"Scooters" (?) business plan

tirsdag den 22. februar 2022 kl. 23.23.05 UTC+1 skrev Don Y:

here they are typically ~$1.50 start plus ~$0.40 per minute

I believe here they changed to a model with replaceable battery so they don't have to bring them home for charging, they can just replace the battery

There's discounts for parking at one of the "hubs" There's places (controlled via the GPS) where you are not allowed to park so you can't end a trip there. Also prevent you from driving out of the area, or in places where it is not allowed The app requires that you take a picture of how you parked so they can ban people that can't use common sense

Don Y snipped-for-privacy@foo.invalid wrote in news:sv3nns$fvc$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

Nope. Some groups / folks refer to them as "metro scooters".

A real 'scooter'(like the ones they've had in Italy for decades), however, is like a moped, but with no pedals and usually has a body crafted around it. 12" and up for the wheel diameters.

Rich kids with a card mom or dad gave them running around cities having fun. Probably pot couriers.

There are actual mopeds here as well that "more mature" folks use, but yeah they all have trackers in them that may go dormant as long as it gets left at the right drop off points, which is likely because you want the hourly rate charge to stop as soon as you are done with it. So the 'missing' ones are rare because the last user is the first suspect or payee as it were.

You rent it, it activates it's timer. You MUST return it to a proper drop off point for it to communicate with the server and end your rental session.

The full size bikes get left at automatic charging stations. The little kid scooter things vary from brand to brand and city to city. If there is no charging station, the drop off point sends battery condition info as well, and yes, they get rounded up like cattle that don't run away.

The vans I saw, the guy was dragging newly charged bikes off, and loading ded bikes on. Big bikes too. Big friggin vans out there nowadays. Gas slurpers, I'm sure.

The van probably burns up all that was saved.

Some have a shop they cycle them through. Take 20 out, and pick twenty up.

The real litter problem in the USA is really assholes and their discarded cigarette butts. But now, the bigger problem is discarded masks.

But these little 2 wheel guys are ok. A regular part of many cities now. Don't get yer bloomers in a bunch. :-)

They are $1 to start and 29c per minute. "Underprivileged" users pay half rate (50c start, 15c/minute)

Ah, that would make sense. OTOH, it means the battery must be easily replaceable (without encouraging theft... the scooter ends up unattended for long periods after it's most recent rental).

Regardless, it means the business model has to rely on a fleet (?) of trucks to canvas the city to collect/service scooters for "service". Hard to imagine enough "sales" to cover expenses, maintenance/replacement costs, etc.

I don't see any mention of that in the advertisements for the service. The "pitch" seems to be that the scooter can act as the "last leg" of your (public transportation) trip. If you're headed *to* a storefront, then the drop-off could well be at that storefront (no guarantee that you will want to reuse the device after finishing your business, there).

OTOH, if returning *home*, how likely would another renter be to come by YOUR house to pick up the "discard"?

There are two providers, in town. Only one has the photo requirement. (and, the service has to be usable by folks without "smart phones" -- one of the conditions the city put in place before allowing their deployment)

Regardless, what's to stop someone moving the scooter after you've snapped a photo of it "parked properly"?

Amusingly, you hardly ever see one IN USE.

My local city is infested with two varieties. The legal Voi rental scooters and the illegal others. Typical customers are students (city centre traditional campus), and anybody else. Most riders seem to be under 35yo.

They are legally road vehicles, so the riders have to have a licence and insurance. I have no idea how that is enforced. My insurance company tells me in an accident they would be treated as uninsured drivers, and I would lose my no-claims bonus (60%, IIRC!)

Apparently the GPS also geofences where they can't be taken and where they have to be speed limited (15mph on roads, less in shopping areas). Illegal ones - all bets are off, of course.

They are dropped off anywhere and everywhere, and in some places there are so many that they obstruct the pavement (i.e. where pedestrians walk).

I wonder what happens when you take one home, somebody else uses it next day, and you can't find one near you. (I believe the app shows you a map of where the one you are going to rent is located).

There are occasional newspaper articles about users being banned. The last one I saw was a dashcam showing two people on the scooter. That's not uncommon, but illegal.

The surprising point in that case is that they identified the perp; the identification codes are too small to be seen on the dashcam or by eye when moving.

I have occasionally moved them with extreme prejudice, to enable my mother's disabled buggy to pass.

Another failure mechanism is:

Don Y snipped-for-privacy@foo.invalid wrote in news:sv4q8b$g79$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

This is likely not true. Otherwise kids would be stealing the batteries, just like the copper wire days.

They are sealed in and get recharged on the scoot. I see vans of folks gathering them up (the whole scooter)and putting out freshly charged units all the time.

onsdag den 23. februar 2022 kl. 17.55.08 UTC+1 skrev snipped-for-privacy@decadence.org:

there's obviously a lock on it ..

illegal as in, completely identical but owned instead of rented?

how (why) is it any different than riding a bicycle?

Completely different, especially w.r.t. design quality and limited speed.

Legal to buy and sell, but can only be legally used on private land with the owner's permission. You can guess how well that is enforced!

From an insurance point of view, the guess is that there is no difference. I say "guess" because it was an opinion from someone in an insurance office, not a legally tested result.

They are like drones in that they are impulse purchases made without consideration nor understanding - and then operated without caution where they can harm other people.

Tom Gardner snipped-for-privacy@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in news:sv68j3$vem$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

Back in the seventies I applied for and received my FCC CB radio operators's license.

When I bought my first drone the first thing I did was get on the FAA website and register and license it.

I currently ride a scooter whenever the weather is above freezing and not raining. It will do like 70 MPH but there is no tags no license, no insurance as I will not be hitting anyone. I just go where I need to go and if I were ever hassled about it, I would swear that it is only 50cc. Har har. I never climb up anybody's ass and most folks do not bother me about it when they are behind me. Drive safely and at the speed limit and a cop watching cars come down the road goes on about finding the loony ones, not the nice and easy ones.

nonsense, you can literally buy exactly the same as used by Voi or numerous others type approved to exactly the same regulations and limited to to the same 20km/h

you can of course also buy some that are much faster and not type approved for use on public roads, but that is no different that offroad/racing cars or bikes

you could also illegally drive an offroad motorcycle or race car on the street, that doesn't mean all bike or cars on the road are illegal

they are a convenient compact alternative to a bicycle and the rules for using them similar

onsdag den 23. februar 2022 kl. 22.58.29 UTC+1 skrev snipped-for-privacy@decadence.org:

everyone says that, until they do and then you have caused damages and possibly injuries you leave someone else with a big bill that you can't pay and no insurance to cover it ...

He will probably Hit and Run anyway.

Not in the UK.

Even if you have the same type of scooter, they would be illegal. The only legal scooters are the /hired/ scooters.

True, but irrelevant.

People don't obey the law - and that's true for bikes and drones.

With drones they often aren't aware that their playthings are covered by the same law as commercial airliners - the Air Navigation Order. Of course the permitted activities are different for 747s, balloons and drones :)

I know UK have some insane rules, what's next only rental cars allowed on the street?

"You will own NOTHING, you will WILL be happy about it"

"Legality" is a red herring -- unless you've implemented a police state and can *ensure* that "illegal acts/devices" can not happen/exist.

The law (here) says you can't operate (or even HOLD!) a cell phone, while driving. Yet I see nearly every car leaving my subdivision (in the morning rush) occupied by a driver consulting their phone. This, KNOWING that any damage/injury done will be to someone you likely KNOW or live with.

As a kid, I drove my (homemade) "go-kart" around the neighborhood, despite operation on a public roadway being expressly forbidden. Each time, wondering if some "grump" would call the police about my activity.

I can't (legally) operate a drone without line-of-sight. OTOH, if I stand on my *roof*, that line of sight extends pretty damn far! (much farther than the folks whose houses I'd be overflying would have expected)

It is this disconnect between what *can* be done and what is *allowed* that is interesting. E.g., all of the little gasoline-powered skateboards that just *disappeared*, overnight, when the laws were changed. (I know *I* would be pissed if I suddenly couldn't use an item that I'd purchased!)

Lasse Langwadt Christensen snipped-for-privacy@fonz.dk wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

With my scooter? Hardly. With 3500lb cars sure. Not going to be plowing into any crowds any time soon.

StupidAs StupidGet snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:1b16cffc- snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

If I knew your address, I sure as f*ck would, but it would be a 454 Cassul and your face, so you wouldn't know a thing cause you would be worm food.

You have no regard for law and order and public safety anyway. FFF

the is a service in Brisbane Australia that works *exactly* as you outline.