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Comment by MattyRad | Hacker News Reader

This was a pretty good read, if somewhat depressing.

One optimistic thing I've noticed with respect to cheap (close-distance) travel is that personal electric scooters and bikes are becoming more noticeable on streets and sidewalks. I own a scooter and have considered consolidating vehicles with my wife, since I ride my scooter to work (winters are the main drawback).

Transportation is called out specifically as a reason for dread in this terrific article https://www.residentcontrarian.com/i/32348260/transportation Hopefully small electric transport can help.

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>> personal electric scooters and bikes are becoming more noticeable on streets and sidewalks

How long does it take to get from Detroit to LA on a personal electric scooter?

These fellows did it in sixty-two days:

* https://electrek.co/2020/08/27/segway-teases-new-electric-mo...

* https://web.archive.org/web/20230507093230/https://riderguid...

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw_PSH8MBTc

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransAmerica_Bicycle_Trail

That was going a max of 18.6 mi/h (30 km/h); there are ones that can go >90 km/h:

* https://escooternerds.com/fastest-electric-scooters/

  swapping out scooters as each battery was depleted to avoid waiting around while the scooters charged.

That doesn't seem feasible for a regular journey.

Connect a solar panel?

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sZJqynNhOk

In Taiwan my buddy combined the extensive battery swap electric scooter infrastructure with a huandao, which means around the island trip. It took him like a month. He said it was interesting but tedious, needing to stop sometimes every hour if he was riding hard in the mountains. I think the big scooters can go something like 120km flat on a double battery stack.

That same ride can be done comfortably in a week on a gas motorcycle or overnight in a car if you can change drivers. In a train it can be done in just under a day.

I just don't think personal vehicles are the path forward for moving humans.

You can ride around Taiwan in less than a week on a regular pedal bicycle (I've done the twin ride around Shikoku).

Yeah but it sucks lol. I could do it in 24 hours on my motorcycle but it would be miserable.

I enjoyed it a lot, shrug.

Well, for the physical exertion of it, sure.

I didn't state my point well though, if you've been to Taiwan you can see firsthand what it looks like when a society goes with the "small personal vehicle option" as a primary people mover. Even with the fantastic MRT and really good bus system, the sidewalks of Taipei are choking to death on illegally parked scooters.

This sounds like the beginning to an excellent Youtube series!

  personal electric scooters and bikes are becoming more noticeable on streets and sidewalks

Electric scooters on sidewalks are a hazard to pedestrians, at least the way they are typically ridden in San Francisco.

They would be great in bike lanes. If you can replace some cars with electric scooters that will likely help traffic.

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