[seanhunter]

> More generally, it's weird that scooter companies are liable - legally or de facto - for such behavior at all. If I get a rental car from Hertz or similar and then park illegally, nobody claims this means Hertz should get a ticket or be shut down. Why are scooters different?

Scooters are different because them being littered all over public spaces is absolutely intrinsic to these companies' value proposition and business model in a way that it absolutely is not for Hertz or similar.

[evandijk70]

Actually, if you would park illegally with a rental car, Hertz would get a ticket. They would just hold you accountable for it.

[fshbbdssbbgdd]

There’s a huge difference between the impact of a poorly-parked scooter and a well-parked scooter. If the thing is out of the way there’s no problem.

[seanhunter]

Totally agree. And even more so for hire bikes.

I think hybrid transportation models of this kind are really essential to having liveable cites in the future, but businesses really shouldn't be able to benefit from just ignoring negative externalities associated with their model, and that (unfortunately) includes their customers behaving in an antisocial and/or selfish way. This is no different from how noise levels for residents are considered when granting a license for a bar or something. You're not able to just plan for a world where everyone behaves in a decent and considerate fashion.

Where I live we had a bike and scooter company who had a "park anywhere" type model and our pavements[1] were really littered all the time with bikes and it was difficult (as someone who basically walks everywhere) to get around. Now that company has disappeared and the bike/scooter companies which remain have to look after their inventory and keep it in defined parking spots the situation is a lot better. I don't exactly know how enforcement has been set up and I do see abandoned bikes and scooters around, but I also see company employees rounding them up and taking them to the right spots so the system appears to be working.

[1] Sidewalks for Americans

[fshbbdssbbgdd]

There are scooters in my town and I’ve used them a few times. When you park the scooter the app makes you take a picture of your parking job. I don’t know how good the enforcement is, but this is a plausible way of solving the problem of inconsiderate users.

[Sakos]

I think this should be combined with:

1) QR code on every scooter so improperly placed scooters can be reported to the owning company with images

2) The use of accelerometer data to verify when a scooter was moved (to ensure things like renters not being unfairly penalized if a scooter is moved by somebody else afterwards)