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by jalada 1180 days ago
When I was in Paris in 2019 I tried to use their e-scooters and it was nearly impossible because angry locals had sharpie-d over every barcode so you couldn’t scan them. I’m surprised the companies haven’t left already.
3 comments

Huh, that would be pretty effective I imagine, and sounds like a classic French approach to the problem, low effort, high impact.

But wouldn't the rental companies just switch to NFC-scanning? I know most of the bikes in Sweden technically have it, even though I don't think many actually use it because our QR codes aren't being defaced and it's just easier.

The QR code is usually just for easier use, you can also unlock them in the apps via selecting the vehicles on the map.
The situation has well changed since 2019.
Thanks for tip! We are flooded by these also in Prague, can't walk normal on sidewalk, as if cyclists riding on sidewalks was not bad enough.
Blame your government for not creating adequate bike lanes or curbing car usage, instead of people just trying to get around. Nobody wants to be in each others way, it's just that most of the time cyclists have nowhere else to go.
E-scooter (my own) rider from Prague: the cycling infrastructure here ranges from okay to pretty-nice-actually, and it's slowly getting better, so that's good, but there's a LOT of drunk tourists using the rental e-scooters in the [medieval, cramped] center.
nah, it ranges from non-existent (for most of the city roads/streets) to okay, most of the roads dont have bike lane at all since all available place where they could be is taken by parking spots

also there is no point for (e)scooters in Prague considering trams, buses and subway operating everywhere for less than a 0.5USD per day for unlimited travel, which is why pretty much no locals use them, they are also pretty much impossible to use in extended city center with cobble stones