[askaboutit]

Stand up scooters feel so unstable. Why not just add a seat and allow a seated scooter that’s foldable. The problem with last mile transport is that the laws in many countries need electric bikes to have peddles and peddle assistance. Just let people have a certain power and max speed and they will drop the car and replace it with a powered scooter. Aka, China.

[cortesoft]

> Just let people have a certain power and max speed and they will drop the car and replace it with a powered scooter

I think many Americans have a higher expectations for safety than many people in China. No way I am packing my kid onto a scooter and driving them around downtown.

[jyrkesh]

Why stop at comparisons to China? Parents have no problem doing this across Europe too, with both bikes and Vespa-style scooters.

I.e. to me, the problem is the US mentality towards car-minded transportation infrastructure, not the expectation of safety in a given culture.

[IshKebab]

I think you haven't been to Europe... Or maybe China. The difference in attitudes to road safety is very significant.

For example, deaths per 100k cars per year in China is 105. In Europe it is 19. In Western Europe it's about 7.

[hocuspocus]

*Pedal.

Some EU countries have already announced that scooters will soon be treated similarly to e-bikes, i.e. max 250W and 25km/h for the ones that don't need registration and plates.

While more expensive and less portable, a bike is a lot safer and more versatile.

[briandear]

A bike is safer? Definitely need some citations for that. Versatility is debatable. I can fold my scooter and put it under my table at a restaurant or toss it into the trunk of a car. Scooters are also extremely low maintenance: no flat tires, no need to carry a pump or patch kit.

[baroffoos]

The bigger wheels give it much better stability. Hitting a hole or rock on a bike and a scooter is a very different experience. lots of the scooter steering setups make it very easy for the front wheel to suddenly turn 90 degrees and send you flying

[NatW]

My experience is with bikes you can easily take one hand off the bike to signal a turn - what your traffic intention is. But with the scooters, it's not really possible to take your hands off the handlebars (you lose control!), and there is currently no blinker control to indicate your traffic intention. I wanted to take a left-turn on a scooter recently and this was an issue. I got honked-at.

I think they should add blinker light controls to the handlebars.

[rocketpastsix]

>no flat tires

Ive had plenty of flat tires on scooters. In fact I had two in one day resulting in me finishing my commute to work in the rain. It was great.

[walshemj]

There are folding bikes.

[vinceguidry]

I feel far less safe on a bicycle than I ever do on a Bird/Lime-style scooter. Main reason is I can go a lot slower, bicycles have to maintain a certain amount of inertia and that seriously affects riding habits. If I'm coming up on an intersection I can slow down a lot but if I'm riding a bike, I'm incentivized to blow through. With a scooter, I can go at a safe speed around pedestrians on sidewalks and stop abruptly if necessary with my feet. The inertia requirement makes it difficult to go sufficiently slow around pedestrians on a bike and I always feel like I'm an asshole no matter where I am if not a dedicated bike lane.

I think only familiarity leads people to think that bikes are safer than scooters. Given a choice between an electric bicycle and an electric scooter, now that I've ridden both, give me the scooter any day.

[skksjsnaahs]

I understand it sucks to stop at a stop light on an analog bike, but why on an ebike? You get help starting up again, like an escooter.

[ip26]

Bikes handle a lot better at speed & tend to have better brakes. Of course, if your speed is low, that doesn't matter.

[blhack]

Razor has these in Tempe, AZ. Basically a scooter with a seat on it.

[walshemj]

Brompton are doing an electric folding bike

[asdff]

Have you ridden one?