Dockless Scooters in Atlanta (price, bus, gangs)

[samiwas1]

I don’t see a problem with the idea. If someone wants to scooter around, then by all means, scooter around. Too hot, too cold, too sweaty, too wet...that’s the users’ problem. That’s not a reason to say yes or no to the idea. Where the problem lies is this whole “dockless” idea. Scooters just being left anywhere and everywhere? Terrible idea that is just clutter. Could you imagine if we could just put cars anywhere we damn please? Ugh.

[MattCW]

Places are still free to designate scooter parking.

I'm not sure the early sweep time will work well for Atlanta. Scootering around seems like a good way to get around later in the evening. 10pm would be a more reasonable time. I'm also not sure how they're going to keep under 18s from using them. Is there a designated scooter police? Unless there's some weird law I don't know about, there's nothing illegal about under 18s on scooters in general in Atlanta.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by MattCW

Places are still free to designate scooter parking.

I'm not sure the early sweep time will work well for Atlanta. Scootering around seems like a good way to get around later in the evening. 10pm would be a more reasonable time. I'm also not sure how they're going to keep under 18s from using them. Is there a designated scooter police? Unless there's some weird law I don't know about, there's nothing illegal about under 18s on scooters in general in Atlanta.

I think you need a driver's license to create an account on their app.

[Otakumaster]

These are working fine in LA.

Atlantans need to get with the times.

[tikigod311]

I should clarify, despite my cynical comment about driver slowing down (it will take many deaths for that to take effect), I love that this is coming to town. We need more last mile connections like this and it sounds like fun.

I still don't really understand how this can be a reliable option if there's no dock. If someone takes it from a node to their home/apt, the chances of it being used from there may be very low. It seems like they would have to constantly manually reset these back at transportation nodes.

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by red92s

I think you need a driver's license to create an account on their app.

So kids can get their parents to setup an account.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Heck, a lot of the trips on the scooters are likely to take just as long as a walk from to back of a strip mall parking lot.

That's a perfect application for these scooters. If you have to park in some distant corner it can be a major hike up to the store.

[cqholt]

The comments against this idea just show how much we have been programmed automatically to think about cars for every trip.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by cqholt

The comments against this idea just show how much we have been programmed automatically to think about cars for every trip.

I know it's practically impossible for you to make a comment without taking a dig at cars, and assuming any objection most be rooted in a desire for a car-centric lifestyle, but at least consider that there are advocacy groups for pedestrians, those with mobility impairments, and seniors voicing strong concerns about these, since they tend to end up strewn about and discarded on sidewalks.

The scooters themselves seem like a reasonable solution to last mile connectivity, but in other cities their rapid introduction was almost entirely unregulated and poorly implemented. The "dockless" strategy creates a lot of potential for issues, since when people are done (or the battery is depleted) they can drop it wherever they want and absolve themselves of any responsibility of how it impacts others.

Walk San Francisco, the 20-year-old organization that advocates for safe streets and sidewalks, sent a letter on April 11 to the three dockless scooter companies — Bird, Lime, and Spin — currently operating in San Francisco, urging them to take immediate action to follow California Vehicle Code 21235, which prohibits riding motorized scooters on sidewalks and parking them in a way that blocks pedestrian mobility.

https://sf.streetsblog.org/2018/04/1...acebook-album/

The SFMTA’s proposal also describes how the city has received numerous complaints from residents pertaining to electric scooters. The complaints cover improper parking that blocks sidewalks and access to doors, as well as someone tripping over a scooter that was left on a sidewalk.

“This is of particular concern to members of the public who travel in a wheelchair or who have visual impairments, and have greater difficulty seeing and avoiding (or moving) Powered Scooter Share Scooters blocking their path,” the proposal states. “The SFMTA has been informed of one instance in which a person with a visual impairment fell after tripping on a scooter, as well as a report of a person breaking a toe after tripping on a Powered Scooter Share scooter.”

https://techcrunch.com/story/the-ele...san-francisco/

[Atlanta Scientist]

Originally Posted by cqholt

The comments against this idea just show how much we have been programmed automatically to think about cars for every trip.

This country has become so desensitized to cars and all their negative impacts that when something else is introduced, it’s easy to fixate on—or make fun of—whatever is new.

https://www.curbed.com/word-on-the-s...-san-francisco

You are correct.