[dalbasal]

Dunno about the way charging works, at least long term. Scooter sharing through, that's kind of promising.

Beijing (and other cities) have proven that bike sharing can become a major transport type if the city will allow bike sharing companies to just dump bikes all over the sidewalk. It's crude, but it at least let's us see how far bike sharing can go if/when stations are a non-problem.

Besides the mess (I could not imagine buttoned down European city like Vienna or even a messy one like Amsterdam allowing it), there's a problem of space. Scooters are space saving.

In my ideal world, there are "public" scooter stations that can be used by any bike sharing enterprise. These provide efficient, space saving storage and power. With the same footprint we currently use for city bikes, we could probably store 2X-4X as many scooters. One parking space could be converted into a unit. Scooters everywhere!

[apexalpha]

>I could not imagine buttoned down European city like Vienna or even a messy one like Amsterdam allowing it)

I don't really see benefit over a bike. Except that bikes don't require charging.

[rkangel]

The main one would be that you are a pedestrian rather than a road user. People who take bikes along sidewalks and footpaths are a hazard but a scooter is less of an issue.

Also, less skill to ride and less risk.

[mschuetz]

These electric scooters travel at speeds that exceed that of an average cyclist. They are not pedestrian friendly and they have no place on sidewalks. Usually you see them only on roads, bike paths or shared spaces where cars and pedestrians are both allowed, though. At least in vienna.

[simias]

In bike-friendly European cities like Amsterdam and many German cities you generally have dedicated biking lanes which makes this a non-issue. On bike-unfriendly cities like Paris the sidewalks are often so crowded and filled with obstacles that merely walking fast can be challenging at times.

I can believe that it works great in American cities with very large roads and mostly deserted sidewalks but that wouldn't translate well everywhere I think.

[dalbasal]

I guess I phrased that badly. My point is about scooter sharing as an alternative/augmentation of bike sharing. No comment on personally owned scooters or bikes.

Beijing (one example) has bike sharing without stations. Just dump the bike wherever and the bike sharing guys will deal with it. This is an interesting data point, because it removes the infrastructure bottleneck entirely (but makes a mess). What we learn from it is that bike sharing is bottlenecked and that it can grow a lot by widening that bottleneck, by adding more "stations."

European cities ( early to the bike sharing game) are really unlikely to allow such mess. Scooters may be another way of achieving the same thing, because they can be extremely space saving.

In my European city (Dublin) bike stations usually take up about 4-6 parallel parking spaces and a little bit of road and sidewalk. We don't have enough of them because that amount is space is hard to come by. I think a scooter sharing station could half or quarter the required space, with the same footprint. .. especially folding scooters.

At a pinch, I think you could get a station onto a single parking space. This makes finding room for them way easier. This means we can have more of them, maybe much more.

As to the benefit of powered scooters: cheap, small, fun, carriable, effective over short distances. Cons: need power, not as fast/stable as a bike and less suitable for longer journeys.

I doubt any of these are as important as the availablility of stations near where you want to start and end your trip. I think scooters>bikes in terms of space, and space is the right problem to solve.

[billfruit]

If I am remembering correctly these dockless bike sharing companies are in the process of expanding to USnl; as per reports Mobike has started service in 5 us cities.

[mschuetz]

I see a lot of benefits. They are more comfortable than bicycles and may therefore appeal to users who wouldn't give up their car for a bicycle. They require far less space than cars and have the potential to reduce rush hour traffic jams.

I'll stick with my bicycle but I'm happy for anyone who uses an electric scooter, rather than a car.

[eythian]

I think that sitting on a bike is more comfortable than standing on a scooter.

[mschuetz]

Bad wording on my side, probably. I meant comfortable not necessarely regarding the ride but, for example

- Getting it ready for the ride.

- Taking it inside your appartment/home/office, if necessary. No need to leave it outside.

- Easier to take along inside public transport, and then used as a means of traveling the last mile.

- Defenitely more comfortable if you don't want to excercise.

[melkiaur]

I have one for two reasons: a bad knee prevents me from cycling, and a bike doesn't fit in the train I take to go to work, whereas even the bulky m365 does.

[adam-a]

I could see them in amsterdam, the place is covered in bikes and bike lanes and these type of scooters could easily mix in with that. They travel at a similar speed and can be left against some railings (or dumped in a canal) just like a bike can.