the existing sidewalk that are currently underutilized (i.e. out of the way of existing pedestrian traffic) and that ends up leading to more city revenue in addition to car parking.
As a long time Boosted Board fan, and someone who's underwhelmed by the current crop of rental scooters, I'm interested to try this.<p>I'm also somewhat surprised Boosted Boards themselves haven't released other light electric vehicles like scooters and bicycles. I'd guess the market for non-skateboard electric vehicles is much larger, and a lot of the expertise they have should transfer.<p>I think a lightweight (~15 lbs) commuter scooter with ~5 mile range, ~16 MPH top speed, maybe an integrated charger and shoulder sling, and Boosted Board's design and quality would kill it.
All the ethics and controversy of ScooterGate aside, this is a good move for those who like these scooters.<p>I've ridden them in SF a few times and they are extremely underpowered. When you hit the slightest incline they go <10mph. I have consistently wondered why they can't be as fast as Boosted Boards, which seem to fly up any hill in San Francisco. So ... case closed I guess.
we have not reached peak scooter yet. and that’s a good thing. i say bring them all on, they have really solved a good balance of personal but light transportation
Is there really that much money to be made from rent-able scooters? I imagine a business can be made out of it but this level of competition seems amazing to me. There is no differentiation from the products.
I would love to actually just buy one of the scooters; I'm looking at getting something robust that can handle gravel, water, dirt, etc in questionable Stockholm weather.
Awesome. I love they designed the scooter to facilitate a service model right from the get-go.<p>Personally, I'm bearish on the light electric vehicle sharing model due to skepticism on the unit economics.<p>Skip will also be a great piece of evidence for large automakers thinking of running their own ride-sharing services on their own automobiles.
Everyone I know (including myself) who has ridden a dockless rentable electric scooter has found it the inferior personal transit option in SF. What exactly is making these founders think this is a worthwhile option?<p>The bikeshares, the electric bikes, even boosted boards are all great. A personal non-electric scooter is great. They have designated places to go, or you bring them inside with you.<p>The public nuisance (lack of sensible parking), the safety concerns/lack of rules (ride on sidewalk or street, helmet or no, etc), the 10mph cap (slower than a manual scooter), and mediocre economics make it seem worse than everything. What are the pros that people care about?
Electric scooters/skateboards and e-bikes are a menace to society. I'm a NYC cyclist whose travels went from terrifying to death-defying ever since e-bikes became commonplace here. These things travel at a flat 20mph in total silence. Such speed is beyond what most plain old cyclists can achieve by simply pedaling. On a daily basis I'm forced to dodge when a e-bike/board/scooter rider recklessly passes me with not an inch to spare. These people treat common courtesy and traffic laws as loose guidelines meant for someone else.<p>There are good reasons why personal electric vehicles are illegal in New York: they're unsafe for everyone involved without proper licensing of operators and safety inspection of vehicles. Drivers of motor vehicles are obligated to carry insurance and are held accountable for their offenses under the law, but operators of e-bikes/boards/scooters will kill or maim another person just as well as a car will, but will face no consequences except for maybe, possibly a civil lawsuit... assuming they're ever caught.<p>Now yet another hyped up startup is making an attempt to profit at the expense of my and my family's safety. I will not allow this, and will continue my citizen's campaign against illegal vehicles in my city. No quarter will be given until they're all gone. I consider e-bikes/boards/scooters a physical assault against my personal safety, and respond just like I would respond to any physical assault.