Interesting read about cheap, rentable e-scooters and the Repo man

I was recently in Seattle and was shocked by the number of bike share bikes just strewn about town. Just used and thrown down wherever. If I had to guess, I'd say they might be treated with a little more respect on the streets of Europe?

Big Bird wrote:

I was recently in Seattle and was shocked by the number of bike share bikes just strewn about town. Just used and thrown down wherever. If I had to guess, I'd say they might be treated with a little more respect on the streets of Europe?

Nope, in Warsaw right now and the sidewalks are flooded with them, many lying flat on the ground or blocking the way, riders fly by on the sidewalks... People are inconsiderate everywhere...

Yeah- saw this in Dallas last winter- couldn't believe it. My opinion is bike share or scooter share programs need to have a docking system that requires you to return it to the storage area. B-Cycle is ride share program that operates this way and cities with that program don't seem to have this issue. You don't bring the bike back- you buy it. Keeps people accountable.

They need to be permitted by the cities to control the numbers. I am not against them, but they have flooded the market with no regulation and become a nuisance. A docking system like the Ford bike sharing company would also work well and could be handled as part of the permitting process.

On another note, I am surprised that they guys impounding and beat up by the Lime workers have not asked for Lime company emails. I guarantee somebody inside Lime authorized the breaking and entering for retrieval.

If you've never read about it or seen these photos it's worth a look. This is my favorite image.



https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/03/bike-share-oversupply-in-china-huge-piles-of-abandoned-and-broken-bicycles/556268/

The fall out from trying to be the largest entity is gnarly.

This makes me sad. Being an enthusiastic cyclist I feel like I should support bikesharing, but I haven't even tried it yet. Maybe because I like cycling so much that I have a bicycle for almost everything. That may sound snobbish but is more a result of being very attached to every bike I own and the process of becoming the cyclist I am today. From the first hard-earned cc-fully via the carbon trail-bike for the weekly rides and races with toetpping intoo dh and dj to push my personal limits - or establish them - to the family E-waggon lately for commuting the kids to kindergarten and a rotten rig for the daily ride to work. So I kind of have my own "stockpile" of bikes. Plus the ones for the kids. But I couldn't dispose any of them. I mean who could. Who, who relives the joy that the first self-sufficient pedaling gave them whenever they sit on a bycicle?
Hence I draw my conclusion that people who make a living out of bikesharing as a business model do that just do make a living. Not because of a passion for the idea of "cycles turning cycles" or a greener environment or sustainabilty.
I mean, is this business even self sufficient? Who disposes all this thrown away bikes. Who allows them to use and pollute public space. Who pays for all this stockpiles and piling.
I know I do for mine.
So is there a need for bikesharing at all or is it just the most recent marketing scam? Why don't we just buy the bikes that we use? And use them! And recycle after. Thinking about - I just might have a bike for you - any bike, anyone?

Good article, and the ScootScoop people seem to be realistic about some of the problems. I was in Venice with some family a few months back, and the scooters there were kinda hard to believe. Left everywhere, and some of the people on them were not very stable. I'd totally see it as a risk for safety of other people on sidewalks.