this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2025
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micromobility - Bikes, scooters, boards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility

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Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles, heelies, or an office chair: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!

"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.

micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"

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[–] SirMaple__@lemmy.ca 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

I'm all for getting rid of those damn e-scooters. For a couple of reasons. Speed and lack of the riders wearing any protection(no helmet, no pads, nothing). Where I live we have rental e-scooters and people leave them EVERYWHERE...even in the river...

[–] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I ride a private e-scooter, and ride responsibly (helmet, turn signals, ride well below bike speed, etc.).

Rentals are the problem, and so are jackasses. But don't punish people like me.

I knew years ago that e-bikes and e-scooters will be helped or hurt by the people riding them. And now we see what happens when people aren't riding on them responsibly. Sucks big time.

[–] ElectroLisa@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 weeks ago

I second this. I also have an eScooter and I don't have to rely on a very poor public transport schedule, and the electricity bills from charging it at home are cheaper than a monthly ticket

[–] SirMaple__@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Oh I know there are some who have smarts and ride them with caution and protection. It's the jackasses for sure that have tainted my view on them. I see a lot of idiots where I am zipping around not caring about those around them.

[–] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It’s the jackasses for sure that have tainted my view on them. I see a lot of idiots where I am zipping around not caring about those around them.

It's because there's almost no barrier to entry. Unlike a bike, which requires years of riding to even get fit enough to sustain high speed, anyone can get on an e-scooter and go as fast as the max speed allows. Provided they stay balanced, there's nothing else to it. And that's problematic when you've got a rider who lacks experience or simply doesn't care about others.

But the way I see it, these same people would be jackasses in cars, so even though it's awful, it's like the lesser of two evils.

I'm not even sure how society can solve this problem without heavy regulation (which doesn't impact those who are willing to be jackasses), heavy restrictions (see previous point), or forcing people to drive large vehicles because it's more convenient.

There's currently no legal mechanism to punish offenders, so everyone gets shafted.

[–] phant@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

I'd like to add to this thread (coz I rarely see this mentioned.) The rental scooter system encourages shitty riding. I only recently tried it on vacation for convenience and you pay per minute, not distance. And it's kinda expensive. So users are financially motivated to run risks (speed, cut traffic, run reds etc.) in order to save money. I was pretty horrified to find this out, but it made sense of all the shitty riding I had seen prior.

[–] kurikai@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

Don't cars get left everywhere too? For Henry's and stuff, then need to educate people and provide easy access to helmets, not ban then

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I saw someone take out two people on a rental scooter the other day. She was hauling ass down a hill, no helmet, and pretty much ran into a crowd. She was probably late teens, no helmet or pads, and apparently no awareness.

[–] SirMaple__@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Here it's them riding on the sidewalk and almost (or actually) hitting someone as they step out a door.

Best part about the rental e-scooters here is they have helmets attached to each one. I think I've seen them woren once or twice and we've had them here for a few years now.

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

I'd be leery of community helmets for a whole host of reasons, but I'd probably also bring my old folding bike instead of renting something.