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What’s the deal with electric scooters? (self.OutOfTheLoop)
submitted 2d ago by Ultramontrax
We already have electric bikes, electric wheels and the hoverboard was very popular years ago. So, what makes the electric scooter so much better or different that I now see everyone using one?
Electric scooter for reference: https://www.amazon.com/KQi2-Trottinette-%C3%A9lectrique-pour-adultes/dp/B09MTC8ZW1/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=64062042394&hvadid=602804951457&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9000255&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=912559819211097570&hvtargid=kwd-300619592372&hydadcr=7806_13556774&keywords=electric+scooters&qid=1689421707&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1
Electric scooter for reference: https://www.amazon.com/KQi2-Trottinette-%C3%A9lectrique-pour-adultes/dp/B09MTC8ZW1/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=64062042394&hvadid=602804951457&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9000255&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=912559819211097570&hvtargid=kwd-300619592372&hydadcr=7806_13556774&keywords=electric+scooters&qid=1689421707&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1
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DancesWithBadgers 30 points 2d ago
Answer: It's a convenient form factor. The handlebars means they're easier for beginners to ride than - say - a skateboard; but with a folding handle, they're small enough to throw in a car boot or a cupboard. And the simplicity also means that they're relatively cheap (compared with bicycles), which helps popularity.
EDIT: Now I think about it, very low maintenance and near-zero running costs are also factors. EDIT AGAIN: This varies, but round here, there's also no tax, insurance or any of the paperwork. Just hop on and go. Also, of course, you can park them for free anywhere there's something to padlock them to. The flashier ones have alarms too.
EDIT: Now I think about it, very low maintenance and near-zero running costs are also factors. EDIT AGAIN: This varies, but round here, there's also no tax, insurance or any of the paperwork. Just hop on and go. Also, of course, you can park them for free anywhere there's something to padlock them to. The flashier ones have alarms too.
hiroo916 22 points 2d ago
Also, since it's basically just standing on a moving platform, almost anybody can ride one in any type of clothes without being hampered or worried about getting dirty or sweaty, unlike riding a bicycle, even if it is electric.
Much less skill required than an electric one wheel.
Much less skill required than an electric one wheel.
philmarcracken 6 points 1d ago
Turns out OG segway just needed to adopt inline instead of perpendicular.. what a blunder
Chikitiki67 10 points 1d ago
Answer: scooters are super convenient for shorter distance travel. They’re small enough to fit in a car and can also go a fair distance on their own at a decent speed. Electric bikes can get expensive and hoverboards were just never a good idea to begin with so scooters fit that relatively lower cost niche of travel.
Maybe I’m missing something but I see fewer electric scooters now than I did 4-5 years ago.
I haven’t used one in a few years but my wife and I took a couple up and down the beach once and it was fun just driving but we also went a solid 7 miles which we wouldn’t have done if we were just walking.
Maybe I’m missing something but I see fewer electric scooters now than I did 4-5 years ago.
I haven’t used one in a few years but my wife and I took a couple up and down the beach once and it was fun just driving but we also went a solid 7 miles which we wouldn’t have done if we were just walking.
DancesWithBadgers 3 points 1d ago
> Maybe I’m missing something but I see fewer electric scooters now than I did 4-5 years ago.
Depends how friendly your local legal and physical environment is for them, I suppose. They passed a law here in Spain a couple of years ago limiting speed of everything in urban areas to 25km/h; in return for which you're allowed to go on the road with pretty well anything you can strap a motor to (road rules apply, and driver-sized fines are gonna happen if you indulge in fuckery). So scooters are proliferating madly because it's a really convenient method of transport for many people. If all you need to transport is you and maybe a rucksack full of stuff, then scooters are amazingly useful. If you need to haul weight, then yeah you need a car; but then you just call a taxi and throw your scooter in the boot along with the 20 cases of beer or whatever that cargo happens to be. Meanwhile, you're not paying car costs for the other 364 days of the year, and you have a comfortable 5/10/20 mile range (depending upon how expensive your scooter is) for your personal moving about needs.
Depends how friendly your local legal and physical environment is for them, I suppose. They passed a law here in Spain a couple of years ago limiting speed of everything in urban areas to 25km/h; in return for which you're allowed to go on the road with pretty well anything you can strap a motor to (road rules apply, and driver-sized fines are gonna happen if you indulge in fuckery). So scooters are proliferating madly because it's a really convenient method of transport for many people. If all you need to transport is you and maybe a rucksack full of stuff, then scooters are amazingly useful. If you need to haul weight, then yeah you need a car; but then you just call a taxi and throw your scooter in the boot along with the 20 cases of beer or whatever that cargo happens to be. Meanwhile, you're not paying car costs for the other 364 days of the year, and you have a comfortable 5/10/20 mile range (depending upon how expensive your scooter is) for your personal moving about needs.
Far_Administration41 5 points 1d ago
Where I live in Canberra they are ubiquitous. They are mostly for-hire ones, not privately owned, that you operate with a credit card. Popular enough to have two different companies operating the service. They come with a helmet and you can be fined for not wearing it. They are allowed to be ridden on footpaths (sidewalks for you Americans), as can bicycles, which is a pain for pedestrians. On the street, normal road rules apply to riders.
You spot one, hop on, ride to where you want to go around the city, and leave it. A truck comes around and picks them up if they have been left in out of the way places, as they have trackers on.
Few things look as silly as a man in a business suit on one, though.
You spot one, hop on, ride to where you want to go around the city, and leave it. A truck comes around and picks them up if they have been left in out of the way places, as they have trackers on.
Few things look as silly as a man in a business suit on one, though.
realace86 1 points 5h ago
I definitely see many more now and with each passing day.
OtisLukas -10 points 2d ago
Answer: An electric scooter is different from an electric bike in that a scooter has much smaller wheels attached to a platform that resembles a sort of skateboard-like surface with handle bars to steer, and there is usually no seat. An electric scooter is basically a hoverboard with handlebars, which is how they are different. I never heard of electric wheels though so I can't speak to that. Also, they have been around for a long time, well before hover boards, and they aren't at all popular. Your post seems like super weird spam.
themurderator 7 points 1d ago
i dunno where you live, but in nyc they're everywhere. pretty popular.
Fragraham 5 points 1d ago
You're thinking of the Segway. That's a different beast entirely. Electric scooters are more like pwered versions of kick scooters, featuring two inline wheels. Kick scooters have been around since at least the 1950's, and became more popular in the late 1990's and early 2000's with the intoduction of lightweight foldable razor scooters. A lot of people still use razor scooters today. Escooters take the concept, put a battery in the platform, and motors in the wheels. Other than the rough idea of micromobility, escooters have very little to do with Segways or hoverboards.
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