So how are these Electric Scooters better than E-Bikes?
E-Bike has huge range and make riding the bike at speeds up to 30km/h a breeze.
E-Bike has huge range and make riding the bike at speeds up to 30km/h a breeze.
Mounting the scooter is easier, they are cheaper (thus theoretically better suited to this sort of grab one and drop it wherever model), they are lighter (which is maybe more important for scenarios where you own it rather than grab-n-go), they are easier to maneuver at very low speeds, and they don't require that you know how to ride a bike.
E-bikes win on another set of axes: they are more comfortable for longer rides, they are faster, they have greater range, they are more maneuverable at higher speeds.
I've taken the Jump bike several times and it usually takes just under 15 min to go the same route for only $2
Faster and cheaper wins! :)
As it is, as an NYC resident, I have neither Jump bikes nor shareable electric scooters, so my personal experience is limited. I had no idea that Jump bikes were so cheap -- the cheapest you can get here is the CitiBike, which is non-electric and has a half-hour ride for $3 (cheaper as you get memberships and rides in bulk, but that complex pricing is one of the things that makes it annoying).
Do you know how much of the Jump price is them burning VC money and passing the savings on to you? It seems like the depreciation on the bike is in excess of that amount.
The Ford GoBike which I think it the same program as the CitiBike is rolling out electric assist bikes now too which I believe is $3 for a 30 min ride for the electric. $2 for normal
The 2000s New York decision to put bike lanes all over the place made the city less livable. For example, Hudson St went from three or four lanes of one-way traffic moving predictably, to two lanes of one-way traffic going a predictable speed and a parallel roadway of bicycles moving at unpredictable speeds and behaving in ways to preserve their momentum.
In an environment where the healthy people you see on bikes could have walked where they were going, or taken the subway (pre-Cuomo MTA), they weren't doing anything virtuous compared to all of the other car-less New Yorkers they were shouting at whenever they breezed through an intersection.
Biking in New York was recreation when the subways worked, and fun that made sense on places like the long bike paths without pedestrian cross traffic. Intuitively, these electric scooters would not be the same nuisance to people trying to walk somewhere, or just going out for a stroll. They start from a stop more quickly so people don't try to unsafely preserve their momentum, and their lower cruising speed would tend to allow them to avoid obstacles more easily.
<end rant>
I know I sound like the people in this "Hark! A Vagrant"[1], but bike lanes for the recreation of a small group of people really did make walking around quiet neighborhoods in New York less peaceful and enjoyable. These scooters don't at all sound like they would have the same impact.
Another slight advantage is lower weight (obstacles), though in practice this is unlikely to be a major issue.
Otherwise I agree that an e-bike is superior. I prefer the GoBike e-bikes to Lime/Bird.
Most batteries alone are $150-400.
Buying a cheap generic spec ebike is around $900-$1400
https://qz.com/1257198/xiaomi-makes-the-bird-and-spin-scoote...