Sharing Scooters

I’ve been seeing scooters littering the sidewalks around Detroit for a while, but I’m usually within a short walk of my car so they really didn’t make an impression. They just looked like a novelty.

Now that I’m in Kansas City where a lot of people walk to avoid the chore of parking I’ve seen a more and more people taking advantage of their ubiquitousness and convenience. The streets have become littered with them, especially in areas around what are considered “Bird’s Nests”, like most of the Power & Light District.

They’re supported by a company called Bird and you can essentially grab one from wherever you find it and take it wherever you want to go. The concept is that you use an app on your phone to unlock them, and leave a photo of where you left it using the app to end the ride, and your credit card is charged. It’s actually quite a bit easier than Uber or Lyft and a heck of a lot more fun. More convenient but not necessarily cheaper. They’re definitely not as cheap as the free street car, but that’s constrained to where the track is laid, along Main.

Suddenly an outsider showed up with bright orange paint jobs and the name Spin on them. At first they were on opposite sides of the streets.

But after a few days they were intermixed all over the place.

Anyway, I’d heard about them from colleagues for weeks and I snubbed my nose because I typically would rather walk than spend money on something as fleeting as a ride of about a mile. That is until it was nearly 100 degrees out and I wanted to get someplace quicker than walking and I saw that scooter just sitting there, beaconing me.

I downloaded the app, created an account, added $5 to it using ApplePay, scanned the bar code, and I was off. The app is very clear that they do NOT want riders on the sidewalks and made me acknowledge that more than once. They also insist on helmets. Typical guy, I ignored all that safety crap. I’ve (foolishly) prided myself on my ability to operate anything with wheels and I’d been on my kids’ scooters before so I didn’t think twice about safety.  Well, the price of hubris is often painful. I’d laughed at work friends who spilled off their Birds, getting bruises and road rash. I figured alcohol had to be involved, right? Well, I did miss a sudden elevation drop where the sidewalk fell down to a parking lot entrance and the Bird jumped up and bit me. I’ve got the bruise to prove it but it’s easily hidden. Don’t tell anyone, but it looks kind of bad.

Anyway, that ride lasted all of seven minutes to go just over half a mile. It cost $3.62 and a bruised ego. At least I stayed out of the emergency room (I’ve heard stories…) which would have increased the costs a bit.

In the spirit of curiosity I kept eyeing the competitor. It gnawed at me, so I justified it as “I can write a post about this”. So I downloaded the Spin app, created an account, and gave them a Spin. Get it?

That ride also lasted seven minutes and cost approximately $3.51 when I disregard the (WELCOMESPIN) credit.

Now that I’ve tested them both (for science) I felt like the experience was essentially the same. I don’t think either one really outshone the other. The Spin scooters don’t show as much wear yet, but they haven’t been trolling the streets of Kansas City nearly as long, either. I wonder if there is something in the user agreement that says the rider is responsible for damage to a scooter. It seems like most superficial damage could be played off as “it wasn’t like that when I dropped it off” but if you were to get it run over by a truck during the time you have it checked out it would be kind of obvious.

With my curiosity satisfied I can proved a few observations.

1. They’re not for everybody – you have to have a degree of physical fitness and balance that not everybody has
2. They’re not to be underestimated – for goodness sakes, don’t think about operating them when under the influence!
3. They’re not cheap but they are a bit cheaper than Uber or Lyft, which makes sense. The only “employee” involved is whoever is paid to pick them up at night to recharge them. Maybe I should look into that as a side gig…
4. They’re kind of fun
5. I prefer the free street car and walking

Are they the future of ride sharing? I bet they cut into the market that was once owned by the bike sharing companies I’ve seen in Toronto and Chicago. There is one here in Kansas City but it doesn’t look nearly as convenient since there is a dock involved where you have to start and end your rental.

I noticed today that there’s a third version with a strange cable lock.

That looks like the same company as the bikes, trying not to lose market share. I’ve not seen anybody on either the bikes or the RideKC scooter so it may be a lost cause.

~ Freddy