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Uber Adds Electric Scooters To Its App (cnet.com)
Uber is planning to partner with the bike-sharing company Lime to start renting scooters through its app. The announcement was made in Lime's new $335 million funding round. CNET reports: Uber didn't disclose how much it's investing in Lime, but Lime said it's "sizable." With Uber and Lime as strategic partners, the scooters will be co-branded and available in the Uber app. Uber launched a similar partnership with Jump bicycles in January and eventually acquired the dockless bike rental in April.
Scooters have become a controversial topic as they take over more and more cities across the U.S. As regulators hurry to write laws around the new form of transportation, lots of people say they love being able to scoot block-to-block around congested cities. Other residents complain that riders don't follow the laws of the road and endanger pedestrians by riding on sidewalks and leaving the scooters wherever they feel like it -- blocking parking spots, bike racks and wheelchair accesses. Here's what Uber's head of new modalities, Rachel Holt, had to say about the partnership: "Our investment and partnership in Lime is another step towards our vision of becoming a one stop shop for all your transportation needs. Lime already has an expansive footprint, and we're excited to incorporate their scooters into the Uber app so consumers have another fast, affordable option to get around their city, especially to and from public transit."
Scooters have become a controversial topic as they take over more and more cities across the U.S. As regulators hurry to write laws around the new form of transportation, lots of people say they love being able to scoot block-to-block around congested cities. Other residents complain that riders don't follow the laws of the road and endanger pedestrians by riding on sidewalks and leaving the scooters wherever they feel like it -- blocking parking spots, bike racks and wheelchair accesses. Here's what Uber's head of new modalities, Rachel Holt, had to say about the partnership: "Our investment and partnership in Lime is another step towards our vision of becoming a one stop shop for all your transportation needs. Lime already has an expansive footprint, and we're excited to incorporate their scooters into the Uber app so consumers have another fast, affordable option to get around their city, especially to and from public transit."
in most jurisdictions, any motorized vehicle, even low horsepower mopeds, require a drivers license, often a helmet for riders, and can only be operated on streets following the same rules of the road as automobiles. no bike paths, no bus lanes, no sidewalks, and definitely, no parking on sidewalks, either.
enforce the fucking laws, or pass similar legislation, and those damn things will be G.O.N.E.
beaten to death with one of those damn scooters to fight the un-background-checked rapist off
The share bike thing has been a disaster in Australia. Mostly because we are not very mature, so bikes have ended up in rivers, blocking footpaths, damaged and being such a nuisance is that councils are fining bike share companies $2500 per bike found littering public land.
It might work better in asia where there is more social responsibility, but not in OZ and probably not in the USA either.
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what about an damage waiver? uber can be like the rent a car places and bill 3-4 people for the same damage.
Uber seems to think itself above the law. It's one thing to say "hey that law is bullshit". It might be. But it's not the right of a large corporation to subvert local laws just because they seem to get away from it.
Uber should sell pot from it's vehicles and set up a prostitute order service. What would be the difference? All blue laws are bullshit laws unless of course you like them.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
I always wanted to try Lime, but I am afraid of giving yet another app my credit card details. Uber is great though.
THe issue here is not so much whether uber is committing a criminal act-- perhaps the scooter rider is the one violating the law by not wearing a helmet and abandoning the scooter in a place not zoned for it. But uber is the one creating a public nuisance and profiting from it. It's the same reason we don't like abandoned buildings-- they collect squatters. Uber is a racket.
for evading the cops long enough to survive and get massive investment capital needed to buy off all the politicians. The other gig economy start ups got shot down. It was a bit surprising when several of them lost their lawsuits and Uber won theirs.
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Scooters are like tribbles. One or two are cute but more than that and they morph into urban kudzu
And yes. I am fine with using mixed metaphors
I had an incident like that I told the insurance company to fight them and not to give them a dime. They said it would be cheaper just to pay it and they did.
With a few cities excepted public transit in the US is pretty terrible. There are very few subways and there usually isn't enough parking for everyone to take their own car. Buses are too slow, there aren't enough of them, and they're gross. Electric scooters help alleviate the problem because for small trips around crowded areas (i.e. areas with no parking) you can park a mile or two out and take a scooter. It's an innovative solution to a big problem which is expensive and difficult to solve.
To those who complain about them being a 'nuisance' or otherwise - how is it any different than everyone taking a bike? Perhaps there need to be more bike racks and any sort of enforcement of the little laws. It's typically illegal to ride a bicycle on a sidewalk but everyone does it anyway because driving one in traffic is a death sentence. I hope these companies push society to evolve for the better by increasing accomodations for travel besides cars and buses. Not to mention it would be better for the earth.
So driver beat themselves to death? Are you seriously that retarded?