Why Americans Have A Love-Hate Relationship With E-scooters

[@Kingjay814]

The big issue is just the lack of infrastructure for anything other than a car. A dedicated lane that allowed for bikes, scooters, etc solves all of the safety concerns. Scooters and bikes don’t have to ride on sidewalks to feel safe from cars. It’s literally giving up one lane of traffic, but in North America that’ll never happen. We need a newfound emphasis on human infrastructure as opposed to vehicle. Once we break that cycle things would get a lot better.

[@johnstover4584]

It causes injuries because of this. Bike lanes will be littered with trash and things that a ten inch tire has troubles going over. This is my biggest issue. I have an electric scooter and every ride is dangerous because of no bike lanes and messed up sidewalks. If they do the green paved bike lanes like in big cities it would help alot.

[@smileychess]

Thankfully, no one in my city walks anywhere, so the sidewalks are completely clear. I ride an e-bike to work every day, and I use sidewalks for half the distance. The alternative is riding in bike lanes that literally go between lanes of traffic, which is insane to me, when half the vehicles are pickup trucks that take up so much space.

[@Random_How-tos]

I literally broke my arm on an electric scooter and so I'm qualified to say, it's not the scooters, it's the people riding them. Wear a helmet if possible, my injuries would’ve been worse if I wasn’t wearing one. Even after my crash I still think that are a great way to get around the city. I’ve owned an electric scooter for three years and have ridden thousands of miles on it saving me a lot in gas and car insurance.

[@nixonhoover2]

No one cares!!!

[@immzcutiebaby]

​@@nixonhoover2 Some of us do

[@jcmcmcjc11]

@@nixonhoover2 I care about this post so shut it!

[@kimberleemodel7182]

Oof, hope the arm heals quickly, man. I've had one or two scooter crashes, but no broken bones.

[@brunorocha9992]

I hope you feel better with your arm! Take care and have a good rides!

[@thekickassmexican102]

A lime rental is 45 cents per minute and unlock fee is $1. For a 1.5 mile ride I’m charged almost $9 which is ridiculous when an Uber is $7. I ended up buying my own scooter

[@justjay6445]

This is the exact reason why I don’t use them. Public transportation is cheaper where I’m at or even ride share.

[@johnyboyproduction]

They usually have monthly plans (where I'm at anyways) that ends up being around 3$ per day for 90minutes

[@PostprandialTorpor]

This is the way , welcome

[@ryan.shirazi]

That’s insane! In Vancouver, Canada, there’s a car ride share service called ‘Evo’, charging CAD .49 cents a minute. Gas is reimbursed if you have to refuel. They use only hybrid or all electric cars.

[@dannydaw59]

When I visited Charlotte one of those Lime scooters cost me $14. I looked up one of the rideshares and it was a few bucks less lol. I did have to stop twice to look at Google maps though. I kept popping wheelies by accident.

[@rowanbixler4700]

The scooters themselves do not pose a safety issue, safety becomes an issue because of A LACK OF INFRASCRUCTURE for anything besides cars. Banning e-scooters does nothing but kick the can down the road until a city inevitably realizes how completely unmanageable their car congestion problems are

[@RogueHetero]

Spot on

[@OM-bs7of]

The government makes more tax money from cars also

[@rowanbixler4700]

@@OM-bs7of that is true, but car-related infrastructure is also immensely more expensive. Things like bridges and overpasses, as well as stoplights and most signage isn’t necessary for bike and scooter infrastructure because of the slower speeds. Most good bike/scooter infrastructure looks like glorified sidewalks, which local governments already foot the bill for anyway

[@Hongriki]

I've seen cars and motorcycles in the San Francisco bike lanes when I'm on my scooter and even though there is a huge bike lane people with scooters still go on the side walk. Lack of enforcement, but then again SF have higher priority things to worry about.

[@rowanbixler4700]

@@Hongriki yeah, ideally they’d have something completely separate that motor traffic can’t block or drive in but unfortunately a lot of places don’t have the political momentum to do anything more than painted bike-gutters

[@GyroCannon]

We just need two things: - infrastructure for non-cars - places to "park" scooters But this is North American city planning. We don't have either. I survived off a scooter for a while only because my workplace didn't care about me taking the scooter into my cubicle and the sidewalks were almost always completely empty (mostly suburban area / business park)

[@timjohnson6975]

Personally, I ride an EUC which is capable enough to either keep up with city traffic on the roads, creep along the sidewalks like a normal pedestrian, and does amazing off road for everywhere in-between, and going up or down curbs is no issue. I never worry about parking it either, because it has a trolley handle and can roll alongside you anywhere you can take a wheelchair. Definitely worth the hassle of figuring out how to ride the damn thing. lol.

[@chiquita683]

Good luck having the EMS team carry you on their back on a scooter to the hospital when you have a medical incident 😂

[@LWoodGaming]

​@@chiquita683 what is your point?

[@mikea5745]

@@chiquita683 Why would EMS use a scooter, that makes no sense. EMS is a good reason to get rid of most cars from the road though. If we reduce city traffic, police and ambulances will be able to get where they're going much more quickly in cities. Zero reason everyone needs an entire 5+ person car on the road for a single passenger, blocking the actual important traffic like freight, work vehicles, and emergency services

[@PhillipMorris758]

Why did u stop using the scoot

[@yuriydee]

A lot of the e-scooter issues for these companies could be fixed by having docking areas similar to how bike share programs do it.

[@m.o.n.d.e.g.r.e.e.n]

ownership not share. solved

[@kw9158]

Many cities around world that use Lime have this, and you're charged a huge fine if you don't return to the docking station.

[@STho205]

The drop anywhere and next person pickup off the ground was the cheap way to implement. The eScooter damage and loss was less expensive than the docking racks...and didn't require location permitting or objections. So like a playground for 5 yos, they became a situation of crash them into any area, walk away, or leave them in a pile. They are most appealing to teens and 20somethings which in modern standards is pretty careless and self interested.

[@kwadwothestan]

EXACTLY. Of course there will always be people who don’t put them back where there are supposed to. But it would help a lot

[@TheMamaluigi300]

Isn’t just parking it against a wall enough? I mean surely walls are everywhere where’d you have a destination, and those tend to be out of the way when walking

[@brycebundens6866]

It would be great if the urban planning KZbin community differentiated personal e-scooter usage from rental e-scooters. There is a huge difference in the types of trips taken and overall sustainability as a mode.

[@nateofthesouth]

Solid point.

[@soaringstars314]

Elaborate? I'm kinda curious lol

[@kimberleemodel7182]

That'd be real interesting. There's a bike share but no scooter share in my city, so I bought my own when I couldn't ride my bike due to a surgery that interfered with my sitting on a bike. I wind up carrying the thing on the train every now and again (as opposed to riding the whole trip on my bike).

[@mitchweber7868]

Only nerds ride these 😂 damn I wish I lived in a big city like this with 16 billion people in one place, not!!!

[@floydb9100]

so true

[@Arcticarc1]

I believe e-scooter injuries are severe because riding shared ones 98% don’t have helmets. Privately owned one may be faster, but drivers usually gear themselves up

[@arturodelarosa4394]

Helmets make little difference, much like in bicycles, most injuries caused by these vehicles are in the limbs, and out of the percentage of those that affect heads a typical bike helmet would have prevented damage to only something like 20% of accidents (this is because they are either not strong enough to damage your head either way or so strong you wouldnt have survived either way). Making it such that the combined statistics say that wearing a helmet while riding one of these vehicles makes as much sense as wearing a helmet while walking. That is to say: yes, it helps. No, it's really not worth it. (These stats only apply to commuting though, wear helmet if riding as sport.)

[@SteveBornholtz]

Another part, is many people just don't know how to stand on a scooter. They treat it like a bike and try to stand facing forwards, when it is more like riding a skate board, which is one foot behind the other. If you can't put weight on the back foot when breaking you may end up over the handle bars. And at least for NYC, for all mirco-mobility, there is almost no training for rules of the road, it is a bit of chaos that will get more dangerous as the lanes get more and more congested.

[@ayayin2192]

I've been riding my electric scooter to work for over 2 years now, over 3000 miles on it and I love it

[@dealbreakerc]

private e-scooters aren't much of a problem, it is the 'rented' ones that get routinely left in the middle of side walks or bike lanes (or rivers) that are the problem. People like you who own their scooter don't leave them around and take care of them (and often drive more capable and sensibly). People who rent them treat them like a rental (go figure) and are often ill prepared to ride or simply incapable of riding with any skill or awareness.

[@kevintyrrell7409]

@Ayayin21 This video isn't talking about private escooters. It's talking about public ones.

[@cable30]

Some or many dont try to properly park them and so they get left around as clutter or by chance fall or trip over for any reason. if the renter really cared about use they would park out of way or put where not a burden or hassle to others. some or many riders dont care and just leave them anyplace they wanna no matter what might happen later.

[@theotheleo6830]

You're lucky your employer or the owner of the building allows you to take your scooter inside the building. Some would not allow it due to the potential fire hazard.

[@BernardN]

How many flats have you had. I've had my scooter since 2019 and have had 4 flats

[@Brindlebrother]

Americans when cars lead to over 35,000 fatalities per year: "Oh well. There's nothing we can do." Americans when a scooter bumps into pedestrian: "OMG scooters r so dangerous! We must ban them! Think of everyone's safety!!"

[@timothyd125]

paris banned them lmao but yeah its just americans

[@invalidaccount2315]

cars and bicycles dont drive on the sidewalks like scooter kids.

[@Drunkenstupor]

@@timothyd125 meanwhile drunk drivers and constant cars hitting pedestrians is ok for you?

[@timothyd125]

@@Drunkenstupor I never mentioned either of those things? lmao

[@soaringstars314]

You're wrong Americans when cars lead to over 35,000 fatalities per year: "cars need more freedom so that people can drive more. It's not like we care about pedestrians, they're like rats to us" Americans when scooter bumps into pedestrians: "THIS IS WAR ON CARS"

[@SlugCatLife]

Bans e-scooters because of accidents, does not ban cars even though it's way more lethal. If they just made bike lanes bikes, roller-skates, skateboards and e-scooters could share them.

[@DCuerpoJr]

Micro-mobility (electric scooters, bikes and skateboards) are a great option for urban commuting, but if you're going to own one then you should take a few safety precautions. • Never charge the battery near other combustible materials. • Never charge the battery in a place that blocks your escape routes. • Never charge them overnight. • Check the battery for any signs of swelling or physical damage after each use. Take the battery to a recycling facility if it's swelling or damage. • Test ride the device in a safe parking lot to get familiar with its speed and capabilities. I'm a first responder in a city and we respond to e-bike/scooter/skateboard fires nearly everyday and battery failures are the common cause.

[@saynotop2w]

some models prevent over charging, you should definitely look into whether or not your potential scooter will

[@DCuerpoJr]

@@saynotop2w Overcharging is one of the factors. But remember the battery compartment on these devices is typically not in a shock resistant housing. So all the bumps you run over on the road will eventually cause physical damage to the battery. We've responded to fires where the owner witnessed (and recorded) the battery burst into flames when it was not plugged-in charging. Just stationary.

[@s4awd2]

I couldn't wait for the ride share scooter in NYC so I just bought one. Aside from the inherent dangers, It saves time, energy and is a ton of fun. I wish I did it sooner.

[@jjayguy23]

Always wear a helmet, and don't ride at night. The small wheels and high center of gravity are very unforgiving. The scooter can easily catapult you from it in the event of a crash.

[@PostprandialTorpor]

I would love to see studies break down statistic of behavior and injury between new renters, veteran renters, new scooter owners and veteran scooter owners

[@kimberleemodel7182]

I bought a scooter almost exactly a year ago, as a bike replacement when I was having a surgery that would prevent me from sitting on a bike. When I got mine I took it on a few rides to get a feel for it, mostly the same rides I like to do on my bike. That way I could get accustomed to it and feel more confident riding it before I had to use it for "real" trips.

[@hertzdount]

They are running a pilot project in my area. The scooters have been out for 2.5 weeks - and a 20 yo woman died after colliding with a pickup truck. I can’t say who is at fault… not that it matters, it comes down to human error. I own a scooter and have just passed 3000 km. Not one issue- people need to have some rider training….. and pay attention to everything that goes on around then at all times. I kinda feel like there should be some basic rider training- maybe force the renter to watch a few safety video’s through the app before riding for the first time.?

[@kimberleemodel7182]

@@hertzdount safety videos or even a 1hr safety course, like rent out a parking lot every other weekend and practice with the newbies, and do a bit of 'rules of the road'. I'd also say that drivers, as their licenses expire/reissue should need a refresher course about interacting with smaller vehicles (scooters, bikes, motorcycles, pedestrians).

[@devinjames9168]

Oh it’s bad some people have no business being on one… me on the other hand I’ll be 10 beer deep jumping stairs and jumping over things.. and I drove it in snow storms and everything… the ninebot max is a tank

[@arturodelarosa4394]

It doesn't matter, the label of "dangerous" it's very obviously misplaced, however you look at the stats they are way safer than cars and motorcycles, which we allow on the road. So way would you ban scooters? It's nonsensical.

[@_Digitalguy]

wish the title specified it's about rental e-scooters, not private ones

[@chris7285]

It’s not the E-scooters themselves that are causing cluttering on the sidewalks but rather the business model. I ride an e-scooter but I own it too so you don’t have to worry about my e-scooter laying around in the city where it shouldn’t be. I rarely have to even lock it up because I just bring it into buildings with me unless the shop asks me not to bring it inside. The only place that it’s crowding up is my bedroom but that’s okay with me because that’s my personal space.

[@Motoxrides]

Same, but if a store asks me to not bring it inside im going to another store so their loss.

[@arturodelarosa4394]

I mean yes, but the argument is dumb. If scooters that occupy a space of 20cm by 60cm are clutter, then what are cars that occupy 200x350cm? it makes no sense.

[@outlander2878]

I love Bird & Lime scooters…I’ve got 37 of them in my garage already 😊

[@kevintyrrell7409]

Scooters were originally well priced at like 50 cents a minute but are now outrageously expensive . It's beyond stupid that I could wait at a light for two two minutes and that time just costed me dollars despite the motor on the scooter being idle. Some trips I'd go less than a mile and notice my bill was more expensive than an Uber pool ride. Outrageous. The upcharge is double or triple what it should be.

[@eagle25311]

I just bought my own. Easier and then you can go on joy rides without worrying.

[@megapangolin1093]

Run the red light, that is what they do in the UK. That is why there are problems here.

[@StormsandSaugeye]

They really become more effective and affordable once you own your own. In a month of renting a scooter for daily use, you'd probably have 300 dollars in fees and whatnot. but if you get a 600 dollar one, you pay it once and you're done. I've been using my scooter for a while now and it's definitely my preferred way around town. My truck I save for driving up to Albuquerque on the weekends essentially at this point.

[@arturodelarosa4394]

And bird still lost 250million somehow. They should have figured out the business model already.

[@nathanjane7729]

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[@kimberleemodel7182]

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[@Food4thought1234]

My brother and I rode all over downtown Atlanta. It was the best days we’ve had. We went to places we never would have went otherwise. There are a lot of factors cities aren’t considering when banning e scooters. They are losing a lot if money from other avenues. Side note. It’s ridiculously expensive. If I lived there I wouldn’t have bought my own scooter. But since I work overseas I’m waiting until I get back home for good. They need to lower the price. Revenue would go up or they will loose customers forever that will get their own bikes. Then they would be catering to only tourist.

[@SashaSirotkin]

This video is entirely focused on the flawed rental e-scooters startups. Private e-scooters owned by individuals actually replace car trips (unlike rentals) and cause less societal issues. IMO ban rental e-scooters, put a reasonable speed limit on private e-scooters and treat them as a bike alternative (and build more bike lanes).

[@itsliam4905]

I would not necessarily ban all rental e-scooters but they should definitely be more regulated. Such as adding fixed docking stations.

[@RogueHetero]

@@itsliam4905 I agree! Bike-share programs have fixed docking stations so should e-scooters (plus they would charge them so they’re always ready to go)

[@blooskyy7]

Agreed!

[@jonathanf.9395]

The part indicating that escooters emit 200g CO2 is grossly exaggerated. Like by 30X. Real-world range of my scooter is about 40 miles per KWH. In NYC that's 7 grams CO2 per mile. In Spain, that's about 3 grams CO2 per mile.

[@mikea5745]

Their numbers are including things like cars picking up the scooters for charging, manufacturing of the scooters, etc. It's numbers they pulled from a Verge article, because it was the first thing that showed up on google. Very poor research by CNBC

[@kimberleemodel7182]

​@@mikea5745still sounds a bit exaggerated to me. And I think it'd be easy to reduce if there were charging stations people could go to for small discount.

[@silviocc]

@@mikea5745 I also bet they just pulled the first photo that appeared in Google to make the tumbnail. That's the only plausible explanation to put a photo from Lisbon in an article all about American cities.

[@peter_smyth]

There is a glaring ommision in that the injuries involving escooters aren't compared to those from cars. If escooters are (partially) replacing car trips, then this would be a useful comparison.

[@marshapelo9830]

I ride e scooter everyday to and from work 5 miles away. Its been a year and i love it. No traffic in the bike lanes.

[@matthewboyd8689]

Ideal city Mixed use building (business group floor, +5 floors residential) No cars (except for businesses) Tams Sidewalks for pedestrians and wide "bike lanes" or a fast lane for e mobility not in vehicle (e bike, e scooters, one wheel, extra)

[@TheAdventureAuto]

4 years ago I bought my own personal scooter, so I don't use these sharable shooters. But having a scooter has been so fun and made short trips easier. My scooter has about 3000 miles on it with battery still 86% capacity. When the weather is nice I ride it 8 miles each way to work. It's just unfortunate roads in the US aren't built for pedestrians. It would be so much easier to get vehicles off the road if the roads were constructed for it.

[@eagle25311]

I agree. I'm an over the road trucker and I have a scooter in my truck. It makes getting places much faster than walking. But there are so many places with no sidewalks or shoulders so you just have to ride down the road with the cars and it's scary.

[@Alex-od7nl]

As a cyclist, I don't hate scooters. I hate scooter rental companies.

[@venkate5hgunda]

e-Bikes are a much more efficient and safe mode of transport than e-Scooters. They need less energy because of pedal assist, and the users are in a more comfortable stance, so they can ride longer distances.

[@bryanpascual3543]

e-bikes are also more useful on hilly terrain. with pedal assist, you get a little bit of exercise but not sweaty on the way to work

[@saynotop2w]

amen

[@PatrikKron]

I think e-bikes are better in many ways, but not all. Scooters take up less space when parked, thus making room for more of them and they are much cheeper to buy. Where I live the cheepest electric bike is twice the price of a quality electric scooter, and reasonable electric bikes are almost double the price of the entry level e-bike. If you have a multi-part commute. Where you have a train ride in the middle but need the bike/scooter on both sides the e-scooter is also much easier to transport (and it’s more likely you are allowed to bring it, and without a extra cost). That being said. E-bikes are more comfortable to ride, cover longer distances (i think), are (although cumbersome) possible to use with a dead battery, safer, quicker (at least with the laws in my area) and (slightly) harder to steal (if left outside).

[@StealthyDead]

Clutter and safety are the biggest issues. I've lived in two college towns where these things are EVERYWHERE. And not only are they left in places where it blocks sidewalks and lanes of traffic in parking lots, I've had to slam on my breaks multiple times for people not following stop signs or traffic signals with them. And since they're on a scooter and I'm in a car, they'd probably die if I hit them. Or at least be seriously injured. These things need to be regulated and there needs to be serious education given to the public on how to use them. Because at the present moment, it seems they're not going away.

[@itsliam4905]

I agree there should be more understanding on the operation of scooters.

[@theguy8412]

We need to remove a car lane and add an e-lane then!

[@PatrikKron]

I also think we need another way of pricing the ride. At a high cost per minute it gives incentive to drive quicker (and more recklessly).

[@LERJizz]

I love using e-scooters when I am in DC and cities that have them. These are, to my believe, possible solutions to the current problems: • Road safety: Draw bike/scooter lanes in between the sidewalk and the off street parking (if it fits). If not, designate a section off a lane for scooters and bikes and paint them bright green so drivers can easily identify them. All is needed is about 3 feet in width for adequate space. • Personal injury: Encourage users to wear helmets while riding e-scooters. Make helmets affordable through some government - company assisted programs. • Cluttering: Designate places each block to park e-scooters. For example, in every other intersection, remove one or two parking spots and designate that parking as a e-schooner, e-bike, or personal bike parking spot. Make sure the signs are easily identifiable and that barriers are installed to prevent cars from using it as a car parking spot. This way people could stop leaving scooters on the sidewalks. I myself think that’s so annoying and disrespectful. People need a safe sidewalk free of clutter, specially people on wheelchairs. • Charging stations: Since designated parking is possible, incentivize companies to invest in charging stations in the same newly designated e-scooter parking spots. This way scooters are always charged and not just laying unchanged on the side. • Side walk incidents: As we know, pedestrian can be injured if riders use the sidewalk instead of the designated lanes or roads. But also, injuries are more commonly seen at night when cars collide with scooter. A possible solution would be to ban scooter using the sidewalk rides during the day time when the side walks are the busiest but only allow e-scooters to use sidewalks at night because the sidewalks are not as busy and the roads at night are more dangerous. These are easily obtainable solutions that could help the growth of these companies, people coexisting with this new way of transportation, and safety. That’s just my opinion. What do you guys think???

[@theobrigham]

Given the US has been able to embrace bikes for 100 years, its probably going to take a while (and not be cheap) to install cycle/scooter lanes everywhere.

[@kwadwothestan]

This is excellent. You’ve laid out a great solution strategy in a KZbin comment. If only the city government and these companies were willing to take the energy and time and money to plan, these issues could easily be solved.

[@PatrikKron]

I think 3 feet is too slim for an unprotected bike/scooter-lane. Especially on roads with higher speed. Otherwise I think your idea is good.

[@LERJizz]

@@PatrikKron I agree but it’s better than nothing. The car drivers will argue agains taking space from driving lanes. It’s about finding a happy medium where we all can agree until we can adopt a culture is using bikes, electric scooters, and safety.

[@olioli4335]

The two main concerns here are safety and blocked sidewalks. To make it safer, it's protected bike or in this case scooter lanes and for blocked side walks: make it mandatory to return scooters to a certain space. Just make one parking spot per block a designated parking spot for rental scooters and companies can make sure you can't lock your scooter anywhere else. Thoughts?

[@koenven7012]

In Antwerp they now have installed a geolocation system in the rental scooters so that they only lock in certain areas. So as long as you don't park in that area, the meter keeps running and charging you.

[@mikea5745]

Perfectly reasonable suggestions. We have tons of parking spaces for cars, and we can fit 10-20x more scooters per parking space. Protected bike lanes are necessary due to how dangerous cars are

[@arturodelarosa4394]

Perfectly reasonable, but TBH the arguments are ridiculous to begin with. Cars block like 6 square meters and we are fine with that. Also you can move a scooter if it's in your way, you cant really move a car. And as for safety. Even at it's worst they are still 15 times safer that cars for the rider and like 60 times safer for pedestrian, while it could be better, by that logic you should ban cars or even motorcycles who are like 80 times less safe. It's just dumb.

[@matthewboyd8689]

Americans: escooters destroy the athletics of our city Meanwhile: parking taking up more land than the business itself, extending walking distance to not be walkable

[@MathGPT]

You mean aesthetics?

[@justrandomthings319]

@@MathGPT "athletics". 😂

[@matthewboyd8689]

@@MathGPT I can't believe I missed that (I won't edit for laughs)

[@megapangolin1093]

@@MathGPT No, I am sure he means that if you ride a scooter you won't be very athletic as there is no exercise value in riding a scooter (well I am sure he thinks that).

[@kimberleemodel7182]

​@@megapangolin1093more athletic than a car but a lot less than a bike. You're standing, you have to push/kick every now and again, and keeping balance on a bumpy road takes a lot of effort.

[@andrewozzy]

One model that I really like is the Biki Bike in Hawaii. They need to be returned to a bike rack after each use where most of these scooters are just thrown down and discarded. It requires a hefty upfront card authorization but once returned to a bike rack the authorization is refunded.

[@ropro9817]

Only 3% of the emergency room visits were by pedestrians involved in e-scooter accidents? And how many pedestrians were injured in e-scooter accidents that _didn't_ go to the emergency room? 🙄

[@anupjsebastian]

This is Finland so people will generally go if they are injured as all healthcare is publicly funded and is free at the point of service. Also unlike in America, they legally get time off in case they are injured as well. Which is why it is in the cities’ best interest to reduce healthcare costs by improving safety of citizens. But yeah living in America I would think twice before I went to the doctor because of how insanely expensive it is.

[@anupjsebastian]

Scooters are also generally safe for pedestrians. Amsterdam has a lot of mixed use spaces which forces people to be careful as people come from all directions but are quite safe as you cannot go fast on a scooter and have to pay attention. The real issue is cars. I can bet a huge portion of the rest of the 97 percent of injuries would be collisions with cars.

[@Thedeathdump]

I would say the majority of e scooter accidents are the result of unsafe lane and lack of dedicated bike/ scooter lanes. As a biker, it’s scary as hell biking down a busy road that has no side walk, or a sidewalk that is too busy to bike on, while cars are fly past at 45+ mph

[@kameroncallahan5702]

Also scooters are a more efficient way to view a city you’re traveling to. I visited Denver in 2019 and we ditched the car and only rode scooters as it was affordable and enjoyable riding and exploring the city. I live in San Francisco and ride my own everyday to work and back. It’s very enjoyable! Thanks Unagi for my monthly subscription.

[@ronkirk5099]

One of the problems with e-scooters is that a small percentage of riders/renters abuse the privilege by riding fast and reckless around pedestrians and leaving them parked improperly blocking roads and sidewalks at the end of the rental. This ruins it for responsible users.

[@kimberleemodel7182]

As for parking, I don't get why they can't just pass on the fine to the last rider who put it there.

[@znail4675]

@@kimberleemodel7182 They need legal authority to do that. The city police could handle it just be asking the company who the user was, but it's easier for them to just fine the company.

[@zen1647]

In Melbourne, Australia, about 80% of e-scooter riders break the law. I've been tracking them.

[@arturodelarosa4394]

Perhaps, but even if all of them did this, it would not compare to the problems car create. Scooter accidents fatality is non-existent compared to cars, they might block a sidewalk but you can always move them, when cars block infrastructure, there is nothing you can do. And you can place like 20 scooters in the space a single car takes. There is no comparison. The fact that governments feel the need to regulate because of this is at best incongruent, or down right nonsensical

[@znail4675]

@@arturodelarosa4394 Most of the scooter accidents involve only them as they crash into something. The fatalities involve cars as usual.

[@be4unvme]

Ebike, escooters should be encouraged. They're great for traffic. You save tons of money and you can park anywhere.

[@megapangolin1093]

Ebikes, yes, eScooters, no, dangerous, and used on the sidewalk, yes they can be left on the sidewalk and in public places to cause injury. Very responsible.

[@_Digitalguy]

@@megapangolin1093 biased opinion, they shouldn't be allowed to be left on sidewalks and danger is similar to bikes

[@BenDurham]

@@megapangolin1093 less dangerous than cars and trucks!

[@mikea5745]

@@megapangolin1093 Cars are by far the most dangerous. Let's ban those, then talk about banning less dangerous things like scooters

[@nnedi5971]

A lot of people don't realize, but the trick with the e-scooters is to buy an hourly pass. Those are cheaper than just riding them and being charged per minute. I use them all the time in DC when I am in a rush or running errands (when I don't feel like biking) and they are somewhat of a cheaper alternative over Ubering.

[@jessealice7137]

People need to stop complaining this is a way of transportation I use one for work and it has saved me alot of money in gas and train fair along with time wasted standing in stations . we have cars parked in bike lanes so yeah… let’s try fixing that and we can stay in our lane .

[@robertlunderwood]

Scooters are plentiful in my area. I normally use them to go to the store, restaurants nearby, or occasionally to a subway station if the bus is too far away. I tend to stick to side roads, bike paths, and trails whenever possible and park responsibly.

[@smoxesss]

buy your own stop being foolish

[@RogueHetero]

They’re great for reducing emissions and traffic in cities as pointed out in this video. I don’t think we should do away with them but just introduce more safety measures like docking stations for the scooters to charge and reduce clutter/tipping over issue, 10MPH regulators, and limit availability after 10pm (as most injuries occur in late night hours). To make this industry closer to profitability these companies should look into advertising space on their scooters or said potential docking stations.

[@Zerospacedude]

10mph limiters? Thats jogging speed.

[@RogueHetero]

@@Zerospacedude Yupp. These are short commuters in densely populated cities not drag racers. If safety is the concern limit speeds to reduce risk of accidents and severity of injuries should an accident occur.

[@megapangolin1093]

Walking reduces the emissions to zero, so don't get fat on a scooter, get fit walking, or running.

[@RogueHetero]

@@megapangolin1093 I mean you’re not wrong but that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t have the option to get around faster and not have to arrive to their destination dripping in sweat. If anything a more robust public transit system is a stronger argument against e-scooter rentals.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

Getting them off sidewalks and car roads would probably resolve a lot of safety issues.

[@theotheleo6830]

The problem I have with these is with the idiots who insist on endangering pedestrians by riding on sidewalks and at unsafe speeds, as well as the constant destruction and vandalism of these scooters by mainly unhoused idiots who steal the batteries and motorized wheels, then leave the debris on the sidewalks.

[@mikea5745]

The fundamental problem is that sidewalks are safer than streets. Cars are incredibly dangerous and drive at dangerous speeds through cities. A scooter on the sidewalk might cause broken bones in the case of a collision, but a car crashing into a scooter on the street can be fatal. It is fundamentally that cars have forced all other transportation onto a small sidewalk We need protected bike lanes. Never seen a scooter on the sidewalk when they have a protected lane to ride in

[@MrRelevance02]

This is why it should be kept to personal brought scooter to prevent those who don’t treat them properly

[@wacosta1003]

This is all really good información considering I’m a E-scooter user myself however whoever edited this video needs to keep in mind same audio levels throughout the length of the video. It was pretty annoying having to adjusting volume levels

[@visitken]

Agreed. And the narrator needs to slow down. Not everyone watching this is a native English speaker.

[@computersales]

I wish there were more penalties for people leaving them wherever they please.

[@CDN_Store]

E-scooters were taking off in the uk till they were banned. The complaint about how e-scooters are sometimes left on the pavement is fair but these are rentals as private owners surely wouldn't leave their scooter on the street like that. E-scooters are the mist affordable means of zero local emission private transport but our government has pushed people back into previous forms of transport so they can push rental scooters. To me to increae safety it would make sense to make it mandatory to take a compulsory basic training course and pass. In the uk you have to have a drivers license (or provisional license) to rent an e-scooter but that doesn't mean you'd be any safer than specific training to understand the hazards of a two wheel vehicle.

[@blooskyy7]

I believe the shared escooter model has contributed significantly to the negative perception from the general public, they clutter up the pathways and drive up the negative statistics. Essentially these businesses are all about profit. e-scooters should be personally owned.

[@invalidaccount2315]

ya imagine me parking my fleet of rental cars on the sidewalk in front of your business, but they all have flat tires, yet at the same time the city complains because i want to have a sign painted on the eaves of my building to say hey public, im open.

[@CB1ZZLE]

I love them because it’s instant transportation almost anywhere in the city. Problem…. There’s this one brand where the accelerator gets stuck. I almost drove into traffic after breaking. I also stopped once and it kept going and flew in the air with me luckily still holding on.

[@localnyraccoon]

"Others are complaining about how they clutter sidewalks" Giant parking lots full of cars and street parked cars everywhere:

[@kameroncallahan5702]

I can also say, getting around San Francisco is way easier and faster than driving. I used to drive for Lyft and on my scooter I can get across the city in 10 minutes, in a car it usually takes 30.

[@sunday8979]

We need more motorized vehicles that can be easily accessed by drunk people. Keeping drunk people out of cars will greatly improve safety

[@Mgameing123]

I got one! The night bus!

[@TheSpanishInquisition87]

I own an e-scooter and I love it! All of the problems addressed in this article are the result of the rental model, and not a shortcoming of scooters alone.

[@SavioureG]

I went to town on my motorcycle, rode past a lot of idiots on e-scooters who use the road instead of the cycle lane, rode past a couple of places with e-scooter riders running red lights, rode past a couple of places where e-scooter riders carry passengers (scooter are not made to carry two people...), the last straw for me was when I was looking for a specific motorcycle parking spot an idiot decided to park their e scooter there and take up the space. Sorry those services either need to be banned or implement a registration system where if users break some EUGs they get fined for it, similar to car sharing, it would solve sooooo many issues and reduce the number of irresponsible users by a huge amount (but then again those companies probably think less users = bad).

[@RossGoneRogue]

I get the same thing too. I've gotten the talk too about "haha we call those donor-cycles" from the same people that ride an e bike or an e scooter with just a half helmet on while I wear full gear on a motorcycle and have a license to operate one. I don't even think regulation is good enough for rental scooters and they should just be banned. I have a feeling though that if people bought their own e scooter they probably wouldn't want to trash it or leave it somewhere it shouldn't be.

[@TheResidance]

BUILD👏MORE👏BIKE👏LANES👏 Also it's kinda rich hearing drivers complain about litter considering how much of our roads are taken up by their cars...

[@avina84]

Roads originally were made for cars and other heavy duty vehicles, why won't they be taken by cars.

[@mikea5745]

@@avina84 Roads weren't originally made for cars. Originally public roads were for all sorts of transportation; street cars, pedestrians, bicyclists, and especially horses. It wasn't until the 1920's when auto manufacturers invented jay walking and forced all other traffic off roads

[@TheResidance]

@@mikea5745 exactly. We've had roads and streets for thousands of years and they have only been exclusively used for cars in the last 100. And look how well that's going...

[@cboyardee]

The more scooters/cyclists/public transportation users = less traffic to get stuck in for drivers

[@StealthyDead]

And more idiots not following traffic laws to hit on the road

[@itsliam4905]

@@StealthyDead as if drivers are innocent and following all traffic laws. By their nature lighter vehicles are inherently safer than a car for other road users. If you hit a pedestrian at 20 miles per hour in a car they are very likely to either die or get heavily injured due to the mas of the vehicle. These lighter vehicles inherently have less force on impact and are thus safer in any scenario.

[@itsliam4905]

It is important to note; yes 89% of the voters that showed in Paris did vote to ban them - but less than 10% of residents actually voted.

[@avina84]

It is a presumption that other 90% will vote in the favor of the e-scooters. Besides that if it is important to them they should had come to vote.

[@itsliam4905]

@@avina84 I understand that but IMO it is still misleading to not mention this. Additionally it was mostly non-users of the rental services who voted (mostly older people) so it is not the best reflection of the entire population.

[@saynotop2w]

The French are known for their sense of liberty but unfortunately they too don’t care to vote for things that directly concern them

[@dodgelandesman]

Ironically, these escooter probably place best in smaller cities or former big ones losing population and tourism. I remember visoting Corpus Christi, TX with my dog and used one. Left car parked for the three days. Many happy memories of my dog chasing me on the scooter along the beach.

[@jonyu9333]

A true e-scooter solution would be better PEV infrastructure as many has pointed out, safe from cars and pedestrians. Parking can be solved by vertical trolley wheels, think trolley bag which is always with you and has low footprint area usage. Also, users must not unlock the safety (speed) limit; those things does wonders.

[@batsnsushi]

I bought my own personal e scooter with safety gear. I can't wait for the infrastructures to change to accommodate to this new way of commuting.

[@imadsarrakhi8021]

It is a new reality that needs to be dealt with and helped to grow safely . It got to be made available for everyone everywhere

[@PostprandialTorpor]

I like how scooter owners get lumped in with rental companies that treat them like disposable property and renters abuse them.

[@StormsandSaugeye]

I for one enjoy just throwing my scooter I paid 1500 dollars for down on the ground like it's someone elses problem /s

[@totoroben]

Electric kick scooters are great for combining with transit because they fold up small and you can take them into your office and charge at your desk, but if you're doing the whole journey, electric bicycle will be much better.

[@austinhernandez2716]

The solution is just people buying their own personal scooters, not renting them everyday.

[@l.ls.8890]

Hell No!! Here in Tampabay you find these escooters in all states of disuse, disrepair, and oftentimes at the bottom of the bay. Big taxpayers expense extricating this pollution waste from the environment. In addition, there several near misses by automobiles and people when these things are driven on the sidewalk by ignorant individuals. Imagine walking out of your building only to have some idiot wiz by almost kocking you over possible injuring you.

[@anthmend]

For the main reasons bird tanks in my honest opinion it's because they required that I submit a photo of my driver's license which was a no-go I shouldn't need a driver's license to ride an electric scooter lime didn't require that so I use lime a lot.

[@mikea5745]

4:40 They incorrectly state e-scooters emit 200g of CO2 per mile traveled, which is not correct. The actual amount is closer to 50g. If you google it, one of the first results is a Verge article which states the incorrect 200g number and 400g for cars. Clearly they just grabbed the first result they saw and never verified. Very poor research from CNBC

[@Supreme-gu1jz]

The clutter part is where the weakness in the e schoolers is. If local business like parking garages etc would help to house the scooters instead of on the sidewalk there would be less issues. Maybe the price would go up but things could improve.

[@TheNiteinjail]

The rental scooters are good to get a LOT of people to try em... some of those who try em will buy a PEV ... ebike/kickscoot/EUC. Every one of those is one less car on the road.

[@liamhodgson]

Reminder that transit should not be profitable and if it is there’s a fundamental level of service problem

[@enzuojohn3540]

If transit is not profitable and it's necessary then it's government's job, that's what the tax should go

[@LexlutherVII]

The government don't spend majority of our tax money on us, But they waste it on useless things, such as wars, gamble etc

[@ingislakur]

Reminder that it is your personal opinion and doesn't have any meaning for the rest of us.

[@liamhodgson]

@@ingislakur *professional opinion*

[@holmiumh]

@@liamhodgson Ever been to Japan? Maybe you can at least look at their numbers. Japanese rails are normally profitable and they are expected to be profitable. Please build your professional opinion based on a successful model instead of insisting on operating on a failing model and force the cost down the tax payers throat.

[@JRemyScoots]

Scooter clutter can't be a hard fix.. If someone rents a scooter charge them a $50 fine if the scooter they rented isn't placed in a reasonable area when they are done.

[@jameshuang1458]

The fact that banning these new things due to accidents and injuries is just crazy. Car accidents happen everyday, I don't see anyone saying we should ban cars all together

[@DenKrauten]

In my area a bird scooter costs something like $23/hr

[@kimberleemodel7182]

For the at night collisions, I'd recommend that scooter riders clip a blinker on their back to increase their visibility. I keep a bike light strapped to my purse (cross body strap) for this.

[@forumboss2620]

Paris without cars. Good luck. As a Motorcyclist for 40 years I can tell you many of these scooter riders are completely unsafe - running red lights, knocking people over on sidewalks, and so many of the young users are listening to headphones, making the ride even more risky. This is one more trend that will get people to disfavor urban living and move elsewhere. As the scooter deaths and fines increase, society will recognize this as mostly a dumb fad.

[@RossGoneRogue]

The "Paris without cars" thing wasn't explained in this video. Paris is 'banning' cars in about a 15 minute circle around their downtown area only; even then, they're only banning thru traffic (so if you live there or are delivering food or are public transit, you're still allowed in).

[@KingDavid-jj7tk]

We are faced with fresh issues every day. It now serves as the norm. We initially mistook it for a crisis, but now we recognize it as a new normal to which we must adjust. What might be done to increase income during the quantitative adjustment as 2023 so far seems to be a year of great economic suffering across the country?I can't allow my $680,000 in savings to disappear after all of my hard work.

[@stevensmiddlemass2072]

@Lloyd Bernard How can I count with Stacie, what are her services, is she verifiable, do you think she can help me, I live in Canada?

[@Mangotropic]

My portfolio consists of $680,000 of 🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆

[@cc_das_me]

San Diego has done a great job of geo fencing scooter usage and parking. They redesignated regular car parking spaces for shared emobility vehicles too which is great because you can fit more than 10 scooters in the space of one car! Now if only we could get designated infrastructure like protected bike/scooter lanes so you're not riding between cars... baby steps i guess

[@johndoe-cd9vt]

french guy here, Paris's vote was for the public scooters not those owned by the people

[@stephenj2014]

I HATE Escooter rental companies but I love Escooters, we just need better education and the infrastructure to use them. North Americans are addicted to cars and the car companies lobby the government hard to keep it that way My Electric scooter is so good it's replaced my car for commuting to work and running errands it's such an amazing quality of life device

[@donovandelaney3171]

They need to bring back the Sinclair C5 bikes.

[@DSAhmed]

I'm sick of hearing that these things are dangerous. No. a tiny injury at best, but a fatal injury only happens with cars. Bikes and scooters are NOT dangerous. Cars are Dangerous.

[@mrbobbilly2]

scooters are for kids

[@kevinmanan1304]

People who say Uber prices are cheaper: those Uber prices are dynamic and if you need a ride in rush hour that Uber ride can be as much as 300% (3x more). It’s good to have options.

[@yocobicus]

I'm trying to figure out why everything has to be E-something. Whatever happened to manpower just a scooter, what about a skateboard/longboard, a regular bicycle, and rollerblades/roller skates? Why are we paying corporate America for gym membership and easier conveniences for travel to and from? The problem I have with “Device share programs” is China has already proven. It doesn't matter what device they had a bicycle program, where it was easier to produce another bike than it was to transport, protect, and relocate. Which relocating “Bird” is doing a pretty good job at. But then saying that the scooters are then also cutting emissions is kind of outlandish. Just like the recycling industry. Regardless of all that the biggest issue I have is the placement people are expected to have common courtesy when they're done and put it in a place where someone else is not going to trip on it. Which unfortunately common sense is not too common, or I feel they're strategically placed at more of an angle, so you have to walk around one to try and to entice you to use one. Which is just getting in people's way, so they have to zigzag around these scooters.

[@mikea5745]

Everything is electric because the US built car-centric infrastructure that makes the average trip length very long. US cities are very inefficiently spaced out, and Americans no longer have regular exercise as part of their daily life. The barrier of entry for walking or biking is too high in most areas, hence electric options. It's a good stopgap while cities become more pedestrian friendly and less car-centric My city converted some on-street car parking to scooter parking and it entirely solved the scooter parking issue. It's really a non-issue if a city wants to solve it

[@doujinflip]

Nowadays China has gotten their dockless bikeshare programs down pretty well now that it's consolidated down to just 3 companies (Meituan, Hellobike, and Didi). Although having double-width sidewalks, subsidized cellular data, and an army of cheap workers driving maintenance trucks of all sizes helps a lot too.

[@unserrano]

I didn’t understand the concept. I just bought an E Bike and love it. I use it to go and back from work $$ no fuel cost.

[@Just-SomeGuy]

Apart from everything said in the video, you have to consider the amount of people who would normally walk, are now not getting any exercise. Eventually that leads to a greater impact on the healthcare system. At least with e-bikes you have to pedal to get the electric assist.

[@johnyboyproduction]

I purchased an electric scooter last April seeing the crazy gas prices and wanted to have a more environmentally commute to work. I've put over 3000km on it (instead of my gasoline sedan). I'm having so much fun getting to work (and saving a lot on gas too!)

[@paulainsworth7882]

Fragmented video mostly only talking about rentable E-Scooters. I love my E-Scooter, they are great for short commutes if their is bike lane infrastructure where you live.

[@mythoti]

Responsible riding and respect for pedestrians should be flat out law, that said e-vehicles of any kind should literally have the same access as a wheelchair if the fit reasonable specifications and treat pedestrians and pedestrian traveled pathways with their due caution

[@ElJorro]

I loved these in Dallas before they got banned. Now they are back!

[@cowser67]

I didn’t even use a car when I visited DC. I was there for 2 days and used scooters and spends only $50 the whole time. I loved it.

[@truthiscensored]

Fun Fact: Regular pedal bikes/bicycles are NOT allowed on side walks. There are reasons it is called a SIDE-WALK. Same reason there are BIKE LANES So if regular Bicycles, skateboards aren't allowed on sidewalks, what make people think a motorized bike, scooter, skateboard, EUC is allowed.

[@HDsharp]

Scooters with small wheels are really bad for your knee joints if used for more then 30mins.

[@jazzman7167]

Death on wheels. I work in a hospital. Fact!

[@davidcantor293]

Certain cities like Seattle are VERY bike/scooter lane friendly. I am not a fan of the scooter share due to the clutter but am all for independent scooter ownership.

[@MatthewWunderlich]

Maybe “very” for North America, but you should see what a city that’s not built around cars looks like.

[@Koraka_ARandomGuy]

I am impressed, very well researched and very well done short documentary! I did not expect that from CNBC - the guys which where responsible for it should get a bonus, the full team! 😄

[@Anonymous-sb9rr]

The problem is not the e-scooters themselves, but that rideshare rentals. Rideshare bicycles have a lot of the same problems. For some reason this video assumes e-scooters are shared.

[@pbardon3965]

They lay all over my town 🤷‍♀️ I have no idea how it even works.

[@emtydoctrine]

Yes, reduce the number of cars by any means necessary. Invoke a car tax, increase registration costs, tolls, insurance, car prices, gas, etc. With a growing / overpopulated society, the number of aggressive drivings are increasing and causing much more harm. Cars isn't feasible as a Public option to the masses into the future. We need to start now!

[@Anonymous-sb9rr]

E-scooters can use bicycle infrastructure in places that have that. The humble bicycle, the original micro-mobility vehicle.

[@kylechristiancanoy2369]

The only problem that i see with e-scooters are those businesses who makes 100km/h e-scooters, unregulated.