Posted on 06/03/2019 5:17:53 AM PDT by 4Runner
Can you park e-scooters anywhere?
No, and it's causing serious issues in some cities. It's led to the situation being dubbed Scootergeddon, Scooterpocalypse, and Scooter Wars. San Francisco authorities have begun confiscating illegally parked e-scooters, issuing citations, and sending out cease-and-desist orders as of April 2018. It also kicked e-scooters off the streets on 4 June, but the city doesn't want to ban them. It wants to control them.
Part of the problem also stems from these e-scooter companies not following the rules or working with US cities to get permits. In Nashville, Tennessee, the city recently delivered an ultimatum to Bird: Remove all scooters from public rights-of-way in Nashville or the government will seize and impound all scooters that it finds unattended on a city street, sidewalk, park, greenway, or other public area.
Following a number of high-profile accidents, legislation around scooters is likely to tighten.
(Excerpt) Read more at pocket-lint.com ...
“Following a number of high-profile accidents, legislation around scooters is likely to tighten.”
An Uber driver in Austin told me that Austin hospitals treat on average 77 scooter accidents a week.
How do e-scooters work?
Bird
Download the Bird app for iOS.
Create a login with your email address.
A map in the app will show you any nearby e-scooters (called Birds).
Zoom in to see more detail - like each scooter’s battery charge.
Before you grab e-scooter, add your credit card (Settings > Payments).
When you find an e-scooter, near you, you tap the button to unlock it.
The app asks you to snap a photo of the scooter’s QR code.
On your first rental, you may need to scan your driver’s license.
To start the e-scooter, you kick off three times, then push the throttle button.
You squeeze with the right hand to accelerate and brake with the left.
When done, park by a bike rack and don’t block public pathways.
To end the ride, open the app and tap the button to lock the scooter.
The app will show you the ride time cost.
Go here to see Bird’s tutorial.
Lime
Download the Lime app for iOS or Android.
Create a login with your phone number or Facebook.
A map in the app will show you any nearby e-scooters (called Lime-S)
Zoom in to see more detail - like each scooter’s battery charge.
Before you grab e-scooter, add your credit card (Profile > Wallet).
When you find an e-scooter, near you, you tap the button to unlock it.
The app asks you to snap a photo of the scooter’s QR code.
On your first rental, you may need to scan your driver’s license.
To start the e-scooter, step on, kick forward, then push the throttle button.
You press down on the right to accelerate and squeeze brake on the left.
When done, park by a bike rack and don’t block public pathways.
To end the ride, open the app and tap the button to lock the scooter.
The app will show you the ride time cost.
Go here to see Lime’s tutorial.
Spin
Download the Spin app for iOS or Android.
Create a login with your email address or Facebook.
A map in the app will show you any nearby e-scooters.
Zoom in to see more detail - like each scooter’s battery charge.
Before you grab e-scooter, add your credit card (Profile > Account).
When you find an e-scooter, near you, you tap the button to scan it.
The app asks you to snap a photo of the scooter’s QR code.
On your first rental, you may need to scan your driver’s license.
To start the e-scooter, step on, kick forward, then push the throttle button.
You press down on the right to accelerate and squeeze brake on the left.
When done, park by a bike rack and don’t block public pathways.
To end the ride, open the app and tap the button to lock the scooter.
The app will show you the ride time cost.
Go here to see Spin’s tutorial.
Bolt
Download the Bolt app for iOS or Android.
Create a login with your email address.
A map in the app will show you any nearby e-scooters.
Zoom in to see more detail - like each scooter’s battery charge.
Before you grab e-scooter, add your credit card (Payment > Add new card).
When you find an e-scooter, near you, you tap go to navigate to it.
Hit the Ride button in the app and scan the scooter’s QR code.
To start the e-scooter, step on, kick forward, then push down the throttle button.
You press down on the right to accelerate and squeeze brake on the left.
When done, park by a bike rack and don’t block public pathways. The app will highlight areas you can’t park.
To end the ride, open the app and tap the button to lock the scooter.
The app will show you the ride time cost.
Can children use e-scooters?
No. You must be over the age of 18, have a valid driver’s license, and can only ride one person at a time.
How much does it cost to rent an e-scooter?
Bird: $1 plus 15 cents per minute
Lime: $1 plus 15 cents per minute
Spin: $1 plus 15 cents per minute
Bolt: $1 plus 15 cents per minute
They’re GPS/wifi connected so basically you pay 15 cents a minute to be tracked some more.
Figures it would be SanFran.
Do they have to be “e-scooters”? Who calls them e-scooters? We just call them scooters. Does this mean gas-powered scooters are OK?
The first time we encountered these types of scooters was in San Diego last summer. While walking on a sidewalk, we were nearly hit by one passing within inches of my right arm. They are dangerous, as the people who rent them don’t follow basic safety. After that first encounter, we have seen them flourish in many communities near us. They aren’t much regulated and the renters aren’t much cognisant of the pedestrians they are terrorizing.
Bird, Lime, Spin...sounds like diseases.
ML/NJ
There are two kinds of scooter users: those with physical challenges who can’t get around comfortably and those too fat and lazy to get around.
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