Poll of the Day > Have you heard of these "Bird Scooters"?

(+) Yeah! (+)

They just started appearing all over the place. I looked them up online, and it's not just a local thing. I started by seeing 1, then 2, then 3 around my job. Now I see them everywhere. Are they really that popular?
---

Yeah, they are all over seattle, but.....they are not really that great (unless your really out of shape maybe).

Generally this is how it works.

$1 to unlock the scooter...which can be left anywhere, then, I think it's 20 cents per minute of use. The scooter goes up to 15 mph, but you can't ride (or are not supposed to ride) them on the sidewalks, and your supposed to have a helmet as well.

Best scenerio for the scooter? You are by yourself, and need to go about 5 miles away for instance. In such a case, you could in theory find a scooter nearby (in the direction youa re going) unlock it, and travel the 5 miles in 30 minutes (if you could go 15 mph the whole time it would be 20...but.....you have stop lights etc....30 minutes is a good estimate.

Meanwhile that costs you $1 base + 30/5...or about $7 total.

Uber even for 1 person would probably be cheaper...and honestly faster as well, and if it's more then 1 person.......obviously uber would be cheaper at that point.

Also, because of average speed, stopping for lights etc, walking, if you are in even semi decent shape, isn't THAT much slower. You only walk about 4mph at a decent clip, versus about double that (or 2.5x as fast) on the scooter. I'm not really sure if you can get fines etc if you don't have a helmet (no way to enforce helmet use other then that).

It does have some advantages in places like Seattle (or SF if it was legal there, it isn't), that have very steep hills etc though.

Few things I think would make it better. Dedecated lanes/space for the scooters to ride in (since you are not supposed to use the sidewalks, although people do anyway).

Set docking stations instead of just dropping them wherever, perhaps reduced charge if you bring it to a docking station as well.

Reduced charge anyway to make it more economical compared to say uber (seriously I rarely would see a situation where uber isn't better...at least if you are not just traveling alone.

In many places where these are available there is also free transportation (like Seattle, or was that portland i always get that mixed up).

Honestly you don't even need a scooter most of the time (or any power) if your going downhill (breaks would be important), so I would have the charge based on energy/electricity used mainly, and time as a secondary (so someone just doesn't stand around with the scooter and hog it etc.

It's a novel concept, but it needs to change a bit I think to really explode. If you could use one for an hour for $3 or so......total.....that would be a totally different story. But you can usually travel 5-10 miles via uber etc for far less then with one of these scooters.
---

wolfy42 posted...

your supposed to have a helmet as well.

wolfy42 posted...

if you don't have a helmet (no way to enforce helmet use other then that).

We saw that. We figured it was a liability thing. Most people who ride them here don't wear them...

wolfy42 posted...

Uber

I don't know why, but I don't like Uber...

wolfy42 posted...

Dedecated lanes/space for the scooters to ride in (since you are not supposed to use the sidewalks, although people do anyway).

Maybe they could use bike lanes. Though, bikers might get mad. So, it probably would be better to build an extra lane next to the bike lane for them. I mean, they seem to be pretty big now...

wolfy42 posted...

Set docking stations instead of just dropping them wherever, perhaps reduced charge if you bring it to a docking station as well.

We saw people picking them up in a truck. I guess they can be tracked. And I guess the dropping them anywhere is a perk that some like...

wolfy42 posted...

It's a novel concept, but it needs to change a bit I think to really explode.

Maybe they're testing it out all over the place to see how it works. And will tweak it as they think of new ways to make it better...
---

Where do you live? We have them everywhere down in LA and the funny thing is they were banned there until like last month!

Theyre swarming all over Santa Monica and get routinely impounded for driving on beachside bicycle paths too.
---

Zangulus posted...

And yes, they were just tossed where ever and left there.

That's one of the weird things. They just set up like 3-5 or them wherever and leave. Like Wolfy said, they should have a docking station or whatever. It would make sense for cheaper returns there, but that leaving them wherever was also an option. I assume they have to charge them or something, too, right?

aDirtyShisno posted...

Where do you live? We have them everywhere down in LA and the funny thing is they were banned there until like last month!

Theyre swarming all over Santa Monica and get routinely impounded for driving on beachside bicycle paths too.

In a small church town in Texas. Haha.
---

LinkPizza posted...

Zangulus posted...

And yes, they were just tossed where ever and left there.

That's one of the weird things. They just set up like 3-5 or them wherever and leave. Like Wolfy said, they should have a docking station or whatever. It would make sense for cheaper returns there, but that leaving them wherever was also an option. I assume they have to charge them or something, too, right?

They pay people to charge them and then drop them off in locations of high demand. Theres an app you can download to find them. They can reward up to $20 for each one if its basically dead but those are usually off the grid since the transponder has died too from no battery power and cant actually be found at the location it was last known to be at. People in Santa Monica just use one to pick up like 10 or so more in a cart or something and spend all day recharging them and dropping off the whole bunch on whatever corner is closest .

And theyre super cheap to produce too since they expect them to disappear to either theft or impound.
---

LinkPizza posted...

In a small church town in Texas. Haha.

Is it Midnight Texas?!!!!

Are you a vampire!!!!!
---

Yeah I liked them but my wife got injured on a defective one recently so now Im avoiding them personally, people just tear the things up so badly.

People are so stupid when they ride them though. I was walking my dogs home and there was a couple riding them approaching a four-way stop. The guy stopped at the stop sign but the lady just kept going, right in front of a car that had already entered the intersection, yelling back to the guy in a condescending tone that We dont have to stop, but the cars do
---

I see them parked everywhere but have never seen a person on one.
---

myghostisdead posted...

I see them parked everywhere but have never seen a person on one.

I hadn't either... for a while. Then, one day, I saw one person on it. Then I saw like three people each riding one. I still don't see them that often, but I have seen them in action...
---

People really need to start wearing helmets on them. I know people dont want to look like goobers but you could easily crack your skull falling off of one on the pavement, even going at like 10mph
---

Mead posted...

People really need to start wearing helmets on them. I know people dont want to look like goobers but you could easily crack your skull falling off of one on the pavement, even going at like 10mph

It can also protect you if someone else hits you, as well. But it's true that every person I have seen riding them has not had a helmet on...
---

Mead posted...

goobers

The world needs less goobers anyways.
---

SunWuKung420 posted...

Mead posted...

goobers

The world needs less goobers anyways.

I disagree goobers are fairly benign and friendly

Trust me, I know
---

i heard it's the word
---

No.
---

Also we do have bird scooters here but what we see even more are Lime scooters. They used to have a bunch of Limebikes here which was nice but the local panhandlers have all claimed them as their own. They break the locks on them and use the baskets on the front to hold all their stuff. Its frustrating because they were really convenient for just cruising a few blocks through the city.
---

I never see anybody using these stupid things.

They'll go bankrupt and forgotten in less than 10 years, from being ridiculous, overpriced, and expanding on an idea that nobody wanted or asked for.