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Electric Scooters in Austin

Silky Johnston

By Silky Johnston
in Food and Travel

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52-80

52-80 19,151

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, SDG said:

I ordered one that arrived today.  I rode it to the post office to drop off some mail.  I have no idea what kind of batteries it has, but I was able to sustain 18 mph on the flats.  I plan to use it around my neighborhood to get to the gym and local bars.

 

As pointed out above the rentals lying around everywhere may be a bit much but owning one in an urban environment is a good idea.   

Wish they had some welded in hooks to fit a lock.  The only option I see now is to loop through the rear wheel. 

 

It's easy to take it inside a business like the post, convenience store, pharmacy, and drop it near the door for a few minutes.  

 

But for longer stints like visiting a festival I don't wanna be lugging a 30# package around the whole time

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mycox

mycox 582

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, 52-80 said:

Wish they had some welded in hooks to fit a lock.  The only option I see now is to loop through the rear wheel. 

 

It's easy to take it inside a business like the post, convenience store, pharmacy, and drop it near the door for a few minutes.  

 

But for longer stints like visiting a festival I don't wanna be lugging a 30# package around the whole time

You can lock under the front wheel. A U-lock will work at a bike rack, or regular bike chain will work.

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utee94

utee94 15,820

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Deej said:

Do you have to provide proof of insurance along with your driver's license? If not, and the scooter companies claim they aren't responsible, then this is a problem.

https://www.statesman.com/news/local/who-pays-when-electric-rental-scooters-cause-damage-maybe-you/O6HoBeCV2Rpwe2XEv7tE9H/

And this is only the beginning.

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BottleRocket

BottleRocket 644

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Deej said:

Do you have to provide proof of insurance along with your driver's license? If not, and the scooter companies claim they aren't responsible, then this is a problem.

https://www.statesman.com/news/local/who-pays-when-electric-rental-scooters-cause-damage-maybe-you/O6HoBeCV2Rpwe2XEv7tE9H/

I hope so for Fuchs sake.

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52-80

52-80 19,151

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, mycox said:

You can lock under the front wheel. A U-lock will work at a bike rack, or regular bike chain will work.

I'm planning on using a cable instead of a U.  Also looks like the steering column can be removed with a single Allen key, meaning they can put the whole thing together without lock, rather than removing the rear wheel (covered with plastic housing) and having only 1 wheel.

 

Anyway, there's a nice hardsided attachment bag on AliExpress I might use to carry the charger around.  That way I can top it back up at destination e.g. the office

 

The nice thing I discovered is even without electric assist it rolls pretty smoothly.  Figured it would be sluggish deadweight if juice goes dry

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SDG

SDG 3,319

Posted
Posted
41 minutes ago, woohorn said:


 

 


Do you ride it on the street? Follow bicycle law?

 

Im lucky enough to live in area where there are a lot of bike paths so I don’t have to use the road or sidewalks. Bikes and scooter laws are the same here. 

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Landomatic

Landomatic 3,813

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, Deej said:

Do you have to provide proof of insurance along with your driver's license? If not, and the scooter companies claim they aren't responsible, then this is a problem.

https://www.statesman.com/news/local/who-pays-when-electric-rental-scooters-cause-damage-maybe-you/O6HoBeCV2Rpwe2XEv7tE9H/

When I activated the Bird one I rode, there were several pages of very lengthy T&C that I had to scroll through without reading and agree to before continuing.  I assume somewhere in there, the company was telling me it was my fault and not theirs if I fuck something up.

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45,678

Posted
Posted
On 8/5/2018 at 7:14 AM, Biff Tannen said:

These things are like cockroaches in this city.  Most of the people I see riding them look like they are a couple of seconds from eating it.

 

8 hours ago, utee94 said:

https://www.cnet.com/news/electric-scooters-by-bird-and-lime-are-causing-injuries-and-accidents/

 

Finally getting a little data in regarding injury statistics from these things.

Like I said.  Also I saw one that had been chunked into Waller Creek in Hyde Park the other day.  Good riddance.

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Your Mom

Your Mom 4,805

Posted
Posted

http://www.kut.org/post/electric-scooters-and-bikes-will-be-coming-some-austin-trails-starting-next-month?fbclid=IwAR3vLrEz-4746RGi0BwCQJYd52oI8KzGZN0W-TlbYjES9aP7gHmCBdwIuWY

And now the city of Austin is about to start letting them on some of the trails.  There's already too many of them on the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail and it's not even allowed yet.  Motherfuckers deserve to get clotheslined.  

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Bat Guano

Bat Guano 359

Posted
Posted

How could anyone think that putting out thousands of scooters in a high-traffic urban environment, for completely inexperienced riders to just hop on and start riding with no protective gear (yeah, I know) and no training or rules of the road/sidewalk, would not lead to accidents, injuries, and deaths? It was completely predictable. I'm surprised there haven't been more.

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Grimas

Grimas 669

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just bought one to use in The Woodlands where I am 3.5 miles from house to office. Bike trails here say no motorized vehicles so I guess I’ll use my leg to pretend I’m pushing it manually if I happen to pass anyone... usually no one one the trails when I’m riding my bike...

Swagtron has this on sale for $300 on their website... Cheaper than a battery for my e-bike...

Edited by Grimas
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woohorn

woohorn 1,131

Posted
Posted



Bike trails here say no motorized vehicles


Several qs:

1) Are you supposed to ride these e-scooters on the street? Sidewalks? Trails? Anyone know what the technical TX law is? Same as bikes?

2) Trails have "no motorized vehicle" signs, but I always believed this is the technical definition of a term of art under the motor vehicle code, not literal meaning of "motorized", otherwise motorized wheelchairs or rascals wouldn't be allowed. Is this what the signs mean?
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Your Mom

Your Mom 4,805

Posted
Posted
On 12/16/2018 at 10:18 PM, woohorn said:

Several qs:

1) Are you supposed to ride these e-scooters on the street? Sidewalks? Trails? Anyone know what the technical TX law is? Same as bikes?

2) Trails have "no motorized vehicle" signs, but I always believed this is the technical definition of a term of art under the motor vehicle code, not literal meaning of "motorized", otherwise motorized wheelchairs or rascals wouldn't be allowed. Is this what the signs mean?

 

It's a city ordinance thing.  In Austin there was recently a discussion about this and they have approved them only on a small handful of trails.  They are considered motorized vehicles and are not allowed on the Town Lake hike and bike trail and most others.  People take them on it anyway and are generally a nuisance on the trail.  

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ChickenSandwich

ChickenSandwich 9,834

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Your Mom said:

It's a city ordinance thing.  In Austin there was recently a discussion about this and they have approved them only on a small handful of trails.  They are considered motorized vehicles and are not allowed on the Town Lake hike and bike trail and most others.  People take them on it anyway and are generally a nuisance on the trail.  

Fools need the lariat. Shoulder check incoming. 

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Orange&White

Orange&White 5,525

Posted
Posted (edited)

We were on the trail around Town Lake this weekend and noticed a LOT of scooters on the trail. I know there were signs posted a few months back stating that they are prohibited, but that hasn't really done much, but on Saturday there were far more than normal.

It got me thinking, since those things have GPS in them so they can locate them, why can't cities draft scooter ordinances that require them to utilize GPS to turn them off in prohibited areas like golf courses do when you drive your cart to close to the greens/ponds/teeboxes?

 

Edited by Orange&White
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ChickenSandwich

ChickenSandwich 9,834

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, Orange&White said:

We were on the trail around Town Lake this weekend and noticed a LOT of scooters on the trail. I know there were signs posted a few months back stating that they are prohibited, but that hasn't really done much, but on Saturday there were far more than normal.

It got me thinking, since those things have GPS in them so they can locate them, why can't cities draft scooter ordinances that require them to utilize GPS to turn them off in prohibited areas like golf courses do when you drive your cart to close to the greens/ponds/teeboxes?

 

This. 

Mine of these fuckers hits a dog the scooter and the asshole are both going in the water. 

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wood

wood 11,225

Posted
Posted
On 8/15/2018 at 7:50 AM, Deej said:

Do you have to provide proof of insurance along with your driver's license? If not, and the scooter companies claim they aren't responsible, then this is a problem.

https://www.statesman.com/news/local/who-pays-when-electric-rental-scooters-cause-damage-maybe-you/O6HoBeCV2Rpwe2XEv7tE9H/

I see these things laying in the street all the time after being blown over by the wind. Seems pretty likely they get run over from time to time, probably causing damage to the cars that hit em. I'd be surprised if they don't fall over & hit cars sometimes as well.

Even without all that, tho, riders crash these things at an alarming rate. If you're ever in an area where there are many of them and you watch how they're being ridden, you see why. 

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wood

wood 11,225

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 8/15/2018 at 2:56 PM, woohorn said:

Do you ride it on the street? Follow bicycle law?

 

This is the biggest problem. People just ride them willy nilly all over the place on streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, and trails, with zero rules of the road ... hopping from one to the other with no warning to other motorists, peds, or cyclists. The riders often have no clue how to ride something like that in the first place, even without all the associated hazards of riding in crowded or traffic-congested areas ... like the chick that couldn't avoid the curb in front of her, hit it, and faceplanted hard. They are motorized vehicles and need to be treated as such. No sidewalks. No trails. They should be relegated to streets with strict enforcement. Mayyybe bike lanes at worst.

Edited by wood
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wood

wood 11,225

Posted
Posted
On 11/30/2018 at 3:54 PM, Jerry Callo said:

Just passed one of these on 1431 between Round Rock and Cedar Park.  On a stretch of road with 4 miles before he gets anywhere.  Can you drive one of these things all over the state?  

1431? 

JFC. Humans as a species are getting dumber by the hour.

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8,676

Posted
Posted

That guy should be riding on the shoulder, which is most definitely NOT a sidewalk.

 

PS- When I was in Austin in early October, I used those things a lot. Parked in a garage downtown one night and then on the street another night and used those things and spent a few bucks rather than $25 to $45+ on Uber/Lyft. Always used the bike lanes and did not run red lights, then left the thing on a corner so that it was out of people's way, but easily visible. If used properly, those things are awesome, but there should be an asshole test before you can sign up .

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