Rented a Bird

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678) 08/15/2019 at 22:49 • Filed to: None

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Bird scooters, also known as a recent scourge to modern society, are marketed as a solution to the “last mile” problem that is all too common in American public transit systems. I had to drop off my Miata at the shop to solve my leaking diff problem so I decided to rent a Bird on my way home. I could have taken the bus ($2.50) or an Uber for about $8. Both of those probably would have taken longer though for the 2.5 mile trip home. My scooter ride came out $5.69 and took about 15 minutes, plus 5 minutes of walking to find the nearest one to the shop. I had a bike path to ride on most of the way so it was mostly cruising at 18mph according to the speedo. The scooter felt kinda sketchy at that speed but with smooth pavement it wasn’t so bad. Bumpy sidewalks with pedestrians required much slower speeds for the bits that I had to go through. I guess I could have “ mad max” my way through everything at top speed but I have too much caution to try and save $1 in ride time. Anyways, it was a fun little experiment since I never rode one before. Kind of expensive for what it is, especially when just figuring out the bus probably would have been easy. But I enjoy vehicles of all sorts so it was worth the experience.

And no, I didn't throw it in a lake afterwards. 

For Sweden > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 08/15/2019 at 23:15

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Some riders are bad

The scooters are good

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > For Sweden 08/15/2019 at 23:25

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I think it's MOST riders are bad. I found it would have been pretty easy to say "fuck it" and just hold the throttle through everything I came across. But I just pretended I was biking and moved cautiously as I would on a bicycle. Although I would have gone to the street on the sidewalk parts but it was too inconvenient to try that based on where the bike path ended at opposing traffic in a busy area. 

SiennaMan > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 08/15/2019 at 23:36

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So the problem with scooters, basically, is that there’s no licensing and traffic police? It sounds like scooters are fine except that people, lacking rules and consequences, generally can’t act civilized..

Nick Has an Exocet > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 08/15/2019 at 23:40

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They’re kind of fun but the feeling of danger is real - and so is the danger.

I do my best to be respectful but having seen how most people use them, should be banned. Haha.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Nick Has an Exocet 08/16/2019 at 00:37

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I just thought it was silly that an Uber pool would have been cheaper. I found it fun at least but I don't really get why people use them for actual transportation. Without the bike path I would have been choosing between constantly dodging people on a sidewalk or likely death on the street.