Bird Scooters in your city

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by texbike

My issue with the entire Bird model is from a cybersecurity/data protection perspective. One, you must download their app - and we all know how perfectly secure apps are and that they're NEVER abused (ie Uber privacy issues). Two, you're required to scan both sides of your credit card AND both sides of your Drivers License. Given the large scale data breaches that we've seen in the last couple of years, I'm hesitant to participate in programs with those requirements. I told my kids that I would prefer to just buy them a scooter than sign up for the Bird program.

Texbike

I don't remember having to scan either credit card or DL when I signed up for both Bird and Lime in San Mateo in July.

That having been said, they suck. God forbid you want to use one after 7 pm. Good luck finding one with any juice.

And good luck not getting run over by some jerk who is too young/stupid to understand physics, mortality and the concept of Darwinism.

[benadrian]

Originally Posted by ptourkin

After a hot day of climbing yesterday, I didn't feel like riding anymore and took a Bird 2.1 miles for burrito and beers and then 2.1 miles back. Anything that equals less miles in a car is a good thing to me.

Anything involving burritos and beers is a good thing to me.

[pdmtong]

I'm riding my bike in SF from the train station to the office. These electric scooters give sped to the unskilled and the riders are completely unpredictable.

Now I have to be even more hyper-vigilant when riding - share bikes, electric (skateboards, scooters, bikes), push scooters, segways, pedi-cabs.

even worse are the scooters that have a seat you can sit on...those things can go even faster

[fiamme red]

The NYT is advocating putting regular bikes, e-bikes, and electric scooters together into segregated lanes "that are behind parked cars and other barriers, which shield bikers and scooter riders from traffic and make it harder for cars, vans and trucks to park in them."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/o...york-city.html

This is a recipe for disaster, Citi Bikes going 7 mph in the same narrow curbside lane with e-bikes and scooters going 20 mph (many of them the wrong way), and pedestrians treating the lane as an extended sidewalk.

[cmg]

SA doesn't seem to be having a problem with them. i would have thought vandalism would have been a problem but i haven't seen trashed scooters and locals are using them. looks like a fun ride.

[fiamme red]

https://www.cnet.com/news/bird-scoot...here-we-go-in/

Travis VanderZanden, Bird's CEO, explained Tuesday how the company decides where to launch its dockless, rentable scooters: It depends on the local laws. If there are already laws on the books banning the motorized vehicles, Bird doesn't go there. But if the laws are vague, then it's a go.

"We don't go to New York because it's technically illegal to use a scooter at the state level," VanderZanden said Tuesday at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in Los Angeles. "Where there's no laws, that's where we go in."

...Most of the time, Bird doesn't forewarn officials that it's about to drop hundreds of scooters onto streets. VanderZanden said that's by design. The company's MO is to reach out to city regulators at the same time it launches the scooters.

[cmg]

It's a smart move. With such a low overhead it's kind of hard not to make a profit. These scooters sell for around $900 on Amazon, so Bird probably picked them for a lot less. At $10 an hour for use these things pay for themselves after 90 hours. there's suppose to be a few more start ups looking to enter the market. electric bikes are probably next. The tourists are using them all over downtown.

[mac.]

We have Bird and Lime here in Portland, OR. A number of them have been thrown into the river by homeless...

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by fiamme red

The NYT is advocating putting regular bikes, e-bikes, and electric scooters together into segregated lanes "that are behind parked cars and other barriers, which shield bikers and scooter riders from traffic and make it harder for cars, vans and trucks to park in them."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/o...york-city.html

This is a recipe for disaster, Citi Bikes going 7 mph in the same narrow curbside lane with e-bikes and scooters going 20 mph (many of them the wrong way), and pedestrians treating the lane as an extended sidewalk.

with the new electric citi bikes, everyone will be going 20mph... which is the problem for regular bikes that will be going half that... but man, are those e-citi bikes fun

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by mjones0014

We have Bird and Lime here in Portland, OR. A number of them have been thrown into the river by homeless...

A video of someone riding one into a canal: https://www.wthr.com/article/rapper-...anapolis-canal.

"As far as the Bird scooter is concerned, it's unclear if it was retrieved or if it still remains at the bottom of the canal."

[SoCalSteve]

I saw someone crash on a Bird yesterday while riding it the wrong way on the sidewalk...karma?

[fiamme red]

Woman fractures femur in San Diego Bird scooter crash: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...019-story.html.

[rinconryder]

I don't live in a city that has them but I do live near a city that has them. Overall I find them to be a great idea and mode of transit but we are certainly experiencing growing pains in regards to the etiquette behind their use as far as how people ride them and where they are parked (although they can be parked in an orderly, considerate fashion if the last user so chooses). People really need to consider the lens that they look at them through - cars are everywhere in the city and could be considered to litter the streets as well so I think that is somewhat of a false argument although that is assuming they are parked in an orderly fashion. Cities could and should designate one parking spot where probably 20 -30 scooters could fit in the place of ONE car - think about that. Have a spot on every block corner, sort of like designated motorcycle parking. If the end user doesn't leave it there (and this can likely be determined via GPS, they get a fine on the credit card that they have on file).

I think the harder part to deal with is the injuries. I rode one without a helmet because it was a spur of the moment thing for me (I needed to get ten blocks after I dropped my wife off and finally parked) but were I a regular user I would carry a helmet with me on my back pack. Maybe helmets should become mandatory. If I lived in a city I would these things regularly or maybe just have my own - I think they are a great way to get around a city.

All in all I think they are a novel and useful tool to get us to one less car. Of course there are growing pains like any new idea but with thoughtful planning and regulation they can become a dependable alternate mode of transit.

[mtechnica]

I think the birds are fun and I don’t have a problem with them.

[fiamme red]

https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/24/...responsibility

We all are reduced to anecdata; very well, as a resident of Oakland, here’s mine. I have never seen a scooter rider wear a helmet. This is probably because the choice to get on a scooter is impromptu. After all, how can you plan to ride a scooter if you don’t have a reliable idea of where the scooter will be when you need it? Passing out helmets — Sandler, Ellington, and MacDonald’s presentations all touted this as part of their community outreach — isn’t helpful if the helmets aren’t available when people want to ride. This is why a lot of cyclists lock our helmets to our bikes; you can’t accidentally leave your bike helmet somewhere, rendering yourself helmetless, if it’s locked to your bike.

Similarly, if the promise of dockless scooters is that riders can use them spontaneously, helmets should be provided with the scooters themselves. Dropping scooters on the streets but placing the burden for safety on users is ridiculous.

I’m not the only person who thinks so. Bird and Lime currently face a class-action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles that accuses the companies — along with two others — of “gross negligence” related to injuries both riders and pedestrians received by nine people. The companies were accused of ”aiding and abetting assaults,” and the filing says the companies are liable because the scooters themselves are unsafe. There are inadequate instructions on the scooters’ use, but inadequate warnings about the scooters’ risks...