Honestly, seeing them zipping around everywhere they look pretty good on the face of it. The advantages seem obvious:
- Save time versus walking
- Quiet
- No effect on local air quality
The main issue is them colliding with pedestrians, but (similar to bike lanes) that’s a thing town planners should deal with by creating the right environment.
I’m willing to change my view if people tell me good reasons they are bad.
Yes, there is more environmental impact than a bicycle, but not than an e-bike, and they seem to be good for people reluctant to cycle.
This video on the economics of them is great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Oyd7zK1bk
A bazinga byproduct of the 0% interest rate era with little actual profit potential. In that video the narrator says an average rental scooter gets like 15 minutes of usage per day, which here would amount to like $3 in revenue while a gig worker has to drive around all day retrieving the ones people trash. I hate that we have that model instead of the city owning bikes or subsidising the cost of one for consumers.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: