Charlotte Bike / Scooter Sharing

[KJHburg]

This from Nashville today concerning scooters.  http://www.wsmv.com/story/38179459/2-hit-while-on-bird-scooters-in-downtown-nashville

http://fox17.com/news/local/person-on-scooter-critical-after-downtown-nashville-hit-and-run

Edited May 14, 2018 by KJHburg

[15895]

The scooters are amazing!

 

That said.... I don’t approve at all.  IMO, way too dangerous for people to be whizzing around and across intersections. 

 

Now, I will buy my own electric scooter to commute around on for the first two miles or so between metro and home/work. I feel like people who are willing to invest the $140 will be more cautious than someone deciding to spend $1 for 30 minutes or whatever to zoom across city blocks for the lolz.

 

I feel like a huge stick in the mud for this position. I feel like (based on no evidence so I’m willing to be open minded) people are more apt to be cautious on bikes and most people won’t/can’t zip through intersections like they would on a bike vs. electric scooters. 

 

Very pro bike share. The more the merrier. Let’s make more bike lanes, etc. but the scooters.  I’m not there yet 

Edited May 14, 2018 by AirNostrumMAD

[kermit]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

This from Nashville today concerning scooters.  http://www.wsmv.com/story/38179459/2-hit-while-on-bird-scooters-in-downtown-nashville

http://fox17.com/news/local/person-on-scooter-critical-after-downtown-nashville-hit-and-run

So it was a hit and run, but both articles make it sound like the scooters were the problem.

M'kay...

[lit]

5 hours ago, kermit said:

So it was a hit and run, but both articles make it sound like the scooters were the problem.

M'kay...

And it’s also interesting that two scooters were hit. How the hell does that happen? Maybe they were waiting at a stoplight and just got plowed? Or maybe the car ran a light?

[KJHburg]

Seems like the roll out in Honolulu has been much better and believe me they have some traffic there.  But read the 3rd paragraph how they worked with the city for months.  https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2018/05/14/electric-scooter-sharing-program-launches-in.html?ana=e_ae_set1&s=article_du&ed=2018-05-14&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1526347173&j=81584141

[Crucial_Infra]

Lime looking to raise $500 million in next round. https://www.axios.com/lime-500-million-1526410337-93c2524a-2d22-4f56-bb9a-c626798320f4.html

[teeg]

On 5/14/2018 at 9:34 PM, KJHburg said:

Seems like the roll out in Honolulu has been much better and believe me they have some traffic there.  But read the 3rd paragraph how they worked with the city for months.  https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2018/05/14/electric-scooter-sharing-program-launches-in.html?ana=e_ae_set1&s=article_du&ed=2018-05-14&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1526347173&j=81584141

So maybe they did not work as closely with the city as they said.  From Hawaii News Now:

Police still holding dozens of company's scooters seized after botched rollout 

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38210117/police-still-holding-dozens-of-companys-scooters-seized-after-botched-rollout

[KJHburg]

1 hour ago, teeg said:

So maybe they did not work as closely with the city as they said.  From Hawaii News Now:

Police still holding dozens of company's scooters seized after botched rollout 

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38210117/police-still-holding-dozens-of-companys-scooters-seized-after-botched-rollout

I saw that the day after the  police literally rounded the scooters up. 

[CLT2014]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article211336764.html

Lime, Bird, and Spin approved by the city to bring 300 scooters to Charlotte. There is no regulation on where you can ride a scooter.... road, bike lane, sidewalk, etc... per the city. 

[lit]

7 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article211336764.html

Lime, Bird, and Spin approved by the city to bring 300 scooters to Charlotte. There is no regulation on where you can ride a scooter.... road, bike lane, sidewalk, etc... per the city. 

This is fantastic news. I only got to ride one once and it was an absolute blast, but I had a really hard time finding one. With more becoming available, using one for actual transportation (rather than just for fun) will be a lot more feasible.

[TheOneRJ]

On 5/17/2018 at 4:25 PM, CLT2014 said:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article211336764.html

Lime, Bird, and Spin approved by the city to bring 300 scooters to Charlotte. There is no regulation on where you can ride a scooter.... road, bike lane, sidewalk, etc... per the city. 

So funny such a big deal was made about the non-approved scooters just for them to approve them a week later. 

[Matthew.Brendan]

At least they got approved! I was worried they wouldn’t. 

[Spartan]

15 hours ago, TheOneRJ said:

So funny such a big deal was made about the non-approved scooters just for them to approve them a week later. 

Technically its a pilot program, just like the dockeless bikes. City Council will have to pass an ordinance to allow all these dockless things to operate in the ROW at some point.

[Crucial_Infra]

This is fascinating. Electric Scooter Charger Culture Is Out of Control  https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/560747/

Edited May 20, 2018 by Crucial_Infra

[DMann]

What a bird-dog!

[kermit]

File under "WTF"

Raleigh is just beginning to roll out DOCKED bike share.  The article suggests that the only dockless bikes in Raleigh are on the NCSU campus.

Seriously?

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article211825199.html

Edit: according you folks below there is plenty of dockless is Raleigh already — a case of bad writing by the N+O

Edited May 29, 2018 by kermit

[Matthew.Brendan]

Uhh wow. Way to go Raleigh?

[15895]

Those bikes are ugly! And expensive. 30 minute rides and then additional fees.

 

boo. I always want to ask people why they ride bcycle... the rare times I see them. I saw someone near 77 on Clanton with a bcycle... I felt bad for them. 

[11 HouseBZ]

Yeah same, saw one at work yesterday at 35th and Davidson. 

[nakers2]

Raleigh is a beautiful city and such potential to be better than Charlotte in many ways *cough, historic preservation, cough* and being the seat of government for the state certainly adds to the clout and noteriety. But when I hear about stuff like this it makes me wonder, "this is where our state lawmakers work, is there any correlation?" I often wonder how this state would be run if Charlotte was the capital city. (Yes I realize the state and city government are separate, but the local population can have some influence over state lawmakers, and visa versa) Whether we like to admit it or not, the capital city can have quite some influence over statewide politics. While the Triangle does have a very good bus system, probably thanks to the big 3 universities, the lack of much motion on rail up there, and the attacks against Charlotte, from the airport issue to cutting transit funding show clear animosity to adopt any new ideas quickly, and the bikeshare thing is just another example of something Charlotte has had for nearly a decade that Raleigh is just now hopping on board with. It reminds me of my younger brother, he could be so far ahead of where I was at his age, if he would just learn from my mistakes, but he doesn't. 

In regards to the electric scooters, literally every single one I have tried to use has been dead, this includes Bird and Lime, haven't seen one for Spin yet. 

[TheOneRJ]

2 hours ago, nakers2 said:

In regards to the electric scooters, literally every single one I have tried to use has been dead, this includes Bird and Lime, haven't seen one for Spin yet. 

Sign up to be a “juicer” for Lime and get paid to charge them. It’s completely free. 

[nakers2]

8 hours ago, TheOneRJ said:

Sign up to be a “juicer” for Lime and get paid to charge them. It’s completely free. 

 I would do that if I

1. Didn’t live in an apartment 

2. Lived uptown or in southend.

3. Didn’t drive a subcompact.

But it’s a nice thought.

Honestly maybe having charge docks for these things wouldn’t be a bad idea. Leaving one at a dock would offer a rebate or something. 

[Niner National]

On 5/24/2018 at 8:49 PM, kermit said:

File under "WTF"

Raleigh is just beginning to roll out DOCKED bike share.  It appears that the only dockless bikes in Raleigh are on the NCSU campus.

Seriously?

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article211825199.html

Raleigh has had Like bikes about as long as Charlotte.

[Hunted]

On 5/24/2018 at 8:49 PM, kermit said:

File under "WTF"

Raleigh is just beginning to roll out DOCKED bike share.  It appears that the only dockless bikes in Raleigh are on the NCSU campus.

Seriously?

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article211825199.html

Raleigh has had Lime bikes for a while. Admittedly, I don't know anything about bike sharing. Is that something different? If not, then that statement isn't true.

[TheOneRJ]

5 hours ago, Hunted said:

Raleigh has had Lime bikes for a while. Admittedly, I don't know anything about bike sharing. Is that something different? If not, then that statement isn't true.

NC State had Lime bikes about 3 months before Charlotte itself, not Raleigh. Raleigh has had plans for bike sharing since 2011, but they weren’t approved until 2016, with an estimated arrival this year. Charlotte has had bike sharing since 2012, and still has many more options than the entire Triangle.