Infrastructure
October 30, 2018

Scooter Sighting: A Drop in the Coming Flood

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Spotted on Georgia, a scooter (non-electric).  This one struck me as odd only because it was so rare.

 

Why hasn’t there been a sudden inundation of dockless electric scooters like Lime, Bird and others that have appeared in cities from San Diego to Seattle?  It’s surely only a matter of time.

To councillors (who would like to avoid having to make decisions on any more bike lanes), get ready for their presence on sidewalks.  If you want to avoid that conflict, then that may mean making provision for scooter/bike lanes.

 

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Transportation
September 14, 2018

How will Shareable Scooters work in Vancouver?

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Sandy James Image

Price Tags Vancouver has been discussing how and when Vancouver will be addressing scooters. And we mean all things about scooters~where they are left, where they will be allowed to  operate, and what the restrictions will be on companies bringing them to Vancouver. .

In a city that does not have a surplus of taxis and with taxis unwilling to do short trips, and with no ride share options on the immediate horizon, other alternatives are needed. There is definitely a latent demand  for short trips, and scooters are one way to go. The Seattle Department of Transportation”s definition of “shareable mobility devices”  include “tricycles, handcycles, tandem cycles, electric scooters, and others” with a view to providing transportation options to disabled residents. Seattle is also looking at hefty licencing fees of  up to $250,000 if four vendors apply. The Reuters clip below shows that vendors make their money back in two to three weeks with scooter shares.

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Policy & Planning
September 4, 2018

What will Vancouver do about scooters?

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They’re back in San Francisco.

As locals hop aboard, complain about the scooters taking up street space, compete to collect and charge them, and hurl them into lakes, municipalities are left to wonder: How do we manage these things? Some, like Austin, have decided to let the companies be. Others, like San Francisco and Santa Monica, have cracked down, limiting which companies can operate, and how.

As with Uber, Vancouver is apparently being cautious.  Or has it just not had to confront the scooter reality when some venture-bro decides to dump them on us?

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