Charlotte Bike / Scooter Sharing

[kermit]

 

[Matthew.Brendan]

Easily one of the best things to happen to Charlotte. Really makes the city come alive. People are the lifeblood of a city and it’s all about easy flow and circulation. 

[Nick2]

It's interesting that these seem to be the bane of other cities like portland or Seattle but they are looking to be a net positive here in a big way.

[grodney]

RIP.  I wonder what the loss ratio is overall on these things?

 

Edited October 2, 2018 by grodney

[KJHburg]

Electric scooters are all over downtown Raleigh too and around the NC State Campus and I even saw them up at Midtown at North Hills about 5 miles from downtown today.   They were clustered around the major tech firm offices in downtown Raleigh. 

[ChessieCat]

The Spanish company Muving rolled out 75 electric mopeds in Atlanta this summer.  You can park them wherever legal street parking is allowed and the batteries are swapped out by employees.  

What do you think about moped sharing in CLT?

https://electrek.co/2018/06/18/electric-moped-sharing-programs-expand/

[Matthew.Brendan]

Yes please

[KJHburg]

From the Triangle Business Journal but since it the law is the same about insurance statewide it applies to Charlotte too.  Take note on insurance.

""With Bird scooters emerging in downtown Raleigh, liability questions take flight as riders collide with private property – only to find themselves uninsured. It’s a situation Cary resident Afework Shuramu knows from the other side. He was driving a 2012 Toyota on Fayetteville Street on Aug. 29 when, according to the police report filed with the city of Raleigh, he hit a motorized Bird scooter that had turned onto a pedestrian crosswalk.  The scooter – not the Toyota – was at fault in the incident, the police determined. But Shuramu alleges the scooter’s driver, listed in the report as De’Fonte Douglas of Raleigh, has yet to pay for the $1,500 in damages to the car, creating a confusing situation for the Toyota’s owner, Fanuel Tibebu.  “I spoke to the police officer and he said the guy, De’Fonte, was not insured,” Tibebu says.  Douglas didn’t respond to a request to comment for this story.

In Bird’s own liability waiver, the company warns riders that even those who have vehicle insurance policies should check with their providers before riding a scooter.  “Automotive insurance policies may not provide coverage for accidents involving or damage to this vehicle,” the waiver on its website states.  Hoyt Tessener, a litigation attorney with the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, says it’s a complicated issue – for drivers like Shuramu but especially for scooter riders.  While traditional car insurance coverage will apply to a driver when a vehicle is at fault in a scooter collision, it doesn’t work the same way with scooter riders.  “I don’t believe motor scooters fit in any category so, as a result, I don’t see that there’s any insurance company in North Carolina covering someone riding a motor scooter,” he says.

North Carolina is also one of four states with contributory negligence laws on the books – something scooter riders need to be aware of before taking off, he says. It’s legal jargon that means that, even if a scooter rider is not at fault in the collision, it’s unlikely he or she would get payback in court, he says. When it comes to finding fault in 46 other states, damage can be split, he explains. If the damage costs $10,000, and driver is found 20 percent at fault, he or she would only get $8,000, he explains.  In North Carolina, he says “if the plaintiff in any way contributed, you’re entitled to no recovery. ... Riding the scooter itself might be contributory negligence.”But what if, as with Tibebu’s Toyota, a car is involved in a scooter wreck and the Bird is at fault? Uninsured motorist coverage has limits, he says.

“There has to be contact,” he explains. “If the scooter pulls in front of you and you swerve to the left into a telephone pole, you’re out of luck,” he explains. While you can use your collision coverage, “most policies have a $500 deductible, and most insurance companies can raise your rates.”  The big issue? Scooters aren’t specifically defined in North Carolina law. Electric bikes have to have pedals. Mopeds have to have seats.   “Scooters are not defined in the general statute,” he says.

In an interview, N.C. Department of Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey says writing scooters into regulations is an issue for the cities – not necessarily the state.  “I think it’s something that should be addressed by the cities, the city councils, because they seem to be going to the urban areas,” he says. “I think each local municipality should probably address it and if they feel strongly one way or the other, they should contact state legislators.”  And he, too, shares Tessener’s concerns on liability.

“I think there needs to be a little better control,” he says. “I’m not saying they need to be banned, but I think there needs to be better control … there’s a lot of questions on liability, what liability is the city going to face if somebody gets hurt or killed on one of these things?”Bird didn’t respond to a request to comment, but its liability waiver warns riders to obey all applicable laws and to wear helmets – something complaints lodged with the city of Raleigh allege isn’t always being done.  Riders are also, according to the terms, required to file wreck reports with a local police department “within 24 hours” if a crash involves injuries, property damage or a stolen vehicle. 

As for Tibebu, he says he’s been in touch with his insurance company, but is awaiting clarification on what his next steps are. For his part, he doesn’t blame Los Angeles-based Bird.“It was the driver,” he says. “He was careless.”""

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/10/08/what-you-need-to-know-about-bird-scooters-and.html?ana=e_du_prem&s=article_du&ed=2018-10-08&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1539036595&j=84279591

Me:  be very careful on these scooters.  I don't know what the answer is but I do know I have almost been run over and hit walking on the sidewalks uptown.  Perhaps there is market for some kind of scooter insurance that every rider must pay? 

 

[KJHburg]

From the Nashville UP but photos from all over.   the Bird graveyard. (or Lime for that matter)

https://www.instagram.com/birdgraveyard/  

[nakers2]

On 10/8/2018 at 6:27 PM, KJHburg said:

“There has to be contact,” he explains. “If the scooter pulls in front of you and you swerve to the left into a telephone pole, you’re out of luck,” he explains. While you can use your collision coverage, “most policies have a $500 deductible, and most insurance companies can raise your rates.”  The big issue? Scooters aren’t specifically defined in North Carolina law. Electric bikes have to have pedals. Mopeds have to have seats.   “Scooters are not defined in the general statute,” he says.

Great, so now we're just gonna have people running over scooter riders.

[Trickbot]

1 hour ago, nakers2 said:

Great, so now we're just gonna have people running over scooter riders.

I mean if one flies in front of my car, im not trying to pay for another person's stupidity, and since the law doesnt mention scooters that means cars have the right of way

[KJHburg]

City deciding how to continue to work with scooter rentals and in the future the state will determine how they view them.   (as motor vehicles or not)

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2018/10/22/as-pilot-program-comes-to-close-discussion.html?ana=e_ae_set1&s=article_du&ed=2018-10-22&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1540238244&j=84563851

[deleted]

Remember last year when all those bikes were everywhere on sidewalks?  That didn't last long.  I don't know if it's the weather, the city or the owners but I am seeing a lot fewer scooters these days also.

[kermit]

Some stats  from tweeter on scooter emissions (including the car trip for recharging). They are from the interwebs so caveat emptor but these numbers  show that emissions are around 90% less for scooters than equivalent car trips

 

 

Edited November 15, 2018 by kermit

[kermit]

Game day:

 

[SgtCampsalot]

Two weeks ago I left work in Uptown 30-45 minutes after the Panthers game hoping to find a scooter to get home. I had to walk/jog nearly to Trader Joe's to find one available (that had power left).
 

[Nick2]

4 hours ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Two weeks ago I left work in Uptown 30-45 minutes after the Panthers game hoping to find a scooter to get home. I had to walk/jog nearly to Trader Joe's to find one available (that had power left).
 

On game day it's super difficult because you start walking a couple of blocks to get to one and it's gone by the time you get to it. Repeat fives times and 20 mins later you finally find one. It's a lot easier if you are just looking for one but trying to find them for a group of 2 or more is virtually impossible.

[15895]

3 hours ago, Nick2 said:

On game day it's super difficult because you start walking a couple of blocks to get to one and it's gone by the time you get to it. Repeat fives times and 20 mins later you finally find one. It's a lot easier if you are just looking for one but trying to find them for a group of 2 or more is virtually impossible.

 

In DC they are seemingly non existent. I miss all the scooters so much! Uptown the Last year I lived there was just crawling with scooters and bikshares on every block all hours of the day and night. 

 

Bikeshares were even everywhere in all of south Charlotte including Ballantyne and wayyyy down south Tryon. 

All we have in DC are the stupid capital bikeshares. I can’t stand bikeshares that aren’t dockless. Absolutely hate them after being spoiled with dockless. It’s nice to have dockless - especially when coupled with mass transit. 

[pathb]

http://www.wfae.org/post/spin-scooters-hit-charlotte-streets-wednesday

 

Quote

Charlotte is getting a third electric scooter company. San Francisco-based Spin says it will put 100 scooters on city streets beginning Wednesday.  

Spin joins two other competitors — Lime and Bird — which have offered scooters in Charlotte since May. Like the other two, Spin charges $1 to unlock the scooters plus 15 cents a minute. Payments are done through a smartphone app.

Spin was acquired in November by Ford Motor Company.

The company also had dockless rental bicycles in Charlotte, but a spokeswoman said they've pulled those out. "After seeing the heightened demand for scooters, the company is focusing exclusively on electric scooters," she said in an email. 

While some residents and city officials have expressed concern about e-scooter safety, they've been popular. Users took more than 120,000 rides on Lime and Bird scooters in October — far more than the 8,100 trips on dockless bicycles.

Spin initially plans to place its scooters around uptown and the South End. 

City officials said in October that they're waiting for the General Assembly to adopt new rules before they decide on local regulations regarding use and safety.

 

[sakami]

I’m surprised new B Cycle stations are happening but a dock was getting installed in the parking deck  at the Midtown Trader Joe’s today. 

[pathb]

1 hour ago, sakami said:

I’m surprised new B Cycle stations are happening but a dock was getting installed in the parking deck  at the Midtown Trader Joe’s today. 

Gamechanger!  That plus the electric bikes B-Cycle is preparing to roll out will make bikes+groceries that much easier... 

[kermit]

1 hour ago, sakami said:

I’m surprised new B Cycle stations are happening but a dock was getting installed in the parking deck  at the Midtown Trader Joe’s today. 

 

They are relocating the station from elsewhere in the center (its not new)

[sakami]

9 minutes ago, kermit said:

They are relocating the station from elsewhere in the center (its not new)

That’s what I was  wondering...didn’t have time to drive by Charlottetowne to look. 

[kermit]

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?

[DH17]

56 minutes 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?

They are trying to support a good work-life balance. /s