Scooters, scooters, everywhere!

911 said:
Are you talking about a Segway?
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oldman said:
The op wrote “a scooter you stand on.” I think 911 is right. That sounds like a Segway.

The scooters that I have seen around are the type the rider sits on. Every now and then I see one on the road.
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These are the rent scooters that are springing up in Texas.. They rent for a dollar and then 15¢ a mile..
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I 'm still driving but down the road somewhere I may want to own something to allow me to get around the neighborhood.
We have scooters in my town and have had a controversy regarding which company could place scooters on our streets. We have scooters and Bikes. I'm not sure how great they are for seniors.
 
drifter said:
We have scooters in my town and have had a controversy regarding which company could place scooters on our streets. We have scooters and Bikes. I'm not sure how great they are for seniors.
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I'm sure that doctors and hospitals would like to see Seniors using these "toys"....they could increase their profits substantially treating broken bones, etc.
 

No scooters up here in the Chicago 'burbs. But, just last year, we spent part of a day in Indianapolis and they have both scooters and scooter 'trouble'. I wasn't aware of the trend in these things until I saw those scooters all over the streets close to downtown, and read about them later. They're talking about more regulations, especially helmet rules. It's one of those many good ideas on paper, but too many people are careless.
 
Jump type scooter is correct.

I saw a scooter accident happen: This guy was riding a scooter and, as he rode by me, on a sidewalk across the street, wearing no helmet, he turned to see his buddy, riding behind him. At that moment, he fell off the scooter, away from the street, luckily, but was still holding the throttle. The scooter went on, as he fell, and he did a few somersaults, before coming to rest. This whole thing took seconds. I was in traffic, so I couldn't stop.

Last night, on our local news, there was a report on the hundreds of scooter-related injuries that have happened, here in Austin, over the last year. Yeah, I think it's crazy that the city, in its usual pc way, has not cracked down, hard, on these things.
 
MannyGT said:
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Social Bicycles Inc. is doing business here in the Sacramento,CA area under the name "Jump". They have installed racks in popular areas like libraries, post offices, apartment complexes, etc; where bikes/scooters can be picked up/dropped off. They apparently have a GPS system where van drivers can locate/pick up stray bikes and return them to strategic locations.

They even seem to know when a unit is still in use for example: shopping, attending a sporting event, etc; in which case it will be left for the customer to use on their return trip. There are negatives involved (reckless joy riding for one), but overall I believe it is a good service for those who need to get around cheaply.
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Not when they're permitted on sidewalks where they endanger pedestrians.
 
I've never seen any in our city but maybe it's too small (90+thousand people) and we do have our share of tourists. Once in awhile I see someone on one of those mini-motorcycles ( or whatever they're called) but I assume they are privately owned by the guys riding them. Most folks still drive, walk, or take public transit. Maybe the plague will reach us someday but I hope it's not soon. I should also say that our city is one of the older ones tucked up against the coast and very compact.
 
Uptosnuff said:
Scooter? What's a Scooter??

Seriously, no scooters here. The only half way "cool" things we have here are bikes for rent in the downtown area. You can ride downtown or go a little farther and take the trails by the river. They are in racks you can walk up to, put your credit card in and ride off. There are several locations that have racks of these and you can just leave it in any of the bike racks when you're done.
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I spoke too soon in this post. They have just started up an electric scooter program here. I think our officials are trying to draw people to the city and keep them here and this is the driver behind this new program.

I don't feel great about this. Our downtown is already clogged with rush hour traffic morning and evening and these slow electric scooters are just going to make it worse. We don't have many bike lanes and even if we did, I don't know if people would necessarily use them. On one of our major streets leading out of downtown they decided to put a school on and guess what, they took one of the traffic lanes and made it into a bike lane. The result is a cluster f___ to put it bluntly. I try my darndest to avoid that street. One of these days there will be a terrible accident. That's what I'm afraid of with the scooters also.
 
I live in the country so there isn't anything like that in my area, but it could be happening in the city or even in the major town of Westminster and I just didn't notice. If they are those stand up electric scooters I would stay very far away from then anyway because I would fall off of them in a second and be in the ER.
 
We see these short-term electric scooter and bicycle rentals near colleges and universities, in tourist Meccas like Hollywood and Venice Beach. They're most popular in areas that attract a lot of people under 40 and parking is at a premium.

It seems likely that these modes of transportation will eventually become part of the landscape in most urban areas. Towns and cities will figure out how to regulate the parking and riding.

When I first saw this thread's title, I thought it was about people riding electric mobility scooters - the type used instead of an electric wheelchair. Talk about hazardous! I've nearly been mowed down a number of times by reckless drivers in stores, malls, public buildings and cruise ships.

At least the (mostly) kids who ride the rental two wheeled scooters are at the top of their game when it comes to reflexes and reaction time. Seniors and folks disabled zooming around in mobility scooters, not so much. Don't get me wrong, I think they're a marvelous tool for people who need them. I just believe that riders should be more aware that they are often traveling much faster than others in their immediate environment. A bump from a human on two legs is an, "Oops, excuse me!" moment. A bump from someone on a mobility scooter can involve an ER visit.
 

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