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Scooter-sharing Comes To Washington After Speed Bumps Elsewhere (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

So many Washingtonians are gliding the final few blocks of their commutes on motorized scooters that a new sharing program cannot keep up with rush-hour demand. Authorities in other big U.S. cities that pioneered the concept are less than thrilled. From a report: [...] The pilot program in Washington, which runs until August, is capped at 400 scooter permits. It has been so popular that there are often no vehicles left for riders seeking to locate the two-wheeled stand-up rides. To guard against problems seen in other cities, Washington riders must agree to a digital contract that spells out rules that prohibit riding on sidewalks, mandate sticking to roadway bike lanes and proper curbing of discarded scooters, LimeBike's Gendron said.

37 comments

  1. They can have ours by jtara · · Score: 1

    Send a few sei-trucks to San Diego. Washington can have our scooters!

    1. Re:They can have ours by jtara · · Score: 1

      For the spellings Nazis: "semi-trucks".

    2. Re:They can have ours by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For the truck driving Nazis: "tractor-trailers".

    3. Re:They can have ours by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My mother was a spelling Nazi, you insensitive clod!

  2. First post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nt

    1. Re:First post by PPH · · Score: 1

      I'll bet it really hurt when you hit it.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  3. GTA_V by hduff · · Score: 1

    Scooter Buddies!
    https://i.imgur.com/kAX96Re.jp...

    --
    "I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
  4. too fast by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    These just arrived to Atlanta this week. The riders have been going full speed just inches from pedestrians. They silently sneek up from behind at full speed. In my opinion, crashes are likely as many of the riders are not bright enough to slowdown or walk when they approach heavy pedestrian traffic on the sidewalks. They are sometimes riding in packs, so if you don't get hit by the first scooter, you get 5 more opportunities.

    1. Re: too fast by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Time for some speed bumps on the bike lanes!

    2. Re: too fast by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it would be an improvement if they rode those electric scooters in the bike lanes - the riders prefer the sidewalks

    3. Re: too fast by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (they look fun, I just wish people were more careful)

  5. Scooters STINK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In many cities, two-stroke scooters are now being banned because THEY STINK and are more polluting than most cars.

    Anyone who thinks they are cool and cleaner should be required to stand behind one while its pathetic engine is revved hard.

    1. Re:Scooters STINK by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 1

      Those are electric, not gas. Also, most (if not all?) scooters sold in the US are 4-stroke these days.

    2. Re:Scooters STINK by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Those are electric, not gas. Also, most (if not all?) scooters sold in the US are 4-stroke these days.

      It's actually still legal to sell 2-strokes in the USA, whether you're talking about scooters, motorcycles, PWCs, or what have you. Surprisingly, it's actually still legal to sell them in California as well. But both the EPA and California have emissions testing requirements which have to be satisfied to legally sell a vehicle in this country, and many if not most of the two-strokes are coming into this country from China with fake paperwork claiming they've been tested when in fact they have not. Still, people are still buying lots of them because you can get them super-cheap. Some of them are supposed to be pretty good and faithful copies of really good scooters, but I don't really know anything about it. It's just what I've heard (from people not even trying to sell me anything.)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. Smartphone app required? by DogDude · · Score: 1

    You have to own a Google or Apple data collecting device to use scooter renting services? Yeah, no thanks. I'll just walk.

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
    1. Re:Smartphone app required? by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 1

      The scooters themselves are under $300 -- just buy one and take it on the train with you. Problem solved, no Scroogle or Crapple spy device required.

    2. Re:Smartphone app required? by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      Don't worry the scooters also come with a complimentary roll of foil for people like you.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  7. I sent a message to Reuters: by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Reuters editors:

    Stupidly, the U.S. has 2 places called "Washington", Washington, D.C., and Washington State.

    Unfortunately, your writer and 2 editors didn't specify which Washington in the story, "Scooter-sharing comes to Washington after speed bumps elsewhere".

    I presume you mean Washington, D.C.

    1. Re:I sent a message to Reuters: by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 1

      Washington, D.C. has been Washington since 1791. Washington' ("Washington-prime") has only been a state since 1889. So "Washington" refers to the original article, Washington', Washington prime, Washington II, Washington State, or Amazon HQ refer to the unlicensed, outsized duplicate :)

    2. Re: I sent a message to Reuters: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, so you mean "Washington City", as it was originally called.

      Side note, they were originally going to call the state"Columbia", but decided against it because that would be too easily confused with the "District of Columbia". So they named the state Washington instead. What idiots!

    3. Re:I sent a message to Reuters: by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      And while those of us who live here generally are in the habit of saying “Washington state”, we also refer to ourselves as “Washingtonians”.

      Also, Limebike operates in Seattle as well as DC. I wish they didn’t... their bikes tend to get left right in the middle of walkways - probably by the company’s paid employees who are trying to get the bikes noticed. The only riders I ever see around UW seem to be following rather scripted paths.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    4. Re:I sent a message to Reuters: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have to be kidding. People use them all the time.
      It sounds like they're talking about dc though.

    5. Re:I sent a message to Reuters: by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      Watch some of the “riders” sometime, specifically the routes they take and especially where they leave the bikes (and where they go after they get off).

      I’m pretty sure these are mostly people being paid to be seen using the bikes.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    6. Re:I sent a message to Reuters: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The article is clearly referring to a city, thus precluding the possibility that it would be the state. Also in the article it is also described as "the nation's capital", which should resolve any remaining ambiguity.

    7. Re: I sent a message to Reuters: by knorthern+knight · · Score: 1

      And of course there's a city called "Vancouver" in Washington State approx 420 km (260 miles) almost due south of the more well known Vancouver, BC. It's on the north shore of the Columbia River, directly across from Portland, Oregon. The Columbia river is the boundary there.

      It could confuse overseas tourists. For additional giggles, a Seattle radio station KOMO, in one of their jingles mentioned (deep announcer voice...) "From Vancouver to Vancouver, this is KOMO country"

      --

      I'm not repeating myself
      I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
    8. Re: I sent a message to Reuters: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are at least 7x as many people in the state. Plus the economy dwarfs that of the city.

      Of somebody says they're from Washington, they're probably from the state.

      The relative ages aren't really relevant when nobody that old still walks the earth.

    9. Re:I sent a message to Reuters: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Washington, D.C. has been Washington since 1791. Washington' ("Washington-prime") has only been a state since 1889.

      That's true. What is also true is that in 1871 the charter that created Washington, DC was revoked. The separate government entities that were City of Georgetown, City of Washington, and Washington County became a single entity. This act did have a provision that the City of Washington maintained its current borders but I'm not sure what that meant in practice. If the same government rules the City of Washington as the rest of the District then what difference does that distinction mean?

      Oh, then there is the Home Rule Act in 1973 that changed this again. At that point the borders of the city, county, and district became all the same.

      Washington, DC has not existed for 45 years. At least it has not existed as anything separate from DC since then. The entirety of the District of Columbia is Washington, DC. Specifying "Washington, DC" instead of "DC" is redundant. I'd think we could do away with a lot of confusion if people just called it "DC" instead of "Washington". There's a city (and/or county) called "Washington" in nearly every state in the USA. Even specifying "City of Washington" is ambiguous. Pretty sure that there is only one District of Columbia though.

    10. Re: I sent a message to Reuters: by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      And of course there's a city called "Vancouver" in Washington State approx 420 km (260 miles) almost due south of the more well known Vancouver, BC. It's on the north shore of the Columbia River, directly across from Portland, Oregon. The Columbia river is the boundary there.

      It could confuse overseas tourists. For additional giggles, a Seattle radio station KOMO, in one of their jingles mentioned (deep announcer voice...) "From Vancouver to Vancouver, this is KOMO country"

      I always imagined the I-5 signage would be interesting around Seattle - I-5 North - Vancouver, I-5 South - Vancouver.

      Alas, it's not the case, because in Seattle, I-5 South is Tacoma. Then Olympia and finally Vancouver, I think (at least they didn't skip straight to Portland, OR).

      But just to be extra cautious, WSDOT actually lists Vancouver (Canada) as "Vancouver BC", to not confuse it with Vancouver (South Washington)

      Anyhow, Reuters needs to fix it. It's why people say Washington to mean the state, and DC to mean the national capital. Clean and unambiguous. After all, it's also easier to say "DC" than "Washington".

    11. Re:I sent a message to Reuters: by Scarred+Intellect · · Score: 1

      The rule of which Washington you're referring to is simple:

      If you're resident of the state of Washington, "Washington" means Washington State

      If you're not a resident of the state of Washignton, "Washington" means Washington D.C.

    12. Re: I sent a message to Reuters: by Scarred+Intellect · · Score: 1

      Not in Washington, but let's not forget about Ontario, CA, and Ontario, CA.

      Interestingly, Sumpter, OR has the 'p' in it, because the Post Office wouldn't recognize Sumter as a city since it was already registered in South Carolina (if I recall correctly, the settlers of Sumpter wanted to name it the same because they came from Sumter and were there due to a military deployment). These rules apparently don't transcend national boundaries.

  8. Riding on DC sidewalks by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2

    Riding on DC sidewalks will be a self-fixing problem. DC sidewalks are often so uneven that scooter riders might end up "arse over tit." This happening once tends to be an educational experience.

  9. Reuters: Be clear when you communicate. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    We know that. However, it would be sensible for Reuters, a European media company, to make it clear which "Washington" the story is discussing.

  10. They are fun for tourist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Had a great time last Sunday tearing around on way bot scooters at the capitol. Cops saw us on sidewalks, but said nothing. They go well enough on dirt, grass and crappy sidewalks. Looped around the mall in like 30 minutes, then dumped them to go into museums. Way fun.

  11. Howay! by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    I thought they meant the one near Sunderland.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    1. Re:Howay! by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      I thought it was Washington University which, of course, is in Missouri.

  12. Washington in England by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    Washington in England

  13. NYC needs this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey, this would be a good use for all the crap bike lanes NYC has destroyed the streets with. No one really uses them, save deliverymen....who use illegal electric bikes.