Remember those Razor scooters every kid had to have in the 2000s? (Because who were you if you weren’t cruising the neighborhood on your two translucent blue wheels? And who could forget the pain one caused when it met your ankle?)
Scooters are making a comeback as an easy public transportation alternative to bikes – especially in areas where there’s not always a designated bike lane. While Columbia is working toward being more bikeable – especially with the recent launch of BlueBikeSC – what about scooter-able?
Cities like Charlotte, Nashville + San Diego have implemented dockless electric scooters as their latest commuting option. In participating cities, you can find a scooter, pay $1 through an app on your phone (with a valid driver’s license), and get a 30-minute ride.
A few of the companies capitalizing on the two-wheeled craze include Spin, Lime (which recently partnered with Uber) + Bird.
The upside to renting a dockless electric scooter: you can park it anywhere… which has also turned out to be a downside.
Denver started impounding scooters that had been left strewn along sidewalks; Nashville sent a cease + desist letter to Bird just two days after they hit the ground (but they’ve since been allowed back with new rules); and Charleston recently passed an ordinance to ban electric scooter rentals after one company’s attempted launch.
Most cities have made it clear they want to develop a better system for dockless scooters rather than banning them entirely, but the solution is still a question mark.
Dockless electric scooters could be a great way to increase affordable + convenient public transportation – if properly monitored. But are they even desired?
We asked if you would ride an electric scooter through the city, and most of you said yes 👍 – to be exact, 60% on Facebook, 63% on Twitter + 70% on our Instagram poll gave the idea a thumbs-up.
Here’s what a few of you said:
👍 “I’m in if I can pay a yearly fee for unlimited rides like the Blue Bikes. Amazing deal.” –@zackdjames
👎 “bikes = actual exercise and generate safer bike/pedestrian infrastructure. scooters = limited exercise and they’re all over the sidewalks, making life harder for pedestrians” –Glenna B.
👍👎 “Yes, but i would be fearful of how cars and pedestrian traffic are going to react. Unless cola gets more/better bike lanes increasing transportation modes will likely chase more accidents and injuries than what normally occurs downtown.”–John K.
👍 “I was in Kansas City a couple of weekends ago and bird scooters were everywhere!! Sooooo convenient!! Scan with your loaded app and you’re on your way. Just drop them anywhere so no need to find a docking station. I thought it was an awesome idea! I’d so use them!” –@toeyjame65
I’ve personally come across scooters in both San Diego and Nashville – both with very different experiences.
In San Diego, they seemed like more of a nuisance: left on the sides of major highways, cluttering the sidewalks of their downtown area (to the point that you were stepping over one every few steps), and having to jump out of the way of being run over by one.
In Nashville, the experience was much better (probably because it was right after Bird had been re-released with their new rules – most of which were focused on safety) so I actually used them for several hours to sightsee the city. They were easy to find, typically left in clusters (out of the way, since Nashville users can potentially be fined $25 for leaving one in a public right-of-way) and I never feared being trampled by one since they’re not allowed to be used on sidewalks within a business district + users must yield to pedestrians.
Would you use Bird or Lime dockless scooters if they launched in Columbia? Tell us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook
We’ve had Zapp electric scooters in Columbia since 2016 (also operated with an app – with a one-time $5 account fee + $0.50/minute or $7.99/30 minutes – but which require you to return them to specific areas). And now we have the previously mentioned, docked BlueBikeSC system, with some manual bikes + some e-bikes. These also require drop-off in docking stations.
What do you think are the pros/cons to dockless transportation? One ‘pro’ – to me – is that dockless transport seems like it could become part of your daily travel (a.k.a. pick it up near your house + then drop it at the bus stop when you switch transportation modes or ride it straight to work and leave it there to be potentially ridden back home at the end of the day).
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
–Sam
