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Rental Scooters...not full size Scooters

henzilla

not so retired
Staff member
Another iteration of mass transportation coming to cities from the bicycle rentals to now having to need a motor. Y'all ask what kids want?...here ya go.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/aus...electric-scooters-coming-to-austin/1693830612

Stand up scootering will now be so last year:laugh

There seems to be a reported injury, car contact incident weekly on the stand up scooters, knowing that more are not reported. Recently rode up Congress Ave into downtown Austin and the UT area and was shocked how many are zipping around and quickly becoming another hazard to identify.
The other downside is the scooters are being left in walkways and also getting tossed into the creeks and river downtown.
 
Scoots

I know that they can be a pain in the ass but if someone had them at the moa rally would you use them, or rent them one would have been nice in Des Moines for trips around fairgrounds
 
These are about 2/3 in weight and in speed of the 49cc Sears and Roebuck Allstate Moped (by Puch) I bought when 14 years old. I suspect they will in fact lead some riders to small bikes, and then some of them to bigger bikes. I know for a fact that oldsters thought I was a menace on my moped. Some of them told my parents that was true. :)
 
These are about 2/3 in weight and in speed of the 49cc Sears and Roebuck Allstate Moped (by Puch) I bought when 14 years old. I suspect they will in fact lead some riders to small bikes, and then some of them to bigger bikes. I know for a fact that oldsters thought I was a menace on my moped. Some of them told my parents that was true. :)

My hope is they could be a gateway intro to future motorcycle riders. The skateboard crowd easily accepted the stand up versions and seem to be the target market. The city is actively adding bicycle lanes and opened a new section on western edge of downtown yesterday, however shared with bus traffic.
20MPH and regular traffic lanes with little education or experience will be interesting. Riding bicycles used to be a mixed bag of interaction when I did it regularly in the area.


I remember when inline skaters were the downtown and UT area target of anger.Been a while for sure.
 
I know that they can be a pain in the ass but if someone had them at the moa rally would you use them, or rent them one would have been nice in Des Moines for trips around fairgrounds

An interesting proposition... can you stand on the floorboards while cruising:dance
 
My hope is they could be a gateway intro to future motorcycle riders. The skateboard crowd easily accepted the stand up versions and seem to be the target market. The city is actively adding bicycle lanes and opened a new section on western edge of downtown yesterday, however shared with bus traffic.
20MPH and regular traffic lanes with little education or experience will be interesting. Riding bicycles used to be a mixed bag of interaction when I did it regularly in the area.


I remember when inline skaters were the downtown and UT area target of anger.Been a while for sure.

Gateway motorcycles; gateway drugs. Not much difference; with both they get you hooked with the cheap stuff and then the cost goes way up.
 
or rent them one would have been nice in Des Moines for trips around fairgrounds

During the fair you can rent the 4 wheel handicap electric scooters.
I thought that might have been a option at the rally, but maybe it was too costly or complicated to arrange.

53e43cf91ce33.image.jpg

Looked it up, $60 a day during the fair.
 
Another iteration of mass transportation coming to cities from the bicycle rentals to now having to need a motor. .

I see Downtown Des Moines has a lot of bicycle rentals, I wonder if they will add the electric scooters as a option?
 
During the fair you can rent the 4 wheel handicap electric scooters.
I thought that might have been a option at the rally, but maybe it was too costly or complicated to arrange.

View attachment 72245

Looked it up, $60 a day during the fair.

Or, a missed opportunity that needs addressing in future spread out facilities.
 
Or, a missed opportunity that needs addressing in future spread out facilities.

Was this shot taken at the Des Moines National? Oh wait, probably not, nobody dressed in Hi Viz though the crowd looks similar. :dunno Is that guy with the scooter at full lock a GS Giant ? :):)

Friedle
 
Since renting scooters at the national was mentioned, I will ask-will there be a shuttle? There was at the last MOA national I attended.

Bob
 
There has been several Texas incidents in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio. It makes the news here weekly.

I did a search using ''scooter accident" Most are short reports, but definitely seems to be a growing issue. Riding after dark seems to be a bigger factor on some of the more serious ones.

https://cbsaustin.com/search?find=Scooter+accident
 
These are about 2/3 in weight and in speed of the 49cc Sears and Roebuck Allstate Moped (by Puch) I bought when 14 years old. I suspect they will in fact lead some riders to small bikes, and then some of them to bigger bikes. I know for a fact that oldsters thought I was a menace on my moped. Some of them told my parents that was true. :)

Might lead one or two oddball kids to real bikes, but I suspect that the majority of youngsters using them wish that the things drove themselves so they could keep playing with their phones.
 
My home town of Portsmouth NH, which is small (pop 21K, swelling to over 60K in the summer) but congested and rather tight on parking, has decided to allow any vehicle which qualifies as a moped (50cc or under, automatic clutch, no shifter, top speed of no more than 35 mph) to park on the sidewalks with no charge for meters etc. In NH, mopeds do not require a motorcycle license. On any summer day it's not unusual to see 100+ scooters parked around town. Both my wife and I have such scooters and they are our preferred method of transportation as long as weather permits. Scooters are the favored transportation for many of the downtown workers as well as automobile parking in the downtown area is likely to cost about $8.00 per day. Some of these hardy souls run their Honda Ruckus scooters (the favored scoot of the young) throughout the winter. Based on our local experience I'd suggest that small scooters are a useful device for urban transportation.
 
My home town of Portsmouth NH, which is small (pop 21K, swelling to over 60K in the summer) but congested and rather tight on parking, has decided to allow any vehicle which qualifies as a moped (50cc or under, automatic clutch, no shifter, top speed of no more than 35 mph) to park on the sidewalks with no charge for meters etc. In NH, mopeds do not require a motorcycle license. On any summer day it's not unusual to see 100+ scooters parked around town. Both my wife and I have such scooters and they are our preferred method of transportation as long as weather permits. Scooters are the favored transportation for many of the downtown workers as well as automobile parking in the downtown area is likely to cost about $8.00 per day. Some of these hardy souls run their Honda Ruckus scooters (the favored scoot of the young) throughout the winter. Based on our local experience I'd suggest that small scooters are a useful device for urban transportation.

Absolutely! :thumb:thumb

Nobody actually needs 1600 or 1800 cc to meet their mobility needs in urban areas.
 
I am still talking about dockless scooters, not moped style Vespas and the like. There is a large presence of moped/Vespas running around but the stand up and now sit on scooters is the new territory. Scooter is a broad brush...like saying you ride a F650...more info needed please:scratch The BMW scooter and a dockless Bird are miles apart.

IMG_3055-1-e1528491764543.jpg

Texas, and the City of Austin are confused on licensing requirements. A 50cc moped requires a motorcycle endorsement license and a helmet if under 18. A 49cc moped needs no motorcycle license or registration, but on both the operator is supposed to hold a valid driver license...see, I am already confused.
The stand up scooters say licensed drivers and you agree to terms and conditions on the unlock app about helmets...rare. Seeing two up is not uncommon. Seeing folks who appear to me under 18 as well.
The stand up e-scooters may reach speeds of 15mph and can ride on sidewalks in some places and not in other certain downtown zones. UT says only where bicycles can go, no sidewalks basically. Real life has them riding in traffic lanes going around parked cars and buses loading. There are some crazy YouTube videos of them on ATX streets.I have interacted with them on motorcycles and a cage. They are supposed to use the marked bike lanes when possible. At least I can ride my bicycle faster once moving and get away from the novice user.

http://www.kut.org/post/blindsided-scooter-drop-austin-races-make-riding-safer

https://www.statesman.com/news/20181218/lime-tallied-275000-scooter-riders-in-austin-this-year

The new sit down scooters can go 20 (somewhere I saw 35 is possible with software, but shorter travel as a price)

The CDC and COATX are doing a study linked above in the article of a dead battery stop issue.

Mobility and common sense have not met yet and the rules and enforcement are on a different plane as well.
 
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