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Charlotte Bike / Scooter Sharing

kermit

By kermit
in Charlotte

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JoshuaDrown
JoshuaDrown

Clearly this issue has level headed people losing some clarity. Throwing a bike into a parking lot doesn't teach the person who left it there a lesson, they are long gone. Throwing a bike into a parki

kermit
kermit

Scooters are back!  Saw Spin and Lime, no Birds  

kermit
kermit

so Bird and Lime are both pulling out of Raleigh, citing crappy regulations. On their way out they flipped the city the middle finger and said that ‘Charlotte is better’ https://amp.newsobserver.

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pgsinger Whistle-Stop

pgsinger

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Those things are a lot of fun, but damn they are dangerous.  I took one home yesterday and took a spill approaching a street crossing on the Rail Trail.  Definitely my fault.  I was slowing down to look east through some trees to make sure no cars were coming, and I went slightly off the path.  The front tire got caught on the concrete when I was trying to come back on the path and I went over the front... I was going so slow the scooter just stopped.  No injuries or issues, but I am sure the crowd at Hot Taco got a laugh at me in my suit and lunch box/bag going down.

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kermit Metropolitan Area

kermit

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This just hit my inbox (it included a "Contact City Officials" button)

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Dear Lime Rider!


Thank you for riding Lime in Charlotte! Since our launch last year, you’ve helped us bring a more sustainable, affordable transportation option to the Queen City.


We recently introduced a new fleet of shared dock-free electric scooters. Our initial deployment on private property with our local business partners is already proving a hit. Unfortunately, the City has threatened to shut the Lime service down in Charlotte.


We need your help! The City needs to hear from you just how important dock-free smart mobility is. It will take less than a minute of your time and could make the difference between whether we have additional affordable, carbon-free transportation option in Charlotte or not.


Thanks for riding!

Sidney

 

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jtmonk Hamlet

jtmonk

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Yep, while I think the scooters are cool and could be popular, I'm sure they are bringing some major headaches to people working for the City.  To introduce these in the City without getting any official approval and then sending out these emails is the wrong way to go about this.   

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CLT2014 Town

CLT2014

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42 minutes ago, jtmonk said:

Yep, while I think the scooters are cool and could be popular, I'm sure they are bringing some major headaches to people working for the City.  To introduce these in the City without getting any official approval and then sending out these emails is the wrong way to go about this.   

They have been at war to tense conflict to limit regulation in other cities over these scooters, so they likely copied and pasted their message they've been using in other cities. In general the scooters have been getting placed without first getting full sign off from municipal governments. 

"San Francisco officials escalated the city’s crackdown on rental scooters Thursday, seizing 159 of the slender vehicles as police were ordering riders off sidewalks."
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SF-s-scooter-skirmish-City-escalates-battle-12849499.php

"San Jose Working to Address Rise in Electronic Scooters"
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/San-Jose-Working-to-Address-Rise-in-Electronic-Scooters-481308491.html

"Austin bike, scooter rules debut to mixed reaction from companies"
https://www.statesman.com/news/austin-bike-scooter-rules-debut-mixed-reaction-from-companies/OL1ngKmjwY7104bQ6k1cJM/

"Motorized scooters pulled from Austin after City Council crackdown"
https://www.statesman.com/news/local/motorized-scooters-pulled-from-austin-after-city-council-crackdown/7HJ3PoC9cItGZZg19uwUYL/

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kermit Metropolitan Area

kermit

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1 hour ago, CLT2014 said:

They have been at war to tense conflict to limit regulation in other cities over these scooters, so they likely copied and pasted their message they've been using in other cities. In general the scooters have been getting placed without first getting full sign off from municipal governments. 

While I don't think Bokhari is wrong here, I gotta say most of the times I hear from him he comes off like an asshat (he threw a bunch of poorly-informed tantrums about Amazon HQ2)

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deleted Burg

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The scooters are cool, I see people using them, I want them to stay.  CLT2014 did a great job documenting Lime's very questionable business practices though.  Doing this once is a bad idea, doing this universally in every city that objects is stupid and a total dick move.  If another company offers scooters, I'd definitely give them preferential treatment over Lime.  I'll intentionally rent bikes from the other companies in the future.

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deleted Burg

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19 minutes ago, TheOneRJ said:

The city is being over dramatic. Is the difference between the already-approved bikes and an electric scooter really that significant?

If they are, SF, San Jose, Austin (and I know for sure) San Diego/Coronado are drama queens also.  Plus, weren't they already at their max for number of bikes?  In my business, I don't like people who ignore prior agreements.  I don't know why this is any different.

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Coronado-Declares-Dockless-Bikes-Scooters-Public-Nuisance-477476173.html

 

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pgsinger Whistle-Stop

pgsinger

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19 minutes ago, TheOneRJ said:

The city is being over dramatic. Is the difference between the already-approved bikes and an electric scooter really that significant?

I actually think it is.  The scooters go 15 mph on a flat surface with my 220# body.  They do not stop as quickly as the bikes and the shorter wheel base and small wheels make them less steady.  They are also motorized vehicles, so I think they need a little more education.  The level of control on them for most people is significantly lower, at least based on my abilities on them versus a bike.  Obviously you can get going much faster on a bike, but hopefully those people that want to go +15 mph are on the roads not sidewalks or even the Rail Trail.

I still support them, but dumping them on the streets unannounced was a poor plan.  The fact they are still racing about the city is also a poor decision.  They should be able to disable them remotely, then go collect them.  Ultimately, you only need a few hundred dollars and you can be racing around on one from Amazon, so I definitely think they should be allowed. 

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Popsickle Whistle-Stop

Popsickle

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6 minutes ago, lit said:

Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t scooters under 50cc operate under the same rules as bicycles?

They still have to be registered, I think the state did this in response to so many people using them as "liquor cycles" and to gather more revenue.  

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kermit Metropolitan Area

kermit

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Dear Lime Rider!

 

Thanks so much for riding our LimeBike and Lime-S scooter in Charlotte - talk about getting around in style! We applaud the City of Charlotte’s decision to establish a permit to allow for dock-free mobility in the City by May 21st.


We will be halting our electric scooter operations while we work with the city to finalize the fine details. Thank you for your patience and we look forward to serving you with more scooters in the coming days.


Thanks for riding!

Your Lime Crew

 

Glad the city is moving quickly on this, everybody really seems to love these things.

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