Charlotte Bike / Scooter Sharing

[dylansukkert]

1 hour ago, kermit said:

File under “stupidest business plan ever”

I tried to get a Spin scooter on my way home tonight, but they shut down at 6pm.

WTF?

That’s probably why the same 5 or so have been at the light rail crossing on Remount. Bird and Limes have been coming and going, spins just sitting there. 

[Dale]

Question: what are the usual parameters for scooter travel. Nashvillians talk like they’re riding them all over tarnation, including sidewalks along secondary highways.

[kermit]

Electric Lime bikes are all over Southend today.

[lancer22]

On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 10:22 PM, dylansukkert said:

That’s probably why the same 5 or so have been at the light rail crossing on Remount. Bird and Limes have been coming and going, spins just sitting there. 

As a certified scooter snob, I can say that the Spin scooters absolutely stink. Slower than Bird (which are slower than Lime) with longer braking distance.

4/10 will not take to breweries again.

 

[kermit]

1 hour ago, lancer22 said:

As a certified scooter snob, I can say that the Spin scooters absolutely stink. Slower than Bird (which are slower than Lime) with longer braking distance.

4/10 will not take to breweries again.

 

Yup, I had the same experience today. It took me about 4 attempts before I was finally able to rent a Spin scooter but once I was running I was impressed with its stability. It took me a minute but I realized that it was much more stable because its top speed is much lower.

Spin's breaks are kinda casual, but I have seen the same breaks beginning to appear on Bird scooters as well (I think they are regenerative).

[Nick2]

In my experience lime scooters are head and shoulders above bird and spin. But I've used them way more than bird or spin so my experience might not be the same as everyone elses.

[SgtCampsalot]

I always thought Lime were rickety and Bird we're sturdy...?

[kermit]

Lime has completely upgraded their fleet in the past six weeks -- they are much sturdier than the first generation. There are a handful of upgraded Birds, but they are still mostly the crappy first generation.

The Spin scooters are not quite as robust as the new Lime's (but better than Birds) and they lack a speedometer.

[SgtCampsalot]

So who else out there is saving up for a commuter-quality electric scooter? I've been researching the best models for city transport

At this point it seems like scooters are basically mopeds, but electric, and you have the standing or sitting option.

Anyone have experience buying? 

 

[grodney]

Today for the first time, I am now seeing Lime Electric Bikes.  There are pedals, but also e-assist?  Okay.  Same price as scooters, I think.

 

[Matthew.Brendan]

Electric scooters? Ciao baby

[pathb]

LOL. Charlotte mayor pro tem @JulieEiselt votes for e-scooter rules, immediately breaks them.

And the person who caught/photographed/tweeted this photo (while driving?!) was Council Member Bokhari

https://longleafpolitics.com/eiselt-scooter-photo/

 

 

[tozmervo]

hilarious! 

I don't know how many UP'ers listen to Bokhari and Larken on their R&D in the QC podcast, but there has been some nice discussion on the challenges and rules for scooters. (As well as the unbelievable amount of time and energy it has taken for the city council)

[CM2424]

The sidewalk ban should have only included Tryon - other sidewalks uptown are usually empty, including Church and College

[tozmervo]

33 minutes ago, cmwilson24 said:

The sidewalk ban should have only included Tryon - other sidewalks uptown are usually empty, including Church and College

Hard disagree. Church and College sidewalks are often more congested since they are typically much narrower than Tryon. 

[CM2424]

19 hours ago, tozmervo said:

Hard disagree. Church and College sidewalks are often more congested since they are typically much narrower than Tryon. 

Other than rush hour and lunch on weekdays they are mostly empty - my office window looks out at one of the two streets we're discussing and it's a simple fact.  I think some simple rules around usage would solve a lot of the potential issues - "people walking have the right of way, if you're on a scooter and you run into someone walking it's your fault, etc.".  People are going to keep riding these on the sidewalks so we might as well create rules that deal with reality rather than trying to change it.  

[lit]

Would lowering the speed limit inside the beltway to 15mph or 20mph be that unreasonable? Most people probably choose to ride on the sidewalk because they don’t want to get run over by a car

[lit]

Just got an email from Bird, no riding or parking allowed in the area around the arena this weekend. I hope they post some signs

Edited February 15, 2019 by lit

[lit]

“Bird’s Guide to Charlotte”

https://www.bird.co/blog/guide-to-charlotte/

[CLT2014]

I'm sure you will be greeted by police officers at each road closure zone who will stop you if you don't read the message on the app. 

Edited February 15, 2019 by CLT2014

[navigator319]

Walked this whole area this afternoon. You could not ride a scooter in those areas even if you wanted. Chain linked fenced the whole area with controlled access points and need credentials to get in.

[kermit]

Interesting blog post on Scooter economics here: https://oversharing.substack.com/p/shared-scooters-dont-last-long

Based on Open Data from Louisville this guy found the following:

• The average lifespan of a Bird/Lime scooter there was 28 days (per unit scooter cost is thought to be between $360 and $550)
• The average scooter took 70 trips (spanning a mean of 85 miles) during its lifespan
• The average scooter in Louisville was rented 3.5 times per day (generating $12.91 in revenue per day)

There was also a nice breakdown of costs which led to the estimate that each scooter in Louisville generated between $65 and $75 in revenue (after costs) over its lifetime.

As you can see from these numbers, this aint sustainable. Either scooters need to get simultaneously cheaper and more robust or revenue (usage) needs to increase dramatically. The value of user data (and the potential to develop a payment system from the apps) was not addressed. However, these numbers are so bleak that it appears that unless current conditions change I suspect the scooters will quickly disappear once the VC money is gone.

Bummer. 

Edited February 27, 2019 by kermit

[CLT2014]

Yikes, that is too bad. I wonder if a membership pricing model would work better? Rather than charging people by the minute, which encourages people to use the scooter for as little time as possible, you sell a monthly membership fee to frequent users that includes a base time of 1 hour per month + time over that. You could sell the monthly memberships for $15 per month. 

[Brendv7]

Even if the current model fails, it was worthwhile to introduce to how many people the possibility and potential for non auto based transit in central or more urban areas, and also because it forced cities to grapple with questions like how much planning should be exclusively auto focused. 

[archiham04]

19 hours ago, kermit said:

Interesting blog post on Scooter economics here: https://oversharing.substack.com/p/shared-scooters-dont-last-long

Based on Open Data from Louisville this guy found the following:

• The average lifespan of a Bird/Lime scooter there was 28 days (per unit scooter cost is thought to be between $360 and $550)
• The average scooter took 70 trips (spanning a mean of 85 miles) during its lifespan
• The average scooter in Louisville was rented 3.5 times per day (generating $12.91 in revenue per day)

There was also a nice breakdown of costs which led to the estimate that each scooter in Louisville generated between $65 and $75 in revenue (after costs) over its lifetime.

As you can see from these numbers, this aint sustainable. Either scooters need to get simultaneously cheaper and more robust or revenue (usage) needs to increase dramatically. The value of user data (and the potential to develop a payment system from the apps) was not addressed. However, these numbers are so bleak that it appears that unless current conditions change I suspect the scooters will quickly disappear once the VC money is gone.

Bummer. 

I have a hard time believing that the average lifespan is 28 days...  I wonder if the Data is being skewed by the provider to mask their numbers.  Maybe changing the Scooter number every month maybe after it is repaired/refreshed?