Comments

1

E-scooters have a lot of good points, but I question taking them on buses given how shitty Seattleites are at managing their too-large backpacks on crowded mass transit. Also, Seattle sidewalks tend to be in shitty shape due to long-deferred maintenance and too many tree roots, so the idea of someone barreling along at 15 mph, earbuds cranked gives one cause for concern.

Plus, the hate for anything that's not a car, anywhere in the city.

3

@3: You aren't the famous "Ken M."... Are you?

4

eScooters have a different demographic than bike share, namely, young boys. and particularly, young black boys. That's the primary reason that scootershare hasn't all but devoured bike share.

5

Given the number of non-motorized e-bikes that end up in Green Lake/trees/etc, I'm not surprised they're being a little cautious.

6

Also, SF doesn't actually have scooters - they franchised two companies that barely have a presence in the Bay. Gotta go to Oakland to get Lime and Bird.

7

Sure. Scooters. Why not. Why not suck your thumb or wear propeller beanies and diapers, too. At this point there's not much left your infantilized generation hasn't embraced.

8

So this is what passes for journalism these days. "I went somewhere and they had some cool things -- why doesn't Seattle have that?". Here is a crazy idea -- how about you do a little reporting. Are scooter rentals available in every major city -- if so, what issues do they have with them? How does scooter rental compared with bike share? For that matter, what is the state of bike share in the U. S., North America, or the world? How does Seattle compare to those cities, in both cost and availability? You quote an expert -- sorry, a corporate representative -- as saying that every "Every other major cities in the Pacific Northwest that has tried out scooters is asking for more" (sic). Is that true? I count only two other major cities in the Pacific Northwest (Portland and Vancouver, BC) -- are they both asking for more scooters? Does Vancouver BC even have a scooter program or this just some bullshit spewed by a corporate spokesperson?

9

@7
Dear sir and/or madam and/or NB: while i quite enjoy your thinking in general, and found the above comment very droll, i must counter your remark thusly: 1 scooter~1 less car.

That is all.

10

@7,

Seriously. These kids today with their practical, low-cost, and environmentally friendly habits are the friggin' worst!

11

Um, you can buy on on amazon.

12

@6 Scooters were all over San Francisco last few times I was down there. I haven't been down since January, so I suppose something might have changed.

Based on what I saw in San Francisco, these scooters are primarily utilized by obnoxious tourists. It's laughable to think of these toys as a viable alternative to transit or driving.

13

@12,

I'm genuinely confused. What's laughable about it? Nathalie notes that they can pretty easily hit 15+ mph, which is a perfectly respectable speed for transporting. And at least during the pilot period for which we had them in Portland, I saw plenty of local residents using them for commuting, errands, etc.

14

"Saw plenty" is an anecdote. Not evidence. You don't know if they were tourists or not.

These are basically fast Segways. Only dopier and more dangerous. These will go gate way of Google Glass as the preferred choice of douche bags.

I'm all for fewer cars. But these are not an adequate replacement. These are disposable non-recyclable cheap plastic toys that use toxic chemical batteries (and strategic minerals that could be better used elsewhere) with working lives far shorter than a car and less practicality of a bike. They will fill up landfills after hardly a year of use (abuse).

Their use will not take a single car off the road. no one that owns a car is gong to use one these dumb things. No. It's a dumb, dumb wasteful trendy toy. Not to mention people that use them look like fucking idjits.

15

@6 It's not as bad as the original scourge, but even with just the two companies selected for the pilot program, I see a shit-tonne of e-scooters every day. In my neighborhood, downtown, in Golden Gate park (where I saw an adult man eat shit riding in a straight line on a smooth street. He was fine, so yes, it was funny). They're still everywhere.

@12 Pretty much. They don't compete with cars, motorcycles, or bicycles. You can't really call them anything but recreational.

16

Sure I don't know whether or not they were tourists, but I live in a densely populated residential neighborhood that butts up against an industrial district and Forest Park. There's honestly not a ton for tourists to be breezing around doing. It's highly likely they were locals, hard evidence admittedly lacking (though Nathalie's linked survey might be as close as we'll come to hard evidence, and it speaks to her case.)

You make valid points otherwise, but counterpoints to those exist as well. Yes they're cheaply made and sadly destined for a landfill. But then you've gotta weigh the overall environmental impact and landfill space consumed by 30-40 scooters against that of a single automobile (which also isn't being recycled unfortunately.)

You guys may be right, though I don't believe we'll be conclusively determining that within the confines of a slog comment thread. I guess what irks me is the (frustratingly common) idea proposed by @7 that it should be dismissed based on it's child-like asthetic, which feels like an embrace of form over function, and is just the worst take. I guess as a cycling enthusiast, I run into this mentality quite often and so it strikes a nerve.

17

Maybe gets at me here in particular, as old friend of slog Seattleblues used to bitch like crazy about adults riding around on children's toys (bicycles.) What an ass that guy was.

18

I spend half my time in San Jose. Scooters are ubiquitous and not just for "black boys" or "douche bags". Sometimes I don't understand the folks who live in the city I was born in.

19

Ya know, you can always buy one, like the tech boys and their magic wheels.

20

@14-Nothing is dopier than a Segway. Except a group of Segways.

21

You want to ride a scooter, heres a novel idea- buy one, take care of it, don’t get in the way of others and take it home. Who on their right minds wants hundreds of them laying all over the city like trash. I bought one, Love it and am kind to others. I take it home with me, I don’t just drop it and leave it on the street, sidewalk, park, lake etc

23

Rode them for a weekend in Santa Monica, along a flat smooth boardwalk. Even in that perfect environment, it was clear that a fall would be very dangerous. I can't imagine getting near one in Seattle with the hills, rain, traffic and quality of pavement. There's lots of anecdotes available about the overnight charging strategy failures, and the scattered scooters laying around are a complete eyesore.

24

@12 When you ride them in SF watch out for all the piles of human shit all over the place. The left has completely destroyed that city. The whole west coast for that matter. Mentally unstable assholes.

25

@24,

Ha ha, you poor thing. Perhaps if you hate it so bad here you should move away? It's not like you'll be missed and I hear Kansas City is lovely this time of year!

26

@24

"Mentally-unstable assholes." --lilmisssocialism -- there you go. Projecting. yet again.
Also, we're very sorry, women won't have the sex with you. Have you tried: Bathing?
De-oderizor? A few gallons of perfume? Rolling in long-dead animals upta Alasksa?!

Having an actual 'sense of Humor' that isn't solely poorly-contrived insults?

Q. In your "opinion," is it "okay" to truly troll the Trolls, too, Trolly?

Oh, and it's not "the West coast."
It is (fortuitously) 'The Left Coast.'

Better flee (to K.C.?), before your Indoctrinated, 2.

27

I kinda hope we do get the scooters. In the mornings, after I get off the bus and walk the remaining distance to work, I throw any bike parked on the sidewalk, they are really heavy! They have really sharp corners everywhere! I think e-scooters will be much easier to toss out of the way of the disabled, the elderly, and just anyone who longs for our quality of life back. I will never stop giving this pollution the heave ho. At this point I can't even recall how many I have tossed. I will say it has been a lot better since Spin and Ofo wisely packed it up.

28

Real men ride motorcycles.

29

Go live where they have them.

30

I would be very interesting in a "fucking scooter" but so far I've only seen the regular ones. Also, do you need a helmet on a fucking scooter? It's so hard to keep up with technology.

31

Sorry dbag kristofarian it is the West coast. The hypocrisy is funny coming from the most intense bigots in America, the snowflake left. "there you go projecting, yet again" hahahahhahahahaha what a sorry generation. As our generation comes into its own it will make yours look even more bitchy, whiney, and irrelevant. No Boob the Blob I am staying put, I love watching the proud boys kick your pussy asses.

32

lilmissssocialim

forgive me - I just Adore typing that
and yet. you and Trumpf
and McBitchy KkKonnell and all the rest
why
your all just the Same
and yes, we're all Terrified
of you Verminazi

you can fuck off now

33

Hey, Nathalie? Found this:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18240489/lime-sudden-excessive-braking-firmware-bug-scooter

Invest in some guards and a helmet. Sure, you don't look as 'cool' but probably cooler than investing in an ambulance ride...


Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.