Yeah look at those people in the comments...8 scooters = $40.  No, it doesn't. 

More scooters incoming to Columbus starting tomorrow -

 

Lime adding electric scooters to its transportation options in Columbus

 

Two weeks after Bird motorized scooters appeared on Columbus sidewalks and corners, Lime plans to unveil its electric scooters here on Sunday.

 

Lime plans to drop them off in Clintonville, Linden and the South Side, where Lime already has bicycles. It also intends to plant its scooters Downtown, said Todd O’Boyle, Lime’s director of strategic development.

 

O’Boyle said he didn’t know how large Lime’s scooter fleet will be in Columbus, but called it “a significant deployment so we can cover the city.”

 

http://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20180728/lime-adding-electric-scooters-to-its-transportation-options-in-columbus

Then snowboarding also started using "over the bars" even though there are no bars!

 

...and right on cue I went over the bars on Saturday, for the first time since 2003.  Ouch.  I didn't crack my ribs this time but I came damn close.  My mountain bike picked up a sizeable stick in the rear spokes...in the brief instant in which I contemplated the stick shooting out from the bike and wondering if I just broke a spoke I lost concentration in a right turn, hit a very small 3-4" stump that was hidden by leaves, and like that I'm eating dirt.  For a second I was face-down on the forest floor wondering if I had broken everything or merely just something.  The good thing about mountain biking is that there is at least a chance that you're not landing on rock...whereas with road biking, and certainly with these Bird scooters, you're landing on concrete, which is man-made rock. 

 

The scooters are less irregularly-shaped than a bicycle, and so I wonder of the injuries sustained by the scooter itself are milder than the typical bicycle crash, aside from the fact that you're closer to a typical standing position with a scooter.  Landing on your own bicycle or having the bike land on you is horrible.  Plus, there was a lot of resistance to disc brakes on bicycles because of the fear that the disks would slide into you like a pizza slicer. 

 

 

Then snowboarding also started using "over the bars" even though there are no bars!

 

...and right on cue I went over the bars on Saturday, for the first time since 2003.  Ouch.  I didn't crack my ribs this time but I came damn close.  My mountain bike picked up a sizeable stick in the rear spokes...in the brief instant in which I contemplated the stick shooting out from the bike and wondering if I just broke a spoke I lost concentration in a right turn, hit a very small 3-4" stump that was hidden by leaves, and like that I'm eating dirt.  For a second I was face-down on the forest floor wondering if I had broken everything or merely just something.  The good thing about mountain biking is that there is at least a chance that you're not landing on rock...whereas with road biking, and certainly with these Bird scooters, you're landing on concrete, which is man-made rock. 

 

The scooters are less irregularly-shaped than a bicycle, and so I wonder of the injuries sustained by the scooter itself are milder than the typical bicycle crash, aside from the fact that you're closer to a typical standing position with a scooter.  Landing on your own bicycle or having the bike land on you is horrible.  Plus, there was a lot of resistance to disc brakes on bicycles because of the fear that the disks would slide into you like a pizza slicer. 

 

 

Ack! I hope you heal quickly, even though you did add another fear to my list of irrational fears. "the disks would slide into you like a pizza slicer"

 

My bicycle was stolen over the weekend and so I rode Bird scooter this morning to work and it was fun. The first several I tried were low battery, but then I found one and it went pretty fast. 

 

But once I get a new bike, I don't see using it much.

^ Off topic, but care to share where your bike was and how it was locked up when it was stolen?

 

I don't suppose cyclists are the target audience of these scooters, but having them on the roads will help cyclists by getting drivers to look out more for smaller vehicles.

I've heard both arguments come out of the woodwork on this one. 

 

1.  The scooters will help legitimize non-automobile modes and encourage the construction of more separated facilities.

 

2.  The scooters will be viewed by motorists just like bikes as "in the way" and they need to be extirpated from the streets.

 

Frankly I can see both views depending on the person.  I would hope for #1, because as it is, bikes, scooters, e-bikes, segways, and who knows what else might come next, are all in this sort of "missing middle" of transportation.  They're too slow and vulnerable to be in the street mixed with motor vehicles, and they're too fast and dangerous to be on the sidewalk.  Having a third "layer" of street facility between the sidewalk and roadway covers pretty much everything else. 

I was curious about how the battery situation would work because many of the scooters were getting down to 40% or lower by the end of the night yesterday, with several even down to ~15%. Looking on the map today, most of the ones near me are in the 80%+. So apparently they already have enough people recharging these things at night.

 

It is a nice little way for enterprising types to make some money.

Apparently some of these enterprising types are simply grabbing them throughout the day (when they are still marked as rentable) and tossing them into their vehicle and home. This way they can cheat the system don't have to race other chargers late at night when "capturing" the birds.

 

They still show up on the app as available, but are actually in someones garage or upstairs in their apartment waiting to be charged that night.

I've heard both arguments come out of the woodwork on this one. 

 

1.  The scooters will help legitimize non-automobile modes and encourage the construction of more separated facilities.

 

2.  The scooters will be viewed by motorists just like bikes as "in the way" and they need to be extirpated from the streets.

 

Frankly I can see both views depending on the person.  I would hope for #1, because as it is, bikes, scooters, e-bikes, segways, and who knows what else might come next, are all in this sort of "missing middle" of transportation.  They're too slow and vulnerable to be in the street mixed with motor vehicles, and they're too fast and dangerous to be on the sidewalk.  Having a third "layer" of street facility between the sidewalk and roadway covers pretty much everything else. 

 

Our city administration has:

 

- said for years that bikes should "ride on the street, not the sidewalk" (despite not doing anything to enforce or even educate the public on this)

- approved golf cart based shuttles on city streets, which are absolutely no match for a larger vehicle if a crash were to occur

- not placed any restrictions on pedal wagons, which operate at a very low speed in mixed traffic

 

So I don't see how you regulate electric scooters without directly contradicting one or more of those.

I was curious about how the battery situation would work because many of the scooters were getting down to 40% or lower by the end of the night yesterday, with several even down to ~15%. Looking on the map today, most of the ones near me are in the 80%+. So apparently they already have enough people recharging these things at night.

 

It is a nice little way for enterprising types to make some money.

Apparently some of these enterprising types are simply grabbing them throughout the day (when they are still marked as rentable) and tossing them into their vehicle and home. This way they can cheat the system don't have to race other chargers late at night when "capturing" the birds.

 

They still show up on the app as available, but are actually in someones garage or upstairs in their apartment waiting to be charged that night.

 

Bird scooters have an alarm so you can’t move them while they’re locked, so what you’re saying wouldn’t be possible (at least with Bird).

Ack! I hope you heal quickly, even though you did add another fear to my list of irrational fears. "the disks would slide into you like a pizza slicer"

 

 

 

All of the emphasis on helmets and car collisions ignores all of the other exciting injuries that you can sustain.  Also, wearing sandals or the wrong type of shoes while riding a bike or a scooter is so dumb I don't even know what to say.  I think a lot of the injuries that people sustain on these scooters will stem from wearing sandals, dress shoes, etc. 

 

 

 

I had ridden Bird scooters in other, less hilly cities... but I wasn't sure how they'd handle Cincinnati's big hills. So, out of curiosity, I just rode a Bird scooter up Vine St hill, from Findlay Market. I specifically chose a scooter with a full battery because I was afraid it wouldn't make it up the hill. I started at Findlay Market with nearly 100% battery. At the top of Vine St (at McMillan), I had drained a bit less than 20% of the battery, which is actually much better performance than I had anticipated. The motor didn't seem to "struggle" at all going up the Vine hill. The speed was definitely faster than if I'd tried to bike, and - of course - I didn't break a sweat.

 

I'm convinced. Especially in a hilly city like Cincinnati, we should design our streets to safely accommodate bikes and scooters, and we should design proper storage facilities and rules for where to park them. I don't really care whether they're owned by companies like Bird, or a public entity (a la Red Bike), or simply through private ownership.

...I just rode a Bird scooter up Vine St hill, from Findlay Market.

 

One of the logistical issues with dockless transport that I'm curious about is when someone takes a bike/scooter/whatever out of their normal range.  I know Bird has "nests" where the scooters are deployed each/most mornings after they've been charged by their indy contractors/bounty hunters overnight.  So on an aggregate level, they're redistributed around to where they're needed.  But if you take one way out into the boonies, relatively speaking, unless you keep it checked out while at your destination, someone else could check it out or take it away for charging, then you're effectively stranded without a way to get back.  Is this a common issue, or how is it dealt with?

  But if you take one way out into the boonies, relatively speaking, unless you keep it checked out while at your destination, someone else could check it out or take it away for charging, then you're effectively stranded without a way to get back.  Is this a common issue, or how is it dealt with?

 

On Saturday I saw an unusual number of people red biking down Vine and Clifton around 10pm.  I imagine that a number of them rode Bird scooters uphill to the FC game and then got back via red bike. 

  But if you take one way out into the boonies, relatively speaking, unless you keep it checked out while at your destination, someone else could check it out or take it away for charging, then you're effectively stranded without a way to get back.  Is this a common issue, or how is it dealt with?

 

On Saturday I saw an unusual number of people red biking down Vine and Clifton around 10pm.  I imagine that a number of them rode Bird scooters uphill to the FC game and then got back via red bike. 

That is a great idea.

...I just rode a Bird scooter up Vine St hill, from Findlay Market.

 

One of the logistical issues with dockless transport that I'm curious about is when someone takes a bike/scooter/whatever out of their normal range.  I know Bird has "nests" where the scooters are deployed each/most mornings after they've been charged by their indy contractors/bounty hunters overnight.  So on an aggregate level, they're redistributed around to where they're needed.  But if you take one way out into the boonies, relatively speaking, unless you keep it checked out while at your destination, someone else could check it out or take it away for charging, then you're effectively stranded without a way to get back.  Is this a common issue, or how is it dealt with?

In DC, they have areas/neighborhoods where you're not allowed to park it. I don't see that here in Cincy. My guess is that Bird is taking a "wait and see" approach before limiting it to specific neighborhoods. In your example, you certainly can't guarantee that a specific scooter/bike will be available for you for a "return" trip. Until a critical mass is available, scooters will be part of a multi-modal trip (scoot one way, and then walk/bike/uber/bus/scoot back).

That is a great idea.

 

I was very skeptical of the traditional bikeshare in Cincinnati because of the weight of the bikes and the hills.  Electric bikeshare will probably do better.  But my central beef with bikeshare will still exist -- that the one-size-fits-all frame is a total pain to ride, if not dangerous. 

 

The electric scooters avoid the frame issue more or less entirely, which is a major advantage, but the things will always have a limited range compared to electric bikes.  Both suffer from the inappropriate footwear issue.  On Saturday I saw a girl lose her sandal out in the middle of the Schwartz's Point intersection, and almost fell off the bike since she had to catch herself with her bare heal.  There is no way to stop people from doing knucklehead stuff like that on the scooters, either. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lime Scooters Now Available in Columbus

 

A second rentable scooter option is now available in Columbus. Lime, the company that deployed its dockless bicycles earlier this summer in Linden, Clintonville and the South Side, placed a number of its electric scooters in those same neighborhoods on Sunday. As of earlier today, though, dozens of the scooters were available to rent Downtown as well.

 

The arrival of the new Lime scooters comes just a few weeks after the launch of Bird in Columbus. The Bird scooters were initially placed Downtown (including the Area District), in the Short North and in Bexley. The city of Bexley, however, removed the scooters, citing legal questions raised by Bird’s business model.

 

More below:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/lime-scooters-now-available-in-columbus-bw1

 

These are pretty fun.  Not sure how often I'll use without a promo/discount code (PM me for either Lime or Bird if anyone wants one).  I can see the benefit for some, but also I can see the downsides.  Hopefully more options out there that are successful pushes other transportation options as well.

I did an impromptu 3-4 mile ride on one today...I spotted one in front of Murphy's Pub.  The front handlebars were wobbly and the rear brake was terrible.  It was very unstable going downhill (I rode from Warner St. down W. Clifton to OTR).  Could not go up Ravine St. between Central Parkway and McMicken, a distance of one block.  It was fine on level ground but the ride can be a little twitchy.  For the first time I noticed that there are a few manholes in the bike lanes on Central Parkway. 

 

I totally drained the battery trying to ride up W. Clifton into Clifton Heights (47% to 3%).  Herein lies the whole problem with these scooters...they're not powerful enough to go up one of Cincinnati's hills twice on one charge.  So the scooters are getting up into Clifton Heights, Mt. Auburn, etc., but then they're basically shot for the day.  So it's basically a Bird paradise up until about noon for OTR residents, then it's helplessly spotty.  I'm not sure a rollout of these scooters near UC could really work because the batteries would be drained so quickly.

 

I think a higher quality scooter that one actually owns could work for a lot of urban dwellers, except the Birds are too heavy to easily carry up steps, so they'd need parking on the first floor of a building.  They take up less space than a bike, though.  The problem is locking them at a destination, they would no doubt be a tempting target for thieves. 

 

 

Also, I didn't account for the fact that the scooters can probably go up these hills for most women and especially those who weigh around 110-120lbs but not most men.  So the scooters might be getting up the hills early in the morning because girls are riding them, but I have yet to actually see this happen. 

 

In other news, Bird has announced tentative plans to pay for bike/scooter lanes in some cities.  So in exchange for striping the lanes, will they get to paint their own advertising on the pavement, put up their own signs, etc.?

Glad to see that they're funding bike lanes. But the reason bike lanes aren't being built in Cincinnati isn't because of lack of funding... it's because our current administration refuses to allow them to be built.

Electric scooters on collision course with pedestrians, lawmakers

 

Electric scooters are appearing in many major cities across the country – including Cincinnati – bringing fun to riders, profits to scooter makers and lots of potential risks to walkers and riders.

 

San Diego, where I live, is at the forefront of the proliferation of electric rideables. As a physical activity researcher I am an interested observer. Recently, I was enjoying a stroll on the boardwalk when a couple of electric scooters zoomed past. As I saw a young girl start walking across the boardwalk, another scooter zipped by, and I could tell it would not be able to stop in time. The young woman riding the scooter was able to act quickly. Instead of crashing into the girl at full speed, she fell down with the scooter and slid to a stop. There was a crash and minor injuries to the rider, but a tragedy was avoided.

 

I consider this event a warning about the dangers posed by the electric vehicles that have rapidly become commonplace on local boardwalks and sidewalks. An online search will reveal many reports of injuries. A Dallas woman went to the emergency room for head injuries the week of July 9, and officials in Nashville are considering legislation there that would require registration for scooters.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/08/08/commentary-electric-scooters-on-collision-course.html

 

Kevin Wright engages in guerrilla campaign to get Cincinnati to accept scooters

 

The head of an urban growth firm is launching a guerrilla-style experiment in hopes of getting Cincinnati to embrace the new Bird electric scooters without encountering the same pitfalls that have led other cities to ban them.

 

Guerrilla Bird Cages are meant to suggest where people can park the electric scooters.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/08/08/exclusive-kevin-wright-engages-in-guerrilla.html

 

Electric scooters on collision course with pedestrians, lawmakers

 

Electric scooters are appearing in many major cities across the country – including Cincinnati – bringing fun to riders, profits to scooter makers and lots of potential risks to walkers and riders.

 

San Diego, where I live, is at the forefront of the proliferation of electric rideables. As a physical activity researcher I am an interested observer. Recently, I was enjoying a stroll on the boardwalk when a couple of electric scooters zoomed past. As I saw a young girl start walking across the boardwalk, another scooter zipped by, and I could tell it would not be able to stop in time. The young woman riding the scooter was able to act quickly. Instead of crashing into the girl at full speed, she fell down with the scooter and slid to a stop. There was a crash and minor injuries to the rider, but a tragedy was avoided.

 

I consider this event a warning about the dangers posed by the electric vehicles that have rapidly become commonplace on local boardwalks and sidewalks. An online search will reveal many reports of injuries. A Dallas woman went to the emergency room for head injuries the week of July 9, and officials in Nashville are considering legislation there that would require registration for scooters.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/08/08/commentary-electric-scooters-on-collision-course.html

 

Okay I also live in SD and yes the Bird's are everywhere. But I haven't seen any scooter accidents. Not one. Albeit I'm not a licensed "Physical Activity Researcher" I'm just a normal idiot.

 

However I have seen about a thousand car accidents.

Is it even theoretically possible to build a self-driving scooter?  If so, the nearest scooter could drive to you when you want to use one, and then when you're done, drive away and park itself in an appropriate spot. 

 

A driverless tricycle would definitely be possible.  Something like this could come to you:

City strikes a deal to allow Bird scooters for now

 

The city of Cincinnati issued interim regulations on Wednesday that will cover the dockless electric scooters that have been placed throughout downtown, with the company that operates them, Bird Rides Inc., signing on to at least part of them.

 

The Bird e-scooters have been on city streets and sidewalks since July 26. The regulations limit the number allowed to 100, unless the city has authorized more. Bird’s mobile app showed more than 100 scooters currently are deployed. Customers can use a GPS-based smartphone app to locate and pay for nearby scooters, which are collected nightly to be recharged and placed at designated areas by 7 a.m. the following day.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/08/08/city-strikes-a-deal-to-allow-bird-scooters-for-now.html

Birds finally flee to the Cleve

 

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/08/bird_electric_scooters_spotted.html#incart_river_mobile_index

City increases number of Bird scooters allowed

 

The city of Cincinnati has upped the number of dockless scooters and other “shared active transportation” options allowed on public sidewalks from a company from 100 to 200.

 

The move comes a few days after Bird Rides Inc. increased the number of scooters it placed in the basin. It’s believed that there are around 190 scooters currently on the sidewalks.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/08/10/city-increases-number-of-bird-scooters-allowed.html

Today my hunch was verified...all of the scooters that are making their way up to UC are being ridden by women who weigh significantly less than 150lbs. 

 

So Bird discriminates against men! 

Today my hunch was verified...all of the scooters that are making their way up to UC are being ridden by women who weigh significantly less than 150lbs. 

 

So Bird discriminates against men! 

I saw two guys scooting up Vine St hill by Inwood Park on Saturday.

I tried a Bird Friday afternoon. Within 2 minutes of riding it on the street, a guy speeding his car through a yellow light yelled at me to get on the sidewalk.  ::)  I stayed on the street, but found the small tires on the scooter to be unforgiving of our rough roads. The handle felt as if it was going to come disconnected from the base. Which made me wonder, who's doing the maintenance on these things? And how often?!

 

I'll stick with my RedBike subscription...

A friend of mine observed that one of the problems with the electric scooters in bike lanes is that they accelerate faster than bicycles but have a lower top speed.  So if a scooter and a bicycle get going at a green light, they pass each other twice.  So this thought that "we just need more bike lanes" isn't the panacea people think it will be.  There is already a huge problem with non-bike activity in bike lanes as well as kids/old people/dogs/rollerbladers on rec trails like the Loveland bike trail. 

 

Speaking of which, I almost ran over a kid on the Loveland bike trail this past weekend.  A dad was taking a picture of his wife and son on the opposite side of the path, posed with their bikes.  I stop pedaling, he takes the picture, and the damn kid immediately runs across to view it on his phone.  I had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting this idiot. 

Comparing Bird and Red Bike (I've been a Red Bike member since it launched), I'm struck by the diversity of people who are using Bird. Relative to Red Bikes, based on what I've seen around OTR, Bird scooters are being used by a much broader demographic (age, race, socio-economics). I don't know how much of that is just due to Bird's novelty, but it's interesting nevertheless. I think of lot of scooting around OTR is "for fun" (I don't mean that derisively) simply because the sensation on an electric scooter is new to almost everyone, and. I don't recall a similar flurry of broad-based usage when Red Bikes launched. I assume a lot of it is due to how easy Bird makes it to sign up, join, and take your first ride. Red Bike feels like more of a financial commitment, even though I suspect many Bird riders will end up spending more per person (on average). 

I don't see the slight relative difference in speed and acceleration between bikes and scooters to be much of an issue.  At the most basic level in an urban setting, you can say sidewalks are for <10mph (ped, wheelchairs, rascals, runners), bike lanes for 10-20mph (bikes, scooters, segways), and the roadway for >20mph.  Whatever the actual mode is actually kind of irrelevant.  Now, when you get to roadways with higher speed limits, such as 40MPH and above, then you start getting questions about allowing mopeds in the bike lanes, but we're nowhere near that level yet. 

At 10 mph that's like someone running down the sidewalk at a pretty decent pace (not a sprint, but more than a jog).  I'd say sidewalks should be <5 mph.

Influx of scooters across Columbus brings questions of safety, enforcement

 

As motorized scooters begin to pop up across Columbus, so have concerns about safety and enforcement.

 

Lime and Bird scooters have been seen on city sidewalks, bicycle and pedestrian trails and, in some cases, are being operated by minors.

 

And on Monday, Lime announced that its Lime bikes and scooters are being added to Ohio State University's campus, just in time for students returning for the fall semester.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/08/13/influx-of-scooters-across-columbusbrings-questions.html

. Red Bike feels like more of a financial commitment, even though I suspect many Bird riders will end up spending more per person (on average). 

 

The Red Bikes are too expensive and they aren't fun or easy to ride. 

 

 

I wonder if RedBike will drop their starting price in response to the scooters. The good thing about RedBike's pricing scheme is that they offer an annual pass, though, and there is no per-checkout fee. Bird can get expensive since you're paying an additional dollar every single time you check it out in addition to paying for the additional time.

^ It's a good pricing strategy for people who use RedBike all the time, but for the casual rider the fares aren't great. I'd probably use it a few times a month if I could get a 30 or 60 minute ride for $1 or $2. Whenever I have the need for something like RedBike, I generally just have a spur of the moment need to go from point A to point B - I don't want a day pass, and I'm not going to pay $8 for a single short trip. If RedBike did start to drop their price to compete with the scooters, I'd probably use them instead of Bird because generally people look goofy on scooters.

So I read the city of Cleveland sent a cease and desist letter to Bird the other day, but today people were riding the scooters all over town. Anyone know what's going on?

 

Edit- apparently Bird just didn't listen haha.

So I read the city of Cleveland sent a cease and desist letter to Bird the other day, but today people were riding the scooters all over town. Anyone know what's going on?

 

Edit- apparently Bird just didn't listen haha.

 

Maybe the Mayor thinks the scooters will cause too much disruption to the riders of dirt bikes.

^ It's a good pricing strategy for people who use RedBike all the time, but for the casual rider the fares aren't great. I'd probably use it a few times a month if I could get a 30 or 60 minute ride for $1 or $2. Whenever I have the need for something like RedBike, I generally just have a spur of the moment need to go from point A to point B - I don't want a day pass, and I'm not going to pay $8 for a single short trip. If RedBike did start to drop their price to compete with the scooters, I'd probably use them instead of Bird because generally people look goofy on scooters.

 

I don't get the sense that red bike is being used as serious transportation, and doubt that Bird will be either.  People are using each mostly for fun, which is fine, but let's not get fooled into thinking that either or some future mode is going to actually become a backbone of mobility in Cincinnati. 

 

I don't think that anyone who didn't ride bikes after childhood started riding red bike and then decided to go out and buy a bike.  A real bike from a store is a totally different animal than the bikeshare bikes.  But you can go on Amazon and buy a bird scooter -- like the actual thing -- for like $700.  It looks like you can buy a really nice one for about $1,000, and something with a much weaker battery for about $300.  They actually make a lot of sense for suburban workplaces with separate buildings like mine.  I only have to walk over to the other building 1-2 times per week so there is no reason to get one.  We do have a golf cart but I have never driven it. 

 

 

 

but for the casual rider the fares aren't great

 

Also, casual riders can't seem to understand that you get unlimited 30-minute rides all day for $8. Many people think it's like a bike rental service, check one out and keep it all day, and end up paying the daily maximum of $28. If they just checked it in when they weren't using it, they'd save a huge amount of money.

At 10 mph that's like someone running down the sidewalk at a pretty decent pace (not a sprint, but more than a jog).  I'd say sidewalks should be <5 mph.

 

That's a six minute mile, which is pretty close to a sprint. If you ran that, you would have finished 8th out of 837 in the OTR 5k.

Also, casual riders can't seem to understand that you get unlimited 30-minute rides all day for $8. Many people think it's like a bike rental service, check one out and keep it all day, and end up paying the daily maximum of $28. If they just checked it in when they weren't using it, they'd save a huge amount of money.

 

I didn't know that.  I thought it was $8 every time you used it.  I've only used it once, which I believe cost me $16.  It was a total pain biking up the Clifton Ave. hill from Ludlow to UC, as I knew it would be on a...50lb steel bike with terrible frame geometry. 

 

Like, this thing is going to smoke the riding experience of a heavy bike share bike:

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/bik/d/diamondback-ascent-mountain/6668845956.html

 

 

 

 

^ Yeah, that's why it's funny when you see people lock up a RedBike at a bike rack that's right next to a RedBike kiosk. I used to try to explain to people how it works but some people snap at you for trying to explain it to them. So yeah, if you want to pay extra to have it locked up and not use it, good for you.

 

Actually, I just checked the pricing page on RedBike's website, and it looks like the daily rate now includes unlimited 1 hour checkouts. Previously only annual pass holders got 1 hour checkouts, and people paying the daily rate only got 30 minutes per checkout.

but for the casual rider the fares aren't great

 

Also, casual riders can't seem to understand that you get unlimited 30-minute rides all day for $8. Many people think it's like a bike rental service, check one out and keep it all day, and end up paying the daily maximum of $28. If they just checked it in when they weren't using it, they'd save a huge amount of money.

 

Red Bikes actually give you unlimited 1 hour or 90-minute (with monthly pass) rides, but your point still stands. Many of the other bikeshare systems limit rides to 30 minutes. I think your mistake demonstrates that the rule/pricing structure is complicated and it discourages spontaneous riding. I bite the bullet on an annual pass every year precisely because I don't want to face the marginal cost decision ("Is it worth $8 for a day pass"). Bird's pricing is much more alluring for spontaneous rides.

I'm sure that bike share is paying far more per vehicle than is Bird.  Here is the Bird scooter, for a mere $499 on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Xiaomi-Electric-Long-range-Fold-n-Carry-Ultra-Lightweight/dp/B076KKX4BC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1534216400&sr=8-3&keywords=bird+electric+scooter&dpID=419WeK7VbqL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

 

So Bird could be getting them for as little as $200 from their supplier.  Which means they are making their money back on each scooter in just a few days.  They could probably toss their entire fleet on the 31st and show up with new scooters on the first of each month and still make money.  This is why multiple companies are pushing these scooters on cities, whether they like it or not.  There is basically no pressure on Bird to provide nicer scooters because they're basically guaranteed to make money with the good-enough ones they're using now. 

 

 

 

 

 

This one can go up to 55 MPH!  I can't imagine going highway speeds on a scooter.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Qpower-Electric-off-road-Scooter-11-inch/dp/B077Q9W5Z6/ref=pd_sbs_468_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B077Q9W5Z6&pd_rd_r=SF3H7ZXKYKE5P588GKRQ&pd_rd_w=0JlDo&pd_rd_wg=9ulSW&psc=1&refRID=SF3H7ZXKYKE5P588GKRQ