May 31, 20196 yr There was already a major push for a scooter ban in Nashville before last week's death: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/parents-demand-scooter-ban-in-nashville-after-their-beloved-son-was-killed-in-an-accident I don't think they're causing quite so many problems in Ohio because Ohio's cities are naturally more walkable. Nashville is a really tough place to ride a bike and an unpleasant place to take a walk.
May 31, 20196 yr 5 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: There was already a major push for a scooter ban in Nashville before last week's death: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/parents-demand-scooter-ban-in-nashville-after-their-beloved-son-was-killed-in-an-accident I don't think they're causing quite so many problems in Ohio because Ohio's cities are naturally more walkable. Nashville is a really tough place to ride a bike and an unpleasant place to take a walk. Where are the people demanding that cars be banned? Multiple kids die every day in car crashes.
June 4, 20196 yr Cleveland City Council approved new regulations on scooters last night, after banning Bird a few months ago, allowing them to return to the city. Upon Jackson's signature the bill becomes law. Allowed only in certain neighborhoods as the city assesses the law. https://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/2019/06/cleveland-to-allow-electric-scooter-rentals-this-summer-targeting-key-in-parts-of-the-city-for-pilot-program.html
June 4, 20196 yr Bird is launching a two-seater electric vehicle to become more than a kick scooter startup https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/04/bird-is-launching-a-two-seater-electric-vehicle-to-become-more-than-a-kick-scooter-startup/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 4, 20196 yr 1 hour ago, Pugu said: Cleveland City Council approved new regulations on scooters last night, after banning Bird a few months ago, allowing them to return to the city. Upon Jackson's signature the bill becomes law. Allowed only in certain neighborhoods as the city assesses the law. https://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/2019/06/cleveland-to-allow-electric-scooter-rentals-this-summer-targeting-key-in-parts-of-the-city-for-pilot-program.html After visiting a handful of larger cities this past year it's a shame how far behind it seems this administration is (an argument for another forum haha). Scooters are everywhere in other cities and with that they make for an amazing option for connections between busses and between neighborhoods. I hope that this pilot program is reviewed quickly, but as with everything in the Jackson admin, it probably will be a year before we hear anything, why not look at other cities and/or build infrastructure that makes these things safer? Not everyone in Cleveland lives in the hot areas, and with that, if Bird or Lime are willing to put scooters all over the city, let them do it. Sidenote, I just got back from DC, and not only do they have scooters, but also rideshare e-bikes, and aside from a lost tourist it seems like they weren't a burden at all.
June 4, 20196 yr Just tried the electric Redbike (Cincinnati's bikeshare) for the first time. Wow those are better than the scooters in just about every way imaginable. Only downside (for the rider) is they have docks instead of just littering them all over the street wherever you want (this, however, is a positive for everyone else).
June 4, 20196 yr 17 minutes ago, thomasbw said: Just tried the electric Redbike (Cincinnati's bikeshare) for the first time. Wow those are better than the scooters in just about every way imaginable. Only downside (for the rider) is they have docks instead of just littering them all over the street wherever you want (this, however, is a positive for everyone else). Did you try climbing a hill? How'd it go?
June 4, 20196 yr 7 minutes ago, jwulsin said: Did you try climbing a hill? How'd it go? I haven't tried a big hill but they make the Purple People Bridge a breeze. The Ohio-side approach is pretty difficult on a regular Redbike. I also rode one (a pretty flat) 6 miles the other day in business casual clothing and didn't break a sweat. I was travelling at about 17 mph the whole way.
June 4, 20196 yr ^Yeah it 31 minutes ago, thomasbw said: Just tried the electric Redbike (Cincinnati's bikeshare) for the first time. Wow those are better than the scooters in just about every way imaginable. Only downside (for the rider) is they have docks instead of just littering them all over the street wherever you want (this, however, is a positive for everyone else). How do you know which docks have them? I have tomorrow off so I might try one.
June 4, 20196 yr 10 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: ^Yeah it How do you know which docks have them? I have tomorrow off so I might try one. The map on the website and the app (BCycle) make it clear: https://redbike.bcycle.com/top-nav-pages/stations/station-map/
June 4, 20196 yr I have been riding the RedBike e-bikes to work for the past few days. It definitely levels the playing field on a street like Liberty Street where the standard bikes can feel slow alongside faster moving and often times more aggressive traffic. “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
June 5, 20196 yr Update via social media, SPIN has now arrived in CBUS. Saw about 20 groups of them walking to work this morning downtown.
June 5, 20196 yr New Scooter Companies, Local E-Bike Startup Set to Enter Columbus Market Three new “micro-mobility” companies have received approval from the City of Columbus to enter the market and are planning summer launches. Jump, which was acquired by Uber last April for $200 million, will deploy both its rentable e-bikes and scooters, while Spin, which was acquired by Ford Motor Company in November, will soon be rolling out its bright orange scooters. Roam Bikes, a startup founded by local entrepreneur Kelly James, plans to deploy 200 e-bikes on the streets of Columbus this June, with a total fleet of about 500 in place by the fall. The three newcomers enter a market that already has Bird and Lime — which both launched here last summer — and CoGo, the docked bike share system that was established in 2013 (and that was acquired by Lyft last fall). James said he’s confident that his company can compete with the Silicon Valley-backed giants. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/new-scooter-companies-local-e-bike-startup-set-to-enter-columbus-market-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 10, 20196 yr I was walking around Piedmont Park in Atlanta and on one 20 minute walk saw the following options: Relay Bikes (traditional bikeshare) Muving (powered scooters) Lime Bird Lyft scooter Uber scooter Bolt Scooter Jump Bike (dockless e bikes) Wheels (two wheel e bike without pedals, these are very strange) SCAD Bikes (college bike share)
June 10, 20196 yr In China they are mass-scrapping bike share bikes since so many companies jumped in that they all went bankrupt.
June 26, 20195 yr Lyft Scooters Hit the Streets, Along with Discount for Low-Income Riders Just shy of a year after the first rentable electric scooters were placed on Columbus streets, the ride-hailing company Lyft has entered the market. Starting this morning, users will be able to use the Lyft app to locate and rent the new scooters, which will cost one dollar to unlock and 15 cents for each minute of use. “We’re thrilled to bring Lyft scooters to Columbus and provide another quick, affordable and sustainable way to move around – all within a single app,” said Chet Ridenour, Columbus Market Manager for Lyft Bikes and Scooters, in a statement. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/lyft-scooters-hit-the-streets-along-with-discount-for-low-income-riders-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 26, 20195 yr Scooters are a nightmare in dense environments, but I can see it being fun in more sprawly places.
June 26, 20195 yr 1 hour ago, TBideon said: Scooters are a nightmare in dense environments, but I can see it being fun in more sprawly places. Not bad at all in places with bike lanes, especially dense ones. So many more people can move in the same space than if they were in cars.
June 27, 20195 yr Inside the shadow world of scooter chargers "One key component of the business model is the fact that their “chargers” are independent contractors, who, given their non-employee status, don’t need to be paid a minimum wage. Additionally, because scooter companies describe themselves as technology platforms, not transportation companies, they claim to have minimal obligations to ensure their contractors’ safety and conduct... Ride-share scooters generate $2.43 in revenue per mile, but cost $2.55 per mile to operate, more even than Uber’s $2.50. The extra cost stems from the fact that, unlike Uber, Bird owns its fleet. Which is where vandalism and theft, two problems that increase costs, come into play. Destroying these scooters has become a popular pastime for teens, with the Instagram account Bird Graveyard gleefully collecting and curating videos of their demise... “Bird and Lime would seem to have a limited market — short trips in dense city areas,” says Genevieve Giuliano, the Director of the METRANS Transportation Center, a technology research center affiliated with the University of Southern California and California State University Long Beach. “The market is further limited by the physical task of riding a scooter. I have yet to see a person with grey hair on a scooter, and I rarely see women on scooters.” https://expmag.com/2019/05/inside-the-shadow-world-of-scooter-chargers/ Bro, bro, bro -- only we matter. Everyone else is NPCs! We only need us to make (lose) money, oh and some out-of-it dudes that look like '90s wrestlers driving rusty trucks.
June 27, 20195 yr "...alleged to be human but felt like a bot" I'm stealing that line for my solo album.
July 9, 20195 yr Nashville came pretty close to banning scooters last week: https://www.nashvillepublicradio.org/post/unwilling-ban-scooters-nashville-leaders-move-toward-fleet-reductions-and-more-rules Quote It means they’ve rejected the mayor’s suggestion of a scooter moratorium. He had sought to remove scooters from the streets for about three months while new rules could be written, including issuing a request for proposals that would allow fewer companies. That last piece — reducing the operators — remains intact in the council’s plan. But instead of taking scooters off the streets, the fleets would downsize. Council members said that companies Bird and Lime have already taken this step. Other “emergency” rules proposed include: creation of no-ride areas and slow zones; requiring two company employees per 100 scooters; posting signage detailing that scooters cannot be used on sidewalks; creation of a hotline to handle complaints about interference with disabled access to sidewalks faster response times to all other complaints.
July 15, 20195 yr A youtube celebrity of some stature (I hadn't heard of her) dies in electric scooter accident: https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/celebrity/youtube-star-emily-hartridge-dies-at-35-in-electric-scooter-collision/ar-AAEk47N?ocid=spartandhp It isn't specified as to if this was scooter sharing or one that she owned or borrowed.
August 19, 20195 yr Today is the first day (according to previous reports) that the new e-scooter and e-bike vendors were possibly eligible to deploy their fleets in and around Cleveland in line with the pilot program. I'm looking forward to having these back. They were an extremely fun and affordable mode of transportation. They also made it extremely easy and convenient to bounce around between Ohio City, Tremont, Downtown, or the Flats within a matter of minutes instead of being confined to one neighborhood or business. There are more traffic jams, fatalities, and pollution issues caused by cars in a single minute than there are by dockless transportation in a month's time. Adapt or die.
August 20, 20195 yr On 8/19/2019 at 11:45 AM, BJBaes said: Today is the first day (according to previous reports) that the new e-scooter and e-bike vendors were possibly eligible to deploy their fleets in and around Cleveland in line with the pilot program. I'm looking forward to having these back. They were an extremely fun and affordable mode of transportation. They also made it extremely easy and convenient to bounce around between Ohio City, Tremont, Downtown, or the Flats within a matter of minutes instead of being confined to one neighborhood or business. There are more traffic jams, fatalities, and pollution issues caused by cars in a single minute than there are by dockless transportation in a month's time. Adapt or die. Lol don't show this article to Frank Jackson: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2019/08/20/three-scooter-riders-cited-riding-freeway/2060787001/
August 23, 20195 yr Lakewood is considering allowing scooters and wants residents to complete a survey on how they will be used (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/S26QKLL). The survey says: "Cuyahoga County has been working on a county-wide plan to launch bike and scooter share systems. The City of Cleveland expects to launch a new program soon to provide electronic scooters and electronic-assist bicycles (e-bikes) for use." and Scene says, "“With the survey we’re trying to get a feel for priorities and concerns from the residents," Lakewood City Planner David Baas told Cleveland.com. "Should a system be implemented in Lakewood, we need something to go off of when having discussions with the county and with vendors.” My question is, what is the role of the county here? Why would Lakewood need discussions with the County? And is the city of Cleveland subject to the county "plan" or just the burbs?
August 23, 20195 yr They're electric scooters/bikes, not electronic scooters/bikes. I'm being pedantic, but it's a pet peeve of mine. “To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”
August 26, 20195 yr Love them or hate them, scooters are back in Cleveland. As of today, Bird is back. The City allowed four scooter companies: Lime, Spin, Veoride, and Bird. Bird can also rent e-bikes. https://www.crainscleveland.com/scott-suttell-blog/ready-take-flyer-again-bird-scooters
September 10, 20195 yr This guy hates scooters: Police: Man cut brake lines, cables on Lime scooters https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/crime/crime-and-courts/2019/09/09/police-man-cut-brake-lines-security-cables-lime-scooters/2264324001/?fbclid=IwAR3t_K_2xlcC0mtmgB6Ij1pBe7LUZVFsSpo9moJgb7k2zgJ1DOdfANORt8k A Pendleton man was arrested Friday after police said he was cutting brake lines and security cables on Lime scooters. William Kellum, 69, is charged with felony vandalism.
October 24, 20195 yr Los Angeles was overrun with competing scooters and electric mopeds when I visited in September. I rode Bird scooters 3-4 times but couldn't get the electric mopeds to work. One had a flat tire and two others I tried to ride had problems with them as well.
October 24, 20195 yr 29 minutes ago, thomasbw said: I counted 13 different scooter/bike/moped companies in Atlanta It was completely disorganized in Los Angeles. You can tell that these companies get a bunch of money and just go throw their product out there. The whole thing is about trying to get bought out by a bigger company. I do find the scooters quite useful, but the cost as much or almost as much as taking a cab. A 3-mile ride on a Bird scooter out there costs around $12.
October 24, 20195 yr Non-core customers strike again! Teens and over-50s smashing tech bro dreams with unforeseen variables that people from non-sheltered backgrounds saw coming a mile away You Lost How Much on Scooters? Lime, the company whose business model is buying thousands of electric scooters and just sort of leaving them there in the hopes people will ride them, is on track to lose $300 million this year. Per a report in the Information, financial projections that are the “first detailed picture to emerge of Lime’s financial performance” show the company is set to lose the $300 million on revenue of over $420 million. Lime is losing so much money in large part due to “depreciation of its scooters and how much it costs to run warehouses that repair and position the vehicles,” with its fleet of 120,000 scooters seeing an average life of five months. That, of course, is exactly the kind of costs that would arise from leaving countless expensive scooters exposed to the elements and residents angry about said scooters. https://gizmodo.com/you-lost-how-much-on-scooters-1839245178
October 24, 20195 yr They are working on creating scooters that have batteries that swap out, like many ebikes already have. That will mean a "charger" will only have to carry the batteries home to charge them, not the whole scooter, and obviously will need a supply of batteries to get started. So their capital costs actually go way up since they need to have 2x as many batteries as scooters. Plus, upgrading to a future gen scooter becomes way more expensive because they'd have to throw out thousands of batteries. Also, switching out the batteries is just one issue. The scooters still require unpredictable maintenance and so guys will still need to go and pick them up to repair them. There could also be the issue that chargers will need to reposition the scooters at the time when they swap out the batteries, so the ostensibly simple chore of switching out batteries will actually be nearly as complicated as it is now.
October 24, 20195 yr 1 hour ago, jmecklenborg said: A 3-mile ride on a Bird scooter out there costs around $12. MAYBE it would cost that if your 3-miles took you up the hill from downtown to Clifton. But the average 3-mile ride costs about $9. That's still too expensive. Although the average Bird ride in Cincinnati is more like 1.5 miles, so more like $5. Either way, it is cheaper to get a Redbike annual pass and use the e-bikes.
October 24, 20195 yr I heard somebody say we're experiencing a "Cambrian explosion" of micromobility options... and I like that metaphor. We don't know yet how things will settle. We definitely are NOT in an equilibrium. Cheap batteries and computers paired with cheap motors are enabling new modes of cheap transportation that are actually hitting scale, for the first time since... I don't even know. Bikes, cars, motorcycles, buses, trains have all been around in roughly the same configuration for over a hundred years. What was the last major innovation in personal transportation? I don't count the segway since it never caught on outside of a small niche. I feel like maybe the last major innovation were small engine scooters/mopeds that caught on post WWII? Electrified kick scooters, electric bikes, and other lightweight electrified vehicles have the potential to be MUCH cheaper than cars, while still enabling people to tackle mid-ranged distances in challenging climates and/or with kids/cargo.
October 24, 20195 yr Yes, they have their place. But we have to deal with all of this unnecessary noise because of the apps. "LOOK AT ME! I took an existing object and added an APP!!!!!!!!!!"
October 24, 20195 yr I still don't get why anyone would use these things regularly in the city where they live, since owning a bike is so damn cheap. I've probably done $500 in maintenance and repairs on a bike I bought for $500 in 2007. 1,000+ rides = less than $1 per ride. The threat of having a bicycle stolen is pretty low outside of a few places in the United States. Biking is really, really easy in most places. I rode a bike around Santa Monica last month - which was the birthplace of Bird - and it doesn't get any easier. Totally flat streets. Streets in a grid pattern. Perfect weather, 363 days per year. It comes down to people really not wanting to walk and really not wanting to pedal.
October 24, 20195 yr 5 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: I still don't get why anyone would use these things regularly in the city where they live, since owning a bike is so damn cheap. I've probably done $500 in maintenance and repairs on a bike I bought for $500 in 2007. 1,000+ rides = less than $1 per ride. The threat of having a bicycle stolen is pretty low outside of a few places in the United States. Biking is really, really easy in most places. I rode a bike around Santa Monica last month - which was the birthplace of Bird - and it doesn't get any easier. Totally flat streets. Streets in a grid pattern. Perfect weather, 363 days per year. It comes down to people really not wanting to walk and really not wanting to pedal. Convenience. You can grab one when you want it and leave it where you want it. You don't have to lock it up or walk it home if you're tipsy at the end of the night. Personally, I had my $1200 bike get stolen a couple years ago. I never bought another one. Didn't want to drop another $1000+ for a nice bike. It's much easier to have a Redbike membership since there is a station right next to my office.
October 24, 20195 yr 8 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: I still don't get why anyone would use these things regularly in the city where they live ... It comes down to people really not wanting to walk and really not wanting to pedal. Sounds like you actually do get it.
October 24, 20195 yr 38 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: I still don't get why anyone would use these things regularly in the city where they live, since owning a bike is so damn cheap. I walk to work, so if I am in a rush after work I take a scooter about 3/4 of a mile. The garage that I could park in is several blocks away and I'd be up at least 3 floors, so it wouldn't save any time. There's not a great place to lock my bike either. But it's really once in a blue moon. I think it's more for the novelty than anything. Plus, people are lazy and don't want to ride their bikes/pedal in traffic, bring a lock, etc. Very Stable Genius
October 24, 20195 yr 4 hours ago, DEPACincy said: Either way, it is cheaper to get a Redbike annual pass and use the e-bikes. RedBike is by far the best mobility deal in the urban core of Cincinnati. “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
November 16, 20195 yr Lyft Removing Scooters from Columbus (and Five Other Cities) The first casualty of the Great Scooter Wars of Columbus has officially been declared. Lyft announced yesterday that it would be pulling its eScooter vehicles and service out of Columbus, Nashville, San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta and Phoenix. “We’re grateful to our scooter riders in Columbus as well as our partners in Columbus city government,” stated Kaitlyn Carl, Communications Manager with Lyft. “We’re shifting resources and will be ending scooter operations on November 22. We look forward to continuing to provide riders with other modes of reliable transportation.” More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/lyft-scooters-leave-columbus-we1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 24, 20205 yr Lots of People are Still Riding Scooters in Columbus The first rentable electric scooters in Columbus arrived in the summer of 2018, and the first two companies to operate here – Bird and Lime – saw significant ridership as people flocked to try out the new devices. In 2019, two more companies entered the market; Spin scooters came in June (and are still here), while Lyft started offering scooters in June but took them away in November. The latest numbers show that plenty of people are still riding the scooters, and, in some cases, are actually incorporating them into their daily commutes. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/numbers-scooters-2019-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 24, 20205 yr There's a free bus that goes up and down North High. Why are people paying to take scooters along the route that has a free bus?
January 25, 20205 yr 7 hours ago, ryanlammi said: There's a free bus that goes up and down North High. Why are people paying to take scooters along the route that has a free bus? Well...that free bus (CBUS) stops at 3rd so anyone living north of that I can see why they would do the whole scooter thing. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 25, 20205 yr I saw something new on Friday night -- some guy was standing on top of a 12-pack on his scooter. With both feet. I was too slow with the phone and so didn't get a photo. So to recap, this guy: 1. bought a 12-pack of Miller Lite 2. set it on its narrow side on the deck of a Bird scooter 3. stood on top of the 12-pack with both feet 4. no, he wasn't simply holding the 12-pack in place with a free foot - he was actually like 14" taller
January 25, 20205 yr 13 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said: I saw something new on Friday night -- some guy was standing on top of a 12-pack on his scooter. With both feet. I was too slow with the phone and so didn't get a photo. So to recap, this guy: 1. bought a 12-pack of Miller Lite 2. set it on its narrow side on the deck of a Bird scooter 3. stood on top of the 12-pack with both feet 4. no, he wasn't simply holding the 12-pack in place with a free foot - he was actually like 14" taller Not all heroes wear capes.
March 30, 20205 yr Cincinnati is shutting down the streetcar, Red Bike, and scooters for the duration of the pandemic.
Create an account or sign in to comment