Photo Via Haaretz
These ease the burden on their feet and legs by removing the pesky walk from their parked cars to the nearest drink. In theory, it’s a great way to convince people that a city can be accessible. It removes a barrier for people who don’t want to park on the outskirts of town just to take a bus or a cab. The truth of how this scheme played out, however, is much dumber and more illogical than its origin suggests.
In typical venture capitalist ambition and haste, a few of the minor details were not thought through. For one, how would cities feel about a bunch of electric scooters with no discernible docks or designated drop off spots cluttering the sidewalks? Lime cared so little as to where these scooters ended up that they would just show up and dump a bunch of these poorly made scooters into any given neighborhood and hope for the best. That was the extent of their roll out plan, truly enacting the old proverb “beg for forgiveness, not for permission.”
They superseded city governments in their quest to get as many people as possible on their payment infrastructure and email list. There were no guidelines set as to where these scooters could be ridden. Crowding Bicyclists in the bike lane? Sure, no problem. Weaving in and around pedestrians going 20 MPH on public sidewalks? Also fine, apparently.
Another concern is the lifespan of the scooters; for these scooters to make even “break-even” status in the company books, they need to remain in use and on the roads for at least six months. As it turns out, in a study done late last year, these flimsy examples of inferior craftsmanship lasted on average just over 28 days. So after a month, on average, these scooters end up trashed and inadequately recycled.
They have been an environmental disaster from day one, running on lithium batteries and drastically undeserving their intended lifespan. Granted, Lime and some of the other companies are rolling out newer generations of scooters now that are more “hefty” to deal with some of their more intoxicated and careless users, but it remains to be seen if they can even manage to get past that six-month mark.
Ultimately, these things are downright dangerous. I’ve ridden two-stroke vintage mopeds in Boston weekend traffic and felt plenty more safe than hopping on one of these scooters in LoDo on a Wednesday night.
For one, the wheels are the size of sofa casters, so any pothole larger than a thimble sends you straight over the handlebars.
Amusingly enough, since one of their users died recently due to inadequate safety measures, their app now politely suggest you “wear a helmet” when riding one of their scooters.
What kind of psychopath is going to be carrying a bike helmet from bar to bar on a Friday night while drinking with friends to ensure they are up to “code” with the Lime end user license agreement?
This is all in the service of Lime, so that when someone else either dies or is severely injured, the company is absolved of any wrongdoing since you had to check that box when you signed up for the app.
I make it a point, that if I park in downtown anywhere and there is a cluster of these idiotic scooters lingering on the sidewalk precariously close to my car that I preemptively knock them over. The catharsis of cheap plastic hitting the concrete gives me at the very least a temporary burst of joy. And knowing that someone else isn’t going to knock them into my car provides a prolonged satisfaction.
Reports have started to come in that Fort Collins is the latest city in Colorado to begin to roll out these wasteful machines, and by the sounds of it, they have consulted with the city government and have taken some (albeit minor) steps to mitigate complaints this time around. While progress is being made in regard to integrating e-scooters into modern life, the bridge of trust between the major companies and the public is still actively under construction.
They are incredibly convenient, but the disadvantages seem to still outweigh the benefits. If you live in downtown, why not just buy one of these e-scooters outright? In your own personal care, they will last much longer than those being misused by the general populous. And over time, the money you will end up spending on daily rentals should pay for one outright.
“But ownership is dead” you might say “soon no one is going to own anything and we will all just rent stuff.” While that may seem like a nice idea, just take a closer look at one of those scooters the next time you take a stroll downtown. Notice how beat to hell each one of those scooters are, and remember that that wear and tear happened after less than a month (on average.) Try to convince me then, how we are conscious and mindful enough as a society to start sharing everything. I think we definitely need to get there, but I don’t think we are anywhere as close to it as many would like to think.