A man using his phone to activate a Lyft Scooter in Washington on March 29. PHOTO:BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS
Among the many problems with electric scooters is that they could cannibalize the very ride-hailing market they’re meant to expand.
Many urban areas are now swimming in the adult conveyances, which were once a children’s toy. Venture-backed companies like Bird and Lime are among the best known in the scooter-sharing business, though ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft have gotten in on the action.
Relative to car-hailing, scooters are inexpensive to use—most cost $1 to unlock plus 15 cents a minute. But they are also controversial. An Instagram account called Bird Graveyard, which proudly chronicles abuse of those using scooters, has more than 80,000 followers. Pedestrian lobbying group Walk San Francisco once created a Facebook album entitled “Scooters Behaving Badly,” with comments that included photos of scooters obstructing traffic and strewn across countless sidewalks.
Riders’ misuse of scooters has led to outrage among some. Blog pictures abound of offending scooters broken into pieces, thrown in anger, or draped over trash cans. Some posts show scooters submerged into the San Francisco Bay. In Santa Barbara, college students are burying scooters in beach sand so that potential users can’t find them.
Now for the latest indignity. According to a survey of more than 1,700 scooter riders by the San Francisco Chronicle, more than two-thirds of respondents had household incomes of over $100,000. Furthermore, 36% of respondents said they would have taken an Uber or Lyft car had a scooter not been available.
Who exactly is getting taken for a ride here?
Write to Laura Forman at laura.forman@wsj.com
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