Bird & Lime Scooters - City Shared Electric Scooters

[12Nole]

Any of you guys & gals riding these around in your city? I've used them in Austin, DC, Atlanta, and Charlotte.They are fantastic...easy to use and cheap way to get around town. They are becoming very popular especially in college towns but Tallahassee/Florida State University doesn't have them yet. I am hoping some of the right people on this board who live and work for the city or school sees this thread and can start getting the word around. I've put the links to both companies below and a video of how easy it is to use.

https://www.li.me

https://www.bird.co



A few College Towns already using shared electric scooters:
Austin, TX - University of TX
Athens, GA - University of Georgia
Columbia, MO - University of Missouri
Norman, OK - University of Oklahoma
Columbus, OH - Ohio State University
Orlando, FL - University of Central Florida
Raleigh, NC - NC State
South Bend, IN - Notre Dame

 

[ReliableOstrich]

They’re everywhere in Santa Monica.

 

[12Nole]

They’re everywhere in Santa Monica.

Do you scoot, bro?

 

[RunRonnieRun]

Love them. Great last mile commute option and also just fun to fool around on. I was on a business trip in Memphis a couple months ago and took one all over. It was great for sightseeing - I went lots of places that would have been too far to walk but not far enough to Uber.

 

[NDallasRuss]

I haven't used them, but I'm familiar with them in DC and Baltimore. I think they make a lot of sense for people in the city looking to get around or run a quick errand that may be inconvenient to talk.

In DC though, I wonder how profitable they can be? I've seen a lot of instances where tourists in DC let their kids use unattended scooters like they were a toy - crawling all over them, trying to make them go, toppling them over - anything to occupy their kids' attention for 10 minutes so they don't have to entertain them. That's got to cause a lot more wear and tear than they were designed to endure.

 

[OrlandNole]

I haven't used them, but I'm familiar with them in DC and Baltimore. I think they make a lot of sense for people in the city looking to get around or run a quick errand that may be inconvenient to talk.

In DC though, I wonder how profitable they can be? I've seen a lot of instances where tourists in DC let their kids use unattended scooters like they were a toy - crawling all over them, trying to make them go, toppling them over - anything to occupy their kids' attention for 10 minutes so they don't have to entertain them. That's got to cause a lot more wear and tear than they were designed to endure.

The bigger problem is that they clutter the landscape - people just leave them anywhere and they end up blocking sidewalks business entrances, etc.

The other issue is that they attract scores of inexperienced users who ride them in the sidewalks and without helmets - which is a safety and operational issue. Even when operated in bicycle lanes, where they are intended to be, the create conflict issues because they operate at higher speeds.

They are definitely a big piece of the urban mobility puzzle, but have some growing pains to overcome.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

The bigger problem is that they clutter the landscape - people just leave them anywhere and they end up blocking sidewalks business entrances, etc.

The other issue is that they attract scores of inexperienced users who ride them in the sidewalks and without helmets - which is a safety and operational issue. Even when operated in bicycle lanes, where they are intended to be, the create conflict issues because they operate at higher speeds.

They are definitely a big piece of the urban mobility puzzle, but have some growing pains to overcome.

Santa Monica now has separate bike lanes and scooter lanes to avoid riders of each from blowing their vape pen smoke in each others' faces.

I agree that there's a bit of urban planning that needs to take place for safety, logistics, and aesthetics, and I'm sure will gradually happen.

Also agree that it is a piece of the mobility puzzle. Can't just have a whole city full of folks riding around in cars and ubers. In NYC our sidewalks are already pretty crowded with pedestrians but traffic here is a nightmare, and gotten worse w/ the boom of Uber/Lyft. These scooters, with a dedicated lane, would be a game changer. Just gotta find some designated parking, not dissimilar from Citibike stations that already exist. Would make getting around easier and reduce emissions. Win-win.

 

[BelemNole]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bird-scooter-vandalism-20180809-story.html

 

[NDallasRuss]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bird-scooter-vandalism-20180809-story.html

I think this shows that we're too far gone to ever hope that things would get better. Each time that an effort is made to improve things like traffic congestion or pollution, people go out of their way to ruin it. People will complain about there being too many cars, and then try and sabotage anything that takes cars off the road. And nobody really even cares to do anything to stop them. The world would be a lot better without all the people.

 

[BelemNole]

Well, the issue is that the scooters are great for tourists or people down in the area visiting. But the locals have to live with them littering their neighborhoods. People just abandon them everywhere. In front of stores, in front of homes, piled up on corners.
And the folks riding them tend to think they're riding scooters in Jamaica and ignore all driving regs. I saw so many people just ignoring lights and weaving in and out of traffic in Santa Monica when we were down there.

 

[OsceolaNole]

Love them. Great last mile commute option and also just fun to fool around on. I was on a business trip in Memphis a couple months ago and took one all over. It was great for sightseeing - I went lots of places that would have been too far to walk but not far enough to Uber.

Same here. Downtown MEM is covered with them. Has to be more Birds per capita than anywhere else in the U.S.

 

[12Nole]

Well, the issue is that the scooters are great for tourists or people down in the area visiting. But the locals have to live with them littering their neighborhoods. People just abandon them everywhere. In front of stores, in front of homes, piled up on corners.
And the folks riding them tend to think they're riding scooters in Jamaica and ignore all driving regs. I saw so many people just ignoring lights and weaving in and out of traffic in Santa Monica when we were down there.

I know a few people that live downtown in the areas I mentioned that use them to get to work, grab a few groceries, take to games, concerts, and bars. They are great for tourist visiting DC though.

A few of our Uber drivers in the age bracket of 40-100 all griped about them. So that made me ask where they lived in the City and of course it was in the suburbs.

I would agree they need designated drop locations and riding limited to bike path only which they yield to cyclist.

 

[Nole Lou]

I've been hoping they come to my neighborhood. I'm in the "downtown" of a suburban town, and 1.5 miles away is a huge shopping/dining/entertainment complex. But parking there is a nightmare of epic proportions...you can easily miss your movie waiting for parking. These seem like a great option to be able to hop over there and back.

But only if there were designated "stations" on either end. No interest in these being left all over the neighborhood/downtown where I live.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

I saw a bunch scattered everywhere in Austin a couple weeks ago.

 

[12Nole]

I saw a bunch scattered everywhere in Austin a couple weeks ago.

You should've picked them up and charged them at home then dropped them off at a popular location where they would be used.

Lime & Bird will pay you to charge their scooters and redeploy them. Get paid and eliminate them being scattered throughout your city. Win-win situation for everyone.

 

[riseboi]

I don't have experience with any of those scooters, but I have a few electric skateboards. I live on Miami Beach so I pretty much use them exclusively to get around the beach after work and on the weekends. Love them! I would definitely have used them in school, if I lived near campus.

 

[LLOYD72]

Another step on the long path to a total lack of fitness in our country...…

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

You should've picked them up and charged them at home then dropped them off at a popular location where they would be used.

Lime & Bird will pay you to charge their scooters and redeploy them. Get paid and eliminate them being scattered throughout your city. Win-win situation for everyone.

How much would they pay me?

 

[12Nole]

Another step on the long path to a total lack of fitness in our country...…

The more you weigh the slower the scooter will go. So you're incentivized not to be a fatty while operating

 

[12Nole]

How much would they pay me?

Someone of your caliber, you could name your price.

 

[FSU_UCLA]

I’ve been using Bird scooters daily to go back and forth between UCLA and my private practice. I’ve also used them to get from Santa Monica to Westwood and back when my car is being serviced. They are incredibly convenient and a lot of fun.

 

[F4Gary]

Wonder if they will suffer the same fate as the shared bicycle program here in Dallas.