Electric scooters have been a disaster in the DC area. Carelessly thrown anywhere, they have proven to impede traffic, been a danger to pedestrians who cannot hear them coming up behind them when illegally ridden on sidewalks, and, in many cases left at intersections blocking the handicapped cut outs.
My personal, biased opinion is that they are largely used by people who believe they do not have to follow basic courtesy on the grounds they are not driving or using commercial vehicles. Of course, we know how many “ride sharing” gypsy cabs are cutting down on congestion.
Yes, the sins of the few are visited on the many, but scooters have no place outside of parks in Manhattan. Perhaps elsewhere they can work.
What’s wrong with walking?
11
Drivers kill 40,000 pedestrians every year and that doesn't even include the hundreds of thousands who are injured or maimed. Yet it's the scooters that are the real menace to society. Oh I couldn't clutch my pearls any tighter.
The bottom line is that drivers, the largest and most powerful political constituency in America, will resist and demonize anything that doesn't put their driving interests first---the ability to drive a vehicle as fast as they desire with as little responsibility as humanly possible.
22
I shudder to think of Bird scooters on the Brooklyn bridge, where they'd compete with the cyclists in mowing down tourists.
A couple of days ago I saw a young fit lycra-clad black cyclist extend his hand to throw the phone of a selfie-making Asian couple onto the ground. The contemptuous casualness of the act was jarring. Sometimes I am not sure how much good the dedicated lanes do if the cyclists themselves are incapable of behaving as normal citizen.
27
Portland has a four month trial on escooters...the riders are supposed to wear helmets and be a certain age....neither happens and there have been accidents. It’s a mess and hopefully will fail here.
16
They sure haven't worked in the San Francisco Bay Area! They'e a big nuisance!
16
In California it is illegal to ride these on sidewalks. You ride them like a bicycle. They are speed-governed, even down hills, at 15 mph. Since they move about the same speed as normal, non-reckless bicycle riders, they should be managed just like bicycles.
9
Don't do it NYC!
Wilh all the talent and money (not everyone), become a world leader and implement a plan that places pedestrians at the top of the transit food chain (so to speak). Will be ambitious, but after all, isn't it NYC! Start with the MTA, the subways are a discrace, light rail (or trollies) for overcrouded bus lines and transit deserts, deliveries to major buildings only at night and yes all my ecommerce shoppers...you can wait until morning for you Amazon order.
12
Maybe walking? Have you tried that? I'll bet New Yorkers would be pretty good at it if they put their minds to it.
22
Like the bike argument, the scooter argument is only aimed at those fit enough and unencumbered enough to want to ride a balance-based piece of equipment through the chaos of city streets with traffic and pedestrians. It does nothing to address the needs of MANY who need simple, reliable, public and private transportation because of age, health issues, mobility issues, vision problems, slow reflexes, children, briefcases, and packages that need to be carried. And scooters add another layer of chaos, being harder to anticipate than a bike because in a crowd it's hard to see who is on a scooter and how they will swerve and stop. At least bikes are more visible.
When I read these editorials, I think the Times is out of its mind and aiming only at one type of able-bodied person with solutions that ignore the needs of many, many others and solutions that will increase pedestrian-vehicle mashups and the stress of moving about an overcrowded city.
And our sidewalks are wide already, if they weren't clogged up by outdoor cafes, chained up delivery bikes, and piles of garbage. You just can't keep adding more stuff to the mix.
35
Ban autos apart from service vehicles and delivery trucks, and open up the roads to scooters, bikes, Segways, rickshaws, etc. I'm a longtime New Yorker who moved to Detroit—where we have Birds. They're incredibly fun to ride (and fast too).
8
It’s hard enough for pedestrians to dodge bicyclists riding on the sidewalk. Now we have to dodge scooters, too?
21
We need as many clean alternatives to cars as we can get, and electric scooters are efficient and fun. Be a little bit considerate when riding them, don't go the wrong way on streets, don't ride on the sidewalk, etc. Its not hard. Making things and new technology that people want illegal rarely works.
7
I just can't believe it. How important are electric scooters when the world is collapsing around us, when we have an authoritarian government firming up its control over our lives, where fewer and fewer super wealthy individuals have more and more power over labor and prices, that a major concern of so many people is about motorized scooters? Should the world's most important city be deciding if motorized childrens' toys should become a major part of 21st century mobility. What's next, electrically powered little red wagons or roller skates and inevitably, multi passenger electrically powered scooters and scooter-hailing apps?
9
@Dick M: while I get what you're saying in the grand scheme of things, please understand that we still need to get around NYC. It's important to our livelihoods, commerce, health and recreation. And it's a public safety issue (which includes the possibility of death) and a commuting issue (no small feat for anyone in the five boroughs and the suburbs).
Calling them "motorized childrens' toys" negates the importance to our commuting mobility in the "world's most important city" and minimizes the threat to our safety.
8
In Salt Lake City, we have two scooter companies, Bird and Lime. Bird showed up unannounced and was quickly ordered to suspend operations until the company got an SLC business license, and until the city could create a preliminary set of rules for scooter operations. Bird cooperated and is now operating again. Lime started up after that. My biggest concerns are 15 mph competition with pedestrians on sidewalks and the riders' propensity to charge at full speed into crosswalks, giving drivers little chance to spot and give them right of way when turning right on red lights. I did see three of them parked neatly- in the middle of a bus stop- and wondered if they will eventually be parked a with a little more consideration for others in the future.
10
@Bill Mosby
Poor drivers. Won't someone think of the drivers?
3
Everyone is so histrionic about these scooters! The fact is they are a useful (and sorry but SO FUN) tool for getting around cities; they also, like anything, can be misused and become a nuisance (ahem, cars are also a nuisance). The users are to blame for the woes, not the scooters.
FACT: There are TOO MANY CARS ON THE ROADS IN CITIES. Congestion is a problem almost everywhere—and it’s not because of bikes (get real). Why do we insist on continuing to invest in the costly, cumbersome, congestive, polluting modes of the early 1900’s rather than phasing in better ideas that relieve these things? Is it *more or less* reasonable to get a single person around on a 20lb set of wheels that costs 7 cents to fully charge electrically and takes up less space (they’re slimmer!) than a bicycle VERSUS getting a single person around in a two-ton hunk of steel that uses gallons of gasoline, takes up a lot of space to drive and park, spews toxic fumes, is noisy, expensive to insure and operate, and separates us from the city itself?
My boyfriend and I have been using scooters since they came to the East Side of LA where we live. We only use bike lanes, park them on bike racks, and follow traffic laws. They have made running errands less fraught, SO MUCH FUN, and I feel much more connected to my neighborhood and surrounding areas since we started riding.
Cars are necessary—but not always. And they cause more trouble, deaths, and woes.
Go ahead and MAKE the rules, but KEEP the scooters!
11
@Jaclyn
Hi Jaclyn, you make good points - but unlike LA, New York is, has been, and always will be a PEDESTRIAN CITY.
If people walk two blocks in LA its a big deal.
I think New Yorkers might chime-in here a bit too 'histrionically' because we know exactly how this will play out: the gates will be thrown open and it'll be everyone for themselves, with ZERO enforcement of any currently existing or even soon to-be written laws and regulations. But definitely plenty of chest-beating and hand-wringing, and 'what can be done' whining once the octegenarians start getting knocked over on the sidewalk.
Its disingenuous to pretend that bikes are not all over the sidewalks, running red lights, riding against traffic, and scaring pedestrians. Its forced naiveté to believe the same scenario will not play out with scooters.
Its simply old-school, boys-club, hands-off-the-status-quo, let-chips-fall-where-they-may, lack of political will and leadership!
And to think de Blasio presented himself as some sort of Progressive.
18
“ Mr. de Blasio could help today if he just insisted that city employees not park in bike lanes, and he directed the police to crack down on the misuse of these lanes.”
I respectfully add a simple but strenuous “word” in support of the above. Without a proper example from City employees (yes, that includes you NYPD) and proper enforcement, the City’s impressive investment in safe bike lanes has amounted to a convenient double parking and loading zone for drivers who continue to feel entitled to the entire public right of way of city streets.
12
Public safety is an issue of course. It's just not the biggest issue. If cities can figure out bikes, they can figure out scooters. Scooters certainly aren't any more dangerous than a bike. If you hit something, someone is going to get hurt. Also, please realize companies have the ability to throttle max speeds on these devices. If the city says the scooter can only go 5 mph. The scooter can only go 5 mph.
The problems I've noticed relate more to the service itself. Could New York City make a dockless bike system work? Citi Bike is a bike share but Citi Bike is a docked bike share. The things have very different impacts on city transportation. Do you want that many more "bikes" on the road? The difficulty of self-powered transportation naturally limits the number of riders. With powered vehicles, the ridership is going to be much higher. At what point do you reach a saturation limit with or without new bike lanes? There's only so much road.
You also need to consider the distribution and charging of these devices. The most annoying thing I've found is dead or near dead scooters scattered all across the urban landscape. People just joy ride them until the battery gets low and then dump them. Good luck finding one with a charge on a Friday evening. You now have the 40 lb equivalent of a paperweight until someone in the gig economy gets around to charging the thing.
We should probably talk more about the economics of labor in charging these things as well but I'm out of room.
2
@Andy
"Public safety is an issue of course. It's just not the biggest issue."
What?!
Think hard about that statement and all that it implies. Its so disturbing in so many ways.
Respectfully, I have to point out that the concerns and modalities of transport in places like SALT LAKE CITY are bound to be utterly and completely distinct from Pedestrian Cities like New York and San Francisco.
9
@lowereastside
Have you been to Salt Lake City? The issues are the same. I grew up in the New York Metro area as well. Same issues.
As for safety, it's not the biggest concern. Safety is simply an issue of enforcement and design. If you want to lower pedestrian injuries, you have to put money towards some combination of the two.
There's nothing fundamentally different about scooters than bikes in this regard. The issue is really easy to address. At some point, you'll hit diminishing returns and you stop putting money towards enforcement and design. Safe enough is safe enough. Pedestrian injuries will never be zero.
What you should focus on instead is if and how this new method of transportation is introduced to the city. There are many more unintended consequences than you might imagine. Look at Uber. People are literally setting themselves on fire over a ride hailing app and you're worried about scooters on the side walk. You might want to rethink your priorities.
Ban them. This is America. Real men don't ride scooters, they ride pickup trucks with gun racks. And if everyone rode scooters, we might not get to fight any more wars for oil, or prop up the Saudi sheiks.
I'm being sarcastic, but I completely believe that the resistance to scooters is fundamentally part of the culture war, and that solutions to traffic and safety concerns would quickly be found and readily be paid for if not for this culture war aspect.
2
@Joe
"...I completely believe that the resistance to scooters is fundamentally part of the culture war, and that solutions to traffic and safety concerns would quickly be found..."
Nearly all of Manhattan - its in entirety - is Progressively or Liberally Democratic, Independent or Socialist. There is scant culture-war on our densely populated urban streetscape.
And it is without doubt that "solutions" to "traffic and safety concerns" have NOT "quickly [been] found" when it comes to cyclists, autos and pedestrians all vying for the same right of way.
4
I rode e-scooters in Santa Monica with my son 2 months ago: we had a blast! We'd just gone there for dinner, but couldn't help ourselves afterward and rode them until 1am, along the boardwalk almost to Malibu. At 1am, on the beach with nobody else out there, just the sound of the wind in your hair (they have no engine noise), going 18 mph: it has to be one of the happiest, freest moments of my recent life. A true 'I'm on top of the world' moment. Being tourists, we didn't have helmets. I looked a few days later and noticed that nobody riding a bicycle in Santa Monica wears a helmet either.
In general: 1) they need stricter rules about where they can be parked, 2) for a commute option, all such 'personal vehicles', like bicycles, scooters, skateboards, even mopeds, etc, should be allowed on mass-transit. This obviously requires special accommodation for mopeds and bicycles, but would greatly reduce congestion, and increase overall fuel efficiency in the city, and so is worth doing. Forcing young people to buy cars is of benefit only to the powerful auto lobby, 3) places that make money off tourist dollars, like Santa Monica, aren't being very wise to ban these e-scooters. I returned twice to the area, spent money at restaurants and coffee shops, but only returned for one reason: for that thrill!
3
With the streets packed with thousands of noisy scooters like Ho Chi Minh City or Manila, the transition of the US to a third world country will be nearly complete. Thanks the folks on Wall Street for help making this all happen.
15
@Ed Watters- they're nearly silent. And by the way, at least in 2013, scooter riders in Vietnam posed little hazard to pedestrians. Just make sure they see you and they flow right around you. Different story for the drivers of cars, which were thankfully few and far between at the time.
1
@Bill Mosby the scooters are extremely hazardous! That is the issue, not the noise. A pedistrian has to be constantly on the look out so he/she doesn't gt run over by a scooter. Stay away from them Cities!
What about pedestrian safety?
14
@Nyalman
Scooters are not a threat to pedestrian safety. You know what is? Car culture.
3
@Nyalman, being forced off of the street and holed up in your apartment no longer makes you a pedestrian. Problem solved automatically, obviously.
1
They've just been banned in Santa Monica for 6 months. I have yet to see a rider that uses a helmet; they ride on the sidewalks; two on a scooter is a common occurrence; many are definitely much younger than the required age; they text on them. They don't stay in the bike lanes AT ALL! They drop the scooters ANYWHERE. I don't know what kind of "safety" rules would need to be enacted that would change their irresponsible behavior.
11
@linda
The bike lanes are for bikes.
2
(correcting to qualify that super-sized drinks have been targets) So, help me out here. I'm trying to understand how it is major cities in our country are banning, or have attempted to ban, super-sized caloric soft drinks in order to lessen our weight and look out for the health of the citizenry while permitting scooters to run rampant and create traffic hazards for everyone and individual risks for the riders. In Salt Lake City, these things clog the most congested traffic areas of the city, almost like the crickets that, fable has it, were devoured by Seagulls, thus saving the early settlers' crops and the growing populous from starvation. I first saw this onslaught of scooters in San Francisco, where the injuries are mounting and concern is rising. If some think it a good idea to ban obesity-promoting soft drinks from their cities, why would they not consider banning or strictly regulating scooters so that people walk, shed some pounds and improve safety and overall life for everyone?
4
Then where does it end? Ban cars? Ban the subway itself? Everyone MUST exercise on their way to anywhere!
1
@Jaclyn
Ban cars? Jaclyn, that's an excellent idea.
2
Before any additions to the NY transport scene, a major increase in enforcement officers is in order. I rarely if ever see anyone stopped for riding on the sidewalks, going through red lights, or riding the wrong way on the bike path. Until we treat alternate modes of transport as fully legitimate with the legal obligations of public safety in mind, adding one more element into an already poorly enforced pot seems ill advised.
13
Oh, please NO! Electric scooters in the bike lanes will not stay in the bike lanes. The few seen in my UES neighborhood are already on the sidewalks zooming up behind us beleaguered pedestrians. We already contend with unexpected bicycles on the sidewalks as well as small kids on non motorized scooters with parents half a block behind. The need to move left or right on short notice is a safety issue for NYC pedestrians. Please don’t recommend adding errant electric scooters at 15-20 MPH to the pedestrians woes.
16
While appropriately addressing safety needs for bike riders, the editorial ignores what has been the far greater peril--bike riders who ignore basic rules and endanger pedestrians continuously. They go wrong way on the streets, run red lights, ignore lanes even on streets where they exist, and in general endanger people who cross their paths. This persistent bad behavior needs to be addressed every bit as much as other safety concerns.
15
So, help me out here. I'm trying to understand how it is major cities in our country are banning, or have attempted to ban, caloric soft drinks in order to lessen our weight and look out for the health of the citizenry while permitting scooters to run rampant and create traffic hazards for everyone and individual risks for the riders. In Salt Lake City, these things clog the most congested traffic areas of the city, almost like the crickets that, fable has it, were devoured by Seagulls, thus saving the early settlers' crops and the growing populous from starvation. I first saw this onslaught of scooters in San Francisco, where the injuries are mounting and concern is rising. If some think it a good idea to ban obesity-promoting soft drinks from their cities, why would they not consider banning or strictly regulating scooters so that people walk, shed some pounds and improve safety and overall life for everyone?
Using a two-wheeled vehicle around cars is very dangerous and I don’t understand why more is not said about the hundreds of people or are injured or killed in car/bike accidents each year. I use a car and bicycles have cut me off, I see bicyclists going the wrong way or through a light. In San Francisco, I’ve seen bicyclists get tickets for traffic infractions, but not in NY. When I make a turn, I try to block the bicycle lane so a bicycle doesn’t try to pass me in the turn. Do people on bicycles think they are immortal?
8
Do people in cars think they are the most important? You’re right that using two-wheeled vehicles around cars is dangerous; since it makes little sense to even have cars in cities like New York or SanFrancisco (hello: they weren’t built for them), limit the cars—not the highly nimble and efficient two-wheeled vehicles.
Cars and the mistakes their drivers make (turning right without stopping, running lights, driving in the bike lane, parking illegally, not signaling, etc etc etc) cause more deaths than almost anything else in this country. Full stop. In 2016 it was over 37,000 (120 per day, nationwide). That rate would plummet if we took cars off even a fraction of city streets and turned the grid into small vehicle corridors.
The question is not: Do people on smaller, more efficient, less polluting, less congesting modes of transport think they are immortal? The question is: when will dense cities invest in a transportation infrastructure that makes more sense than one-person-per-two-tons-of-steel?
8
Congestion pricing would work wonders, but there’s another way to do it without Albany: UCLA Professor Donald Shoup’s NYC overnight parking proposal. There are 1.8 million FREE parking spaces in NYC - the most valuable land giveaway in America. If we were to pick one cause that deserves free NYC real estate, would it be cars? how about parklets, cafes, housing, bike lanes? If we charged $5 / night for half the spots it would raise close to $3 billion. Or better yet - charge the market value of the real estate — how much does 200 sq feet rent for on the UWS? What’s the property tax on that? Surely drivers should pay their fair share of property taxes every New Yorker has to pay on their apartments. This could easily be valued at hundreds of dollars per month, which would force out the cars that are unnecessary in NYC - making room for amenities & beautiful streets. Or use the power of the market to eliminate parking spots every year and auction off parking passes to the highest bidder — raising money for a host of services (like making subways cheaper). A $25 per night fee would also encourage visitors to park outside of the city. There are two forms of transportation: 1) cars, 2) not cars. For the sake of climate change, traffic, mental and physical health, we need to bite the bullet in cities across the country. NYC can lead the way.
6
@Lindsay Sturman
I assume people pay property taxes, federal taxes, gas taxes, vehicle registration, etc. I believe that's what alrady pays to provide that "free" parking you want to sell off.
7
Ask ANYONE from Venice Beach what they think about the scooters.
Don't do it how they did it.
3
It's terrible that "a truck [driven by a driver under the influence] struck and killed an Australian tourist" [forced out of the bike lane by an unnamed livery driver] when her unprotected head struck the concrete. According to the New York Daily News she was not wearing a helmet. It's a jungle out there. Let's protect ourselves.
5
@Active Bystander
Yes, because a piece of foam on head is really going to make a difference when a two ton piece of steel traveling 35 mph barrels into it.
1
Electric powered vehicles are illegal in NY State unless they are registered and insured and the driver is licensed. Which part of illegal does the NY Times not understand? The very foundation of our society is a Social Contract. Citizens agree to limits on their freedom and to follow laws, the government is created to enforce the laws with impartiality. If one party fails to follow the Contract, there is no contract. It is void. What I hear from the NY Times is some laws don't count. Do I get to decide which laws don't count for me? Why is Paul Manafort being prosecuted? Doesn't he get to decide which laws apply to him? Doesn't seem to work that way. I'm tired of trying to follow laws while others violate laws with impunity. Truly, I don't believe there is a Social Contract any more. My only reason for following laws is my fear of the power of an arbitrary government to punish me.
11
Yes, by all means bring another hazard into NYC.I've lived in the city for over 50 years and it has never been this bad. Talk about having eyes in the back of your head! When i go out now I look out for bikes going the wrong way and speeding down the road like a race in France. Cars running red lights, pedestrians not looking where they are going because they have their faces in phones.
Now they want to add to the jungle, motor bikes? Give me a break!
Actually the break I will probably get is my leg or arm.Forgot to add
in all the crazy construction blocking most of the roads as well.
4
I bought a scooter a few months ago to save money on gas ...accident the first day...my fault...felt like SUV bait while I rode...three broken ribs...sold scooter the same day I bought it..lost a few thousand dollars and suffered lots of pain..I do not recommend..
7
NYC is quite flat. The population doesn't need an electric motor to move themselves around here at 10-15 mph when a bicycle (that ingenious invention) accomplishes the same task using only a pitiful amount of human leg power--a clean and sustainable energy source. Riding a bicycle at normal city speeds requires less energy than walking, actually. Stop being so lazy.
9
Well then certainly no one needs a car!
But seriously: Not everyone wants their morning and evening commute to also be their workout, and not everyone CAN make the repetitive motion necessary to pedal a bike. If you can stand up, you can ride a scooter. If you have, say, recent knee-surgery, joint pain, or asthma (just to name a few) riding a bike everywhere is not going to be feasible.
10
We have serious problems in public transportation and these idiotic scooters will NOT help. People need transportation to commute from increasingly longer distances. The idea that New York would waste taxpayer money on the latest VC-backed scam while subway commuters face increasingly decaying service, is an outrage.
5
These have been an absolute nightmare for San Francisco.
Learn that lesson, NYC, and think twice before allowing them!!
5
My head is spinning over what catastrophically bad idea this could be.
As a regular walker, runner and cyclist in New York, I am well aware of what a chaotic disaster our streets are. The notorious state of our subway gets all the headlines, but transit negligence is just as pronounced above ground too.
Every day I encounter dangerous behavior and lack of enforcement too frequent to count. Daily on my bike commute, I am forced to veer from the bike lane into vehicular traffic by Borough Hall in Brooklyn because the same 3 cars - each with government plates! - are parked in the bike lane. And then I get to the Brooklyn Bridge, a pedestrian / cycling situation so dangerous it deserves it’s own 10-part expose in this paper. I am regularly cut off or have had near accidents (while on my bike or on my feet) by maniacs in cars, on bikes, on scooters, taxi drivers and city buses. It’s a nightmare.
We need infinitely more safety enforcement before we think about adding one more vehicle type to the mix. For all the Mayor’s talk about “Vision Zero” I am amazed how little work has been done, besides lowering speed limits.
We need to re-prioritize who actually gets the public domain in New York. In my mind, the “right of way” priority for anyone moving above ground would be, in terms of most amount of dedicated, protected, and ENFORCED lanes:
1. Pedestrians
2. Buses
3. Bicycles
5. Delivery vehicles
4. Taxi / Ride share
....
1000. Electric bikes and scooters
1001. Private cars
12
Blocking a bike lane, thereby forcing cyclists into traffic, is a potentially deadly offense, and the fines and penalties should reflect the danger to others that it represents. Hundreds of dollars, and points on one's license, are required to educate the ignorant and discourage the idiotic.
5
@James Demers
What if the driver has to get a disabled passenger get out of the car (or even a non-disabled person with a heavy load) - do you think it the cyclists' right to not be slowed down is so much more important than everyone else's right to even minimal convenience? Cyclist can always get off the bike and safely walk it around the obstacle in the bile lane, whether a stopped vehicle or anything else. We should all share the limited space and use our good judgment and sense of fairness, and not try to prove to yourself and to everyone else that you are the most important and valuable person in the city and can't be bothered to accommodate other people.
4
No, New York Times. Come to downtown San Antonio and see how it's actually playing out.
2
The same forces that killed the initial vision of the Segway will kill this idea in short order.
1
I like the photo of the rat on the scooter, naturally in NY we need to take care of our most populous race
3
Having been nearly run over by bikers several times while I crossed with the light I suggest licensing bicycle riders with a course in safety. Riding on sidewalks, whizzing through red lights puts pedestrians at great risk and I never see the police interceding. Driving when necessary in the city is like playing pinball with only the driver being responsible as bicyclists and walkers pay no attention. G-d help the dogs!
9
Have you tried walking in NYC lately? It's already an obstacle course, trying to avoid people with heads in their phones, tourists stopping in the middle of the sidewalks to take selfies, people sauntering 3 abreast, people with oversized backpacks or giant baby buggies, bicyclists whizzing through intersections, ignoring the lights, delivery men on bicycles going the wrong way, and cars narrowly missing the pedestrians who have the walk signal. Into this mix you want to add electric bikes and scooters. Are you nuts?
12
@Miriam
I find it intriguing the first person you blame in your pearl clutching is......."people with their heads in their phones." Are they driving two ton steel boxes?
1
Protect the riders!!?? Has duh Blah seen what scooter nuts have done to pedestrians?
7
This is bad idea - for New York - and probably for most large cities. NY doesn’t have sufficient resources to enforce the traffic laws we already have. Has anyone seriously observed how many bikers and scooter drivers amd skaters actually obey the regulations we already have? Most are hooked up to their earphones - and are dangerous to themselves and others trying to move on the city’s streets - they also don’t have insurance, so it they cause injury - can the injured by compensated? Public safety needs to be more of a priority in NYC than it is now.
10
In China electric scooters are the norm. In big cities, they are everywhere. Small cities too. Assisted bicycles are also extremely common. All of these make as much sense as how the riders use them. Most are being used responsively. Some, well, better not be in their way... You can regulate all you want, it all comes down to people and how they will respond. Can Americans handle it?
4
Spot on. If we look carefully at how well other countries’ cities perform with a variety of smaller motorized and non-motorized vehicles, we realize the main problem is cars. Getting more cars off the road creates space and safety for motorized and pedaled vehicles, leaving the sidewalks for the pedestrians.
Re-distribute the grid. Make some lanes or whole thoroughfares for smaller, fast-moving vehicles; sidewalks should be for non-wheeled foot-traffic only.
3
Inasmuch as motorcycles are authorized to travel 20 mph on all city streets, it should be a no-brainer to permit electric bikes and scooters on the streets. That they are illegal in New York is evidence of governmental dementia.
Whether they should be permitted in bike lanes is a different question but equally easy to answer: Inasmuch as bicycles routinely travel at 12 mph (Google Maps used 12.5 mph), just limit them to 12 mph and see how it goes before upping it to 20.
In my younger days (1980's) I bicycled for years daily from E. 93 St to midtown in rush hour on my Peugeot U-08 without incident -- if you don't count an occasional bounce off the side of an aggressive cab.
5
You know the scooters won't be on the streets, they'll be on the sidewalks knocking us pedestrians over. Unless the cops are empowered to issue tickets to scooters on sidewalks, NYC needs to take a pass on this.
10
If you enjoy moving those scooters out of the way on the sidewalk go for it. They get left on the ground in the middle of sidewalks all over the city. Easy for me to move them out of he way but not so much for the elderly or handicapped where they amount to a roadblock. They’re also to fast to riding without a helmet or on the sidewalk. We could do without them.
5
The only thing missing from this statement is common sense.
You don't make viable bike lanes by painting stripes on the road. Or dropping bollards all over the place.
They are meaningless, an invitation to tragedy, unless they're regularly and rigidly enforced. This means your hulking delivery truck cannot overlap the line. No, you can't just pull out of your driveway as if the lane doesn't exist. And no, the city cannot fail to clearly mark, and diligently maintain the lanes.
More scooter specific, NYC needs to throw up a solid barrier against any and all commercial scooter use until AFTER effective control mechanisms are put in place.
There must be powerful and repeated statements that these parasite corporations do not enjoy any kind of protected status.
Make clear their tenure here is tenuous. Any hint a company is skirting regulations and they will be tossed on their ear to be replaced within hours by another, just as gaudy and just as big.
Scooter renters won't be here for the fun of the ride, for the colorful addition to city life, to make up for the bizarre failure of government to keep our lifeblood flowing freely through subway tunnels.
They're coming to take our money, shovel it back to their stockholders and executives.
Worse is the disturbing fact that, rather make a powerful case and support meaningful action, NYT editors have accepted decrepit mass transit, and seems happy to find a miniature Band Aid to cover up the mess.
5
Oh, NYC, take some lessons from LA, where the electric scooter invasion has been a hot mess. Yes, they have terrific potential, but only if the scooter companies work with municipalities in a meaningful way (i.e., don't just dump them in cities and then figure it out), and users ride them responsibly. Sadly, many don't, as evidenced by scooters littered all over the place and riders that routinely run red lights and stop signs, ride the wrong way on the street and/or ride full speed down sidewalks.
5
They rolled out in Austin this summer like a plague of locusts. Sidewalks are now often blocked by scooters left at the end of rides. Traffic laws are ignored by riders. It is not uncommon to see these ridden on sidewalks and then pulled in front of cars in the street. It took about a month for someone to injure themselves to the point that they are handicapped for life. The only surprise is that there has not yet been a fatality.
And to imagine this scaled up to the size of NYC is impossible.
6
I live in Oakland, California, and can say with experience that scooters are a total nightmare. I've watched elders and little kids be run into, a laughing young man zip right through a family's picnic blanket as they sat on it - fortunately no one was hurt. I've been banged into twice, and I watched a young woman run over a goose by the lake - then joke about it to the people standing around.
BAN THEM New York - forever!!
Scooters are - a word I seldom ever use - EVIL.
10
I’m sorry but it sounds like all of the horrible things you are describing involve the human operator; you could replace “scooter” with “bicycle” in every instance. The problem is they are new and unregulated, and the population is new and uneducated on laws and best practices. By any means, these are not defensible behaviors you describe; but smaller more efficient modes of transportation MUST be incorporated into our cities if we are serious about climate change and even quality of life overall. If you need a working example of how big cities can incorporate small motorized vehicles, look to Japan and China.
Amsterdam is just trying to get the horrid scooters off the bike lanes because they are too dangerous in combination with cyclists.
6
As a NYC pedestrian, driver, and daily biker commuting by bike every day of the year for 45 years, I ride responsibly. It’s the best way of getting somewhere. Manhattan is more congested than ever. DBA has allowed Developers large staging areas one or two lanes into the streets. Cars, pedestrians,bikes are forced into one dangerous lane. Flagmen frequently stop traffic for the fleet of cement trucks needed for ugly pointless highrises. Those who blame bikes, pedestrians, taxis, scooters, etc remain blind to wealthy privilege that insults the majority even when we try to get from point A to point B. Congestion pricing will not effect the wealthy at all, just increase their easy access to all of Manhattan as one big pied-a-terre. Their double parked chauffeurs now idle for hours waiting for our Masters while they shop and 'work'. No idling tickets. When traffic blocks trips to the Hamptons/Millbrook and private jetports, the wealthy use the W.30th St Heliport in the ‘public’ Hudson River Park, cropdusting the park with fumes. The 'VIP' parking lot is packed with idling black SUVs. If the wealthy HAD to use the subway, it would have chandeliers and run on time. I would propose ending the lawless construction staging areas. Democratize/unionize Uber. Ban private and corporate chauffeured cars. Remove the VIP Heliport. Maybe one of the banks could sponsor a ChairShare sedan chair service for the wealthy. Have their prep school children be the pallbearers.
7
No. Adding scooters into the mix will create more havoc and accidents. People abandon them all over the place, and while in use they are erratic, they are a nuisance and they are hazardous to everyone.
NYC is a walking city. We are little packhorses using our god-given two legs, assisted by canes or wheelchairs as needed, to get us around. It is challenging to navigate the uneven sidewalks, scaffolding and construction zones, makeshift plywood "bridges", giant trash heaps, lake-sized puddles, filth, cyclists, electric bikes and motorists running stops and going the wrong way on one way streets. Scooters will not help.
Fix the subway system. Enforce motorist and bike laws. Improve the cleaning, repair and proper maintenance of the city's infrastructure for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists. That is all that is needed.
11
Walking in Manhattan is one of the great pleasures of modern life. Let loose these scooters and people will die and chaos will follow. Feet are for walking; scooters are for kids.
4
Your "advice" reminds me of the old adage, "If wishes were horses beggars would ride." So, according to you, if the sidewalks were wider, If the bike lanes were wider, if the bike lanes were protected, if electric scooter riders wore helmets, etc., then electric scooters would solve a plethora of transportation ills. Well, none of those things are happening now with regard to electric bikes, which are violating traffic laws throughout the city, so the odds of them happening with regard to electric scooters are, let me see, nil. Just a silly editorial.
6
This is a good idea but will have a hard time working in the winter.
What in the world is The New York Times Editorial Board thinking?
There is a reason sidewalks are called sideWALKS. Because that is where people are supposed to be able to walk safely, without fear of getting mowed down by a car, bikes, roller-bladers, and, yes, even electric scooters, who undoubtedly will use the sidewalks, as many cyclists often do, rather than ride in the street.
They Just Might Work? No, I am afraid they definitely will not. The blood, broken bones, bruises, and perhaps even deaths of pedestrians is now at least partly on your hands.
8
Scooters coming to San Francisco created happiness. Scooter being banned, even more happiness.
5
Pretty clear from these comments what the average age of NYT readers is lol. You’d think there was an epidemic of accidents, bodies littering the streets, a population of limping maimed people. I ride my bike and walk daily. I see occasional incidents but nothing like what is being suggested here. Yes, it’d be helpful if police stepped up enforcement, particularly of the wrong way riders and the red light runners. But the hysteria is not helpful. Piloting the use of electric scooters is a reasonable idea. Improved infrastructure smart too. The subway and bus system should get maximum attention but the governor is out to lunch on the issue, it doesn’t fit his agenda. People should vote accordingly.
6
I take great satisfaction that the Old Grey Lady has endorsed an alternative transportation paradigm which actually hews closely to the laws of physics. Force equals mass times acceleration. If yu need to buy mass and rent force to get acceleration, and if you can then reduce the mass you need to get around (i.e. from a car to a bike or scooter) then you save on both force and mass while getting the same acceleration. In addition, miles removed from fossil fuels and replaced by human and elecctric power provides a decrease in tailpipe-related lung disease (of which New York has far too much) and in greenhouse carbon dioxide.
I take great satisfaction in the fact that seven weeks after the release of Scapegoats: The Goat Protocols, a work of science fiction in which a team of goat engineers is going full-ahead on a similar paradigm, and only 12 year after my letter in the NYT science section detailing this, we may actually be moving forward.
Why do rational adults take seriously the idea of putting hundreds or thousands of motorized toys onto city streets? In Portland the primary users are young tourists who have no idea where they are going and no sense of... well, the have no sense at all. Portland has lots of bike lanes; scooter riders prefer instead to ride on the sidewalks or in traffic. Honestly, I can’t wait until this “business model,” disruptive in the worst sense of the word, is abandoned.
5
The scooters litter the sidewalks of Los Angeles. They block the free flow of pedestrians. The riders have little disregard for where they abandon the scooter when they are done with their 500 yard ride. The riders are supposed to ride them on the street, they don't. A rider with a average mass of 165 pounds x the speed of these vehicles can cause major damage to people or storefronts. Another risky behavior I have seen is the lack of traffic signal obedience. Don't allow this nightmare in your city.
6
Obviously, the people who wrote this are neither cyclists nor walkers. These vehicles are a menace to the sidewalks and bike lanes.
Here's a hint, NY Times: If it has a motor, it's a motor vehicle. It's that simple. These vehicles, if legal, belong in the lanes, with the rest of the motorcycles, cars, buses, and traffic-causing motor vehicles.
Don't punish the bicyclists and walkers because this city and state refuses to invest in public transportation.
4
If you could count on people to use them properly the scooters would be great. In LA, people ride them on the sidewalks, no helmet, two to a scooter, and leave them lying all over the place. And an ER doctor I know there has some pretty unflattering things to say about them...
13
Really Protected bike lanes is top priority according to the Editorial , in order to provide proper Safety for these new modes. I could not agree more .REAL protection for cyclists and pedestrians , with concrete island - not just paint- and exclusive signal phases to prevent conflicts with turning cars. And bike parking should be an integral part of this infrastructure, to ensure they do not overflow on the walk lane.
The sloppy paint jobs that the DOT and the Mayor give us is not the answer.
4
Yes, if everyone holds hands , sings kumbaya and obeys all traffic laws, this might make things better. But we all know that's not about to happen. People are going to ignore the laws and there will be no enforcement, leading city streets to become even more chaotic.
Already, scooters zip past pedestrians on sidewalks, often barely missing the elderly or infirm who move a little slower. People now ride bikes that are much closer to motorcycles in bike lanes and rarely pay attention to which direction they're supposed to be riding in.
Soon, we will have hundreds of scooters strewn all over the sidewalks, which we can learn to dodge like dog dew, and which people in wheelchairs or pushing strollers can use for obstacle course training.
Sorry, this is not progress.
12
I was in a serious bike accident in July on the Hudson Bike Path around 30th street. I injured my larynx (vocal chords) and came within several inches of a potentially life threatening injury.
Essentially an electronic bicycle was speeding trying to pass a regular bicycle heading into the new concrete barricades. They crashed. I tried to stop short but was limited where I could turn given the crashed bicycles and concrete barricades. The electronic bicycle bounced up and hit/injured my throat/ larynx.
The bicycle lanes are not designed for their current use. Bicycles (electric and regular) are illegally going in both directions on avenues such as Amsterdam Ave. Bicycles are speeding on the Hudson bike path. There are major safety hazards for bicyclists and pedestrians. There is also an almost complete lack of police presence and enforcement of current laws.
There are rules, laws and tickets for cars. Without a similar situation of rules and followup for bicycles the streets will become even more unsafe for even basic activities like walking and crossing streets, let alone bicycling.
13
Building safer bikes lanes is very expensive. Enforcement makes money and saves lives. I’ve seen nypd ticket bikers plenty for headphones, riding on the sidewalk and riding the wrong way. I’ve never seen nypd stop or ticket a driver for violating bike lanes. Seeing how nypd should have more time now that they aren’t making arrests for petty marijuana crimes they should ramp up enforcement of drivers endangering bikers. Us bikers will always lose a physics battle against a truck. But truckers and drivers will be more careful if they fear tickets. Not to mention that over 50% if drivers who kill bikers in nyc aren’t held liable
17
nor are cyclists who kill or main pedestrians
3
Last week I was nearly clipped by an electric scooter right outside my house, on the sidewalk. These vehicles are silent, without lights, and the driver was going about 10 miles an hour. I sympathize with scooters and cyclists forced to the sidewalk by the heedless motor traffic. I am a bicyclist myself but obey the law in Brooklyn (no bikes on sidewalks), even though doing so presents a much greater physical risk. I don't see an easy solution to the scooter issue, but from the perspective of a pedestrian they are a very real and often completely unexpected danger.
17
Portland Oregon has had these for a number of days. The rules are: no riding on sidewalks and must wear a helmet. Guess what? Most of these are used on the sidewalk and nobody wears a helmet.
10
This is pure insanity. Riding a bike in NYC is incredibly dangerous and adding even more bike-like vehicles to the already poorly designed and congested bike lanes will not improve the situation. In order for this to be viable, significant overall of NYC streets is necessary, which is far from a realistic option. Most bike lanes have pedestrians walking in them already because of overcrowding on the sidewalks. In addition, the bicyclists do not follow the road signs or rules (i.e. often riding the wrong direction on a one-way road). An added hazard, the visibility into the lanes are more often than not blocked by parked cars making it near impossible for motorists to even see bicyclists who are abiding by the rules when a turn needs to be made. Unless there is going to be specific enforcement of bike lanes with thoughtful implementation of lane location and traffic lights, this plan is only going to make congestion in the city worst and result in many more unnecessary injuries and potentially fatalities.
8
Electronic bikes and scooters of the future should be self-policing. Society does not need more unnecessary police.
With Wi-Fi and similar technology it should be possible to know exactly where every vehicle is and what speed it is going. Speeds could be automatically limited based on location and traffic. Summonins could also be automatic for those who try to beat the system and break the safe-driving rules.
3
@Eugene Patrick Devany
We should be doing that with cars first, then think about extending it to scooters and bicycles
2
The electric scooter are a menace in Santa Monica. The kids who ride on the sidewalk and have no sense of the danger they cause others. Santa Monica now prohibits them in city parks. Also, they are dockless, which means that rides leave them wherever they want to. Trucks then add to the traffic burden by roaming around to pick them up for recharging. Just say no, New York
10
@george p fletcher We were nearly hit while waiting to cross Santa Monica Blvd., last night. The scooter driver was helmetless and used the handicapped ramps. My daughter was unware and all she had to do was take a step backwards. I also believe his scooter was traveling faster than 15 mph. For bikes and scooters, teach classes and require licensing. In addition they are considered vehicles which means that the Cell Phone laws apply. Start enforcing the law for the safety of others.
8
The bad behavior of cyclists has tainted the well for any other emerging mode of transportation. Before the ruckus starts, yes, there are lots of well behaved cyclists. But the reality is that there are many who are not. One sees exponentially more bikes running red lights, going the wrong way on one way streets, and on sidewalks than cars. A motorist going the wrong way would be arrested but cyclists often say they are using their own judgement of what constitutes safe ridership.
I see more and more electric bikes on the Hudson river pathway. There are also a fair number of internal combustion conveyances as well. The path becomes over-crowded and unsafe for pedestrians. Even in the bike dismount zones, riders insist on using their personal judgement as to whether it is safe to ride there.
The bottom line is there is a pervasive, but admittedly not universal disregard for the rules of the road. Electric scooters will only add an additional poorly regulated menace to the mix.
18
My husband is still recovering from the fractured bones in his clavicle and foot sustained when a bike rider ran a red light at a crosswalk, in April, and struck him. Riders who use the sidewalks to avoid street congestion are a regular feature of daily life in the city.
Before we introduce another, even more dangerous, mode of transportation, we must deal with the hazards posed by two wheeled vehicles in the city.
The editorial board might want to consider the Times' former managing editor Jill Abramson's horrific injuries sustained when she was struck by a bike rider.
22
@UESLit
"Before we introduce another, even more dangerous, mode of transportation, we must deal with the hazards posed by two wheeled vehicles in the city."
I'm certain you meant four wheeled vehicles, right?
1
@UESLit
FIrst of all, Jill Abramson's injuries (pelvis and femur fractures) were NOT from being struck by a bike rider. She was hit by a delivery truck while crossing the street (see her NYT article of May 2, 2014). I am sorry for your husband's injuries, but they would have been much worse if it had been a car/truck and not a bicyclist. 200 lbs of cycle/rider hitting a 175 lb person causes a lot less injury than a 4000 lb motor vehicle.
There is no question that many urban bicyclists break the rules: riding the wrong way, on sidewalks, ignoring stop lights, riding while distracted. Those who do so need to be ticketed, arrested, and held accountable for the injuries they afflict on pedestrians.
This does not change the fact that any sustainable transportation system will include bicycles and scooters (both E and people-powered). The NYT editorial recognizes this fact and advocates for creating "bike lanes that are behind parked cars and other barriers, which shield bikers and scooter riders from traffic", eliminating some of the incentive for riders to use the sidewalks and protecting riders from heavy, fast-moving motor vehicles. Also needed are dedicated areas in which to park bikes and scooters. Neither of these measures cost much.
We desperately need to get beyond our current failed transportation model, but will do so only by paying attention to the 5 E's of safety - education, encouragement, engineering, enforcement, and evaluation.
1
Have you ever seen what happens when an electric scooter rider going 15 mph hits an obstruction? I observed this last week on 1st avenue... you pivot on the front wheel and your face hits the pavement at 15mph before you can blink. These scooters are totally unsafe for NYC use, where potholes, street plates etc. make the roadway too irregular. Want to fill the ER's with broken faces? Then encourage more electric scooters.
16
E bikes and scooters don’t belong on bike lanes as they endanger bicyclists. 25mph average is way faster than what most normal people can do on a bike, unless they go downhill.
Instead make inner cities car free and let e bike and scooters use the road!
2
Bird and Lime scooters are flocking all over Oakland. They are being ridden on sidewalks. Pedestrians who are not careful can be knocked over like bowling pins. They are silent so when they whiz by by from behind it can be startling at best. Few follow the rules and of course there is little or no enforcement. Although I recognize their benefits, the potential harm they do far outweigh the good.
18
I ride bicycle in the city daily to go to work, grocery, etc.
The greatest safety threats to cyclists in the city are other cyclists. Not wearing helmets to endanger themselves is one thing; they constantly go against the light, swerve in between cars precariously, do not properly signal.
When cyclists are forced to abide by traffic lights on busy intersections, you will see almost every cyclist not forming a line but rather go beside and ahead of the front-most one just to shave that one second off their travel time.
Not to mention electric scooters you see occasionally on the bike path which makes no noise and no signal... I have been in several occasions where those scooters overtake me with no warnings when I am already going about 15mph.
You want to talk about making cycling safer in New York City, POLICE THE CYCLISTS.
16
One just needs to witness the scourge caused by scooters in Santa Monica to see how they must be banned in NYC.
Riders flaunt rules as to where they are allowed to ride-only on roadways. They have taken over sidewalks and other restricted areas , knowing that the rules cannot be properly enforced. They breeze by signs telling them of the law without a care in the world. And they are a menace to children, pets, and all others trying to walk safely.
Scooters are blithely thrown down on sidewalks where riders arrive at their destinations. Can you imagine NYC streets being further challenged by scooters thrown everywhere?
The city cannot properly control where cyclists are currently banned. Not protect those traveling lawfully.
Imagine the chaos caused by these dangerous scooters.
24
Cycles learly written by a cyclist.
Scotters, bicycles etc., MUST obey the rules if this is going to work in any urban city. Come visit Santa Monica to experience the volume of scooters and cycles that ride on sidewalks, cut off cars, run into pedestrians and dump scooters in the street or on the sidewalk. Our overburdened police are going to have to aggressively issue tickets to "teach" behavior and rules.
And PLEASE...make the scooter drivers wear a helmet.
9
@BPinLA And come visit Oakland as well - many scooters are being ridden by teens and younger, no helmets, no enforcement of sidewalk speeding and whose credit cards are these kids using to activate their rides? And don't get me started on the behavior aggressive adult riders who are of the excessively speeding on sidewalks and through crosswalks. We never thought we would have to fear being a pedestrian on a sidewalk in our golden years. Now we do.
6
Toys toys toys. It feels like we have unregulated buses and trucks spewing pollution on the streets. Terrible roads and endless construction and upheaval. And the next great idea is another toy. So much utopia.
2
I'm a lifetime bike commuter. I'm all for scooters and e-bikes -- for people who aren't physically able to pedal a bike or for longer distances. But for the vast majority of able people, stick with pedal bikes (not least of all, for fitness).
The big problem if they become popular, is, where will they go in the traffic stream? At a steady 15mph, they constantly try to pass pedal bikes in the bike lane, causing havoc there. A cyclist pedals, inconsistently, at around 10mph. It might force people to give up on pedal bikes because they can't compete. There's little need for motorized vehicles in NYC -- average trips are just a couple of miles. Make them go in the car lane -- actual average car speeds in Manhattan aren't much greater than 15mph anyway.
5
The pedestrian is already in constant danger from these sorts of transport -- I speak from personal experience. This will make it truly impossible to get around by foot in this city.
In the meantime why doesn't the city license bikes, scooters and all the rest? This way those responsible for accidents can be identified even as they speed away from those they knock down, and it would be a good revenue source to improve the subway system.
9
Why? What need are scooters are addressing? The only benefit is to the people who invested in the scooter companies. This isn't disruptive progress. It's investors looking to cash out.
13
Just get rid of Uber and Lyft. They made the congestion worse. Leave sidewalks for pedestrians and bike lanes for regular bikes. Companies that can should let more employees work from home.
4
I’m in Portland today and scooters are everywhere but in bike lanes or on the road. On the riverfront a melange of pedestrians, bikers, scooters and baby carriages tried to negotiate the space while yards away the designated bike lane was virtual empty. While I support the idea of scooters, there must be some rules put in place and then strictly enforced before any are allowed on the street.
5
same situation in Battery Park City in NYC. There is a designated and protected bike lane but cyclists insist on riding on the Esplanade which is suppose to be for children, strollers and foot traffic.
3
The smaller the wheel, the greater the danger. Those scooters look deadly. Bicycles, with far more diameter to their wheels -- and thus far greater ability to ride over bumps, cracks and other obstacles, as well as better placement of riders' weight relative to the axle -- are a better solution.
7
This is a problem in cities everywhere in the world. The problem is simple, the solutions are not.
Cities were built on a system of rules at every level that are meant to accommodate two kinds of transport, legs (and wheelchairs) and motor vehicles. After we dealt with the motor vehicle system rules and structures we had to deal with their relationship to pedestrians. Adding in a third group takes the problem of resolution within existing structures, legal and physical, to a level that is impossible to successfully resolve without adding a new systemic layer. Subways brilliantly resolved the use of trains in cities. My question is this: can a system of comparable elegance be realized for bikes of all kinds? One approach would be to separate the motors from the pedals vertically. Inner city elevated bike roads might do the trick.
2
Great idea. In many areas of the city there is simply not enough space on the street to accommodate 3 (or more) classes of transport. There is simply no realistic solution without radical redesign.
1
Yes, the subway system and its dysfunctions have driven New Yorkers to explore other transportation options. As a bike commuter, I applaud the Mayor's expansion of the protected bike lanes and the Vision Zero program.
That being said, electric bikes and the prospect of power-assisted scooters call out for enforcement of a principal law of traffic:
Riding against the flow of traffic.
Each day I see countless fellow riders riding southbound on northbound traffic lanes (e.g., 10th Avenue/Amsterdam). The bike lanes are narrow, and approaching a rider going against traffic and having to discern his/her intention is challenging. Surely the police would not tolerate motorists driving south on 6th Avenue in midtown.
This unsafe condition needs to be addressed in bike lanes.
18
I'm all for more protected bike lanes. But cyclists must obey traffic signals and other regulations applying to moving vehicles, as they are supposed to. I cannot count the number of times I've almost been struck by a bicycle proceeding through a red light at a high speed, or a biker cycling the wrong way on a one-way street. Growing up in New York City, I was taught that if riding in the street, I was also expected to use directional hand-signals to alert motorists and pedestrians alike to my intended path, as well as to adhere to traffic signals. Has all of this changed? When did it become OK for bikers to ignore traffic signals or to ride north on a southbound street, or east on a westbound street? And did I forget to mention bikers and riders of the illegal motorized bikes and scooters riding on the sidewalks? If it is illegal to ride the motorized bikes in NYC, why is it legal to purchase one here? This just creates confusion. I've traveled extensively around the world and have seen how cycling works well in densely populated urban areas. I fully support alternative modes of transportation, especially in the "outer boroughs," but we need to agree on the rules and comply with them.
12
No No No. Check out Instagram birdgraveyard. In addition to all the reasons from other Times readers, the batteries are exhausted after a very few hours and the birds are left, often on their side, on sidewalks, the sides of the streets, the sand on beach, blocking doorways, anywhere. The fuzzy headed editorial writers didn't mention how the birds are recharged. Minimally paid gig workers collect them, loading them up (10 or so) on other birds or into backs of trucks, vans, cars that creep down streets looking for more to take them anywhere there are electrical outlets.
5
@ELnLA. Read this from Portland https://www.wweek.com/news/2018/08/07/i-signed-on-to-portlands-latest-si...
1
Adding more bike lanes? Perhaps the Editorial Board should review all of the Op-Eds and Opinion pieces recently posted in its pages which describe increased congestion on our streets. The cause of our disappearing street space is not UBER or LYFT, as the City Council and Mayor DeBlasio would have us believe.
The real issue relates to bike lanes and wider sidewalks (all for reasonable safety measures) that have been widely implemented without a congestion pricing program to discourage cars during certain hours of the day and, more importantly, trucks from making rush-hour deliveries that are now double (or triple) parked in the middle of the avenues.
5
The docking system is effective in preventing Citibikes from becoming pieces of urban litter, and could easily be required of all rented wheels. Technology that prevents operation of e-scooters and e-bikes on the sidewalks seems to be the magic, but still-missing ingredient.
1
These scooters are a safety disaster. Here in Santa Monica, they litter the sidewalks, riders don’t wear helmets, ride on the sidewalks, parents ride with their children on one scooter, children are riding them alone, and a friend’s 98 year old mother broke her nose tripping over one. Posted signs saying “no scooters here” are ignored. I have have nearly been hit, dodging one and ending in the path of another. Formerly lovely places to have a stroll or a run are no longer safe. The quality of life for pedestrians has deteriorated because they are everywhere, not following any safety laws. No one who is living with these things currently could recommend them
22
@ILENE MINER "No one who is living with these things currently could recommend them". The last line of your post says it all. Clearly, the Times editorial board doesn't know it's way around a bicycle let alone an electric scooter.
2
In mid size cities such as Providence a huge, huge amount of space is given over for cars - for roads, parking lots, parking lanes, garages, gas stations - and its the motorists that kill and injure people and pets, not the bicyclists, pedestrians or scooter users. Its also the cars that contribute to exhaust pollution, global climate change. Thus the solution has to be to reduce the space given to cars, and we need to change the incentives given to drive everywhere, especially in places like Rhode Island where "free" parking and (almost) no tolls are seen as an entitlement. It won't be easy since most voters drive, but pedestrian, bicycle, and scooter advocates have to stick together to take back space from the cars.
Why not require a license to ride a share vehicle like a city bike or scooter. Then if people are ticketed one has a way of collecting. This like the cameras on the west side highway will cause people to obey the laws easier. It is amazing to see New Yorkers screech to a halt at the yellow lights on the west side highway rather than gun their way through
4
Is the NY Times Board devoid of awareness and common sense.
The vast majority of bicyclists ignore all traffic laws, speed limits, stop signs, red lights, one way street signs, etc.
Putting everyone, pedestrians most obviously, at danger of injury or death.
And the Times thinks the mayor can magically change this soon with new lanes and parking changes, etc. Maybe over decades and at what cost to the tax payer.
You are nuts. And adding battery powered bikes and scooters will only add to the chaos and danger already out there.
And only a small fraction of workers commute to work on bikes, less than 1% according to the US Census Bureau. Yes, electric scooters will add slightly to this number but it's still going to be chaos and danger for the rest of us to accommodate a tiny minority that flaunts the law at every turn.
The rest of us need to convey to gov representatives we don't approve of the existing insanity, let alone adding to it.
11
Trillions in tax breaks for gazillionaires but not a dime for mass transit. Vote them out and lock him up!
10
Dear Editors,
You may want to review Newton's second
law "The net force on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by the acceleration of the object".
And my law. NewYorkers on scooters times iphones equals broken bones.
6
I live in SD and have a different view than some. These motorized menaces are a plague. Exhibit A - they are illegal to run on sidewalks. Exhibit B - SD requires helmets. I've never seen one helmet and am constantly dodging them on sidewalks in one of the US's most walk-able cities. Exhibit 3 - people get on them two at a time and generally display a complete inability to operate the things. NYC would be crazy to introduce these!
8
@KBD
I too live in San Diego two thirds of every month. This was a beautiful walkable city until the electric scooters and electric bicycles were dumped on street corners all over the city. Walking on MLK drive was always a quiet pleasure until this menacing objects silently come up from behind at speeds 10 times the foot traffic. Move suddenly left or right and they collide with you. Tell the riders that they are prohibited from riding on the sidewalk and they laugh at you. Tell parents that their children (2 on a scooter) are not allowed (a driver's license is required) and they tell you to mind your own business. They are left strewn all over the sidewalks, and any other place the users want to get off. On Coronado Island, the scooters are banned. The quality of life for the Coronado residents and tourists has been maintained. That is the only acceptable conclusion.
3
"...and [de Blasio] directed the police to crack down on the misuse of these lanes."
Hmm...are we living in the same City as the NYTimes Editorial Board?
Dear America and the World: we New Yorkers can assure you that the NYPD has been ~ and will be ~ at best ignoring and at worst derisively snorting at ANYTHING that Mayor de Blasio quote-unquote 'directs' them to do.
And besides, the NYPD themselves are notorious for blocking bike lanes on a regular basis. We all see it everyday.
6
True, we see more and more split infinitives; but they offend this reader, and maybe a few more geezers out here.
Amen NYT, yes more bike lanes and yes congestion pricing.
1
This is more insanity from an increasingly insane paper. I grew up, attended high school and college in NYC and have driven through my adult life. Driving in a motor vehicle in NYC is a high risk population. Riding a bicycle or scooter in proximity is inviting serious injury and death. Especially when morons like the mayor will probably encourage grandmas and small children to engage in the Mad Max action on the streets of NY.
4
"...make pedaling less effortful." Was it easy to write that? Any copy editors left at the Times?
10
@Robert In fact, they recently fired them all, and the consequences have been painful to behold
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/business/media/new-york-times-staff-m...
1
As a pedestrian senior who lives midtown/east side, I think we have
enough traffic to deal with without adding more obstacles. From my observations, and I walk across streets a good deal, the bicycles are too unregulated and tear down and up the streets regardless of the lights. They are a menace and make pedestrians
afraid for their lives. I know of many bike run overs of people. Also
these cars parked on the side just add dirt to our streets. If you
check out the islands around them the filth gathering there is pure
"bubonic". Our streets are dirty as is the dog poop everywhere and too many people don't clean up after them. New York is dirtier
and more dangerous than ever and with bikes - for God sake ,we are not Amsterdam where cars are not tearing down streets.The lack of civilized behavior here is a concern, and I'm a born and bred New Yorker - it's the worst I've ever seen it. People act like
pigs now with no consideration for one another. Also, I'm sick of
being hit with someone's backpack as I pass them on the street, or on a bus.
9
@pkay
I know it's a bit off topic but thank you for mentioning backpacks. Let's start reminding people that you do not need to bring ALL your possessions with you when you walk out the door everyday. And it's not my responsibility to get out of the way of your backpack, take it off when you're in a crowd!
2
Hmn, who wrote this reckless editorial? Must be people who travel in limos with a personal advance guard, or who are under the age of 25 and therefore immortal. Is this another Trumpian effort to create chaos?
11
Yes, I had been purposely chased by bumper & sideswiped by cars & taxis all the because I failed? to yield. One guy was changing two lanes just to grab a parking pace & decided to take revenge. My life meant less to him than another few min to locate a parking space.
I am sure when all of us who uses bicycles & scooters start using cars, taxis, trains, & buses, the city will be safer for walking, as the traffic jam & packed smelly subways will assure grid locks = safe for walking. Kill the city!
The pedestrians are already at risk from bikes shooting past against the lights at crosswalks and whizzing up on sidewalks. Adding to this selfish, lawless Wild West ethos is only going to result in more injuries and deaths--of both cyclist and pedestrians. Please don't do it, New York.
12
@WestsiderMost Those pedestrians complaining about bikes are often people that have their cars parked somewhere. Meanwhile bicyclists are the sensible ones, that do the right thing and have stopped using the polluting and truly dangerous vehicle that is the car. Why don’t people get it: we must stop driving cars in inner cities to make life safer and healthier for everybody!
Love how the editors completely gloss over DeBlasio's proposed millionaire tax in paragraph four, in favor of Cuomo's sop to Wall Street and real estate. Millionaires and billionaires, after all, are the Times' bread and butter with most of the advertising and lifestyle coverage devoted to their "special needs". The Times, as handmaiden of the real estate cabal, has helped make this city unlivable by the majority of its residents by exiling them to the outer boroughs and now it wants them to pay extra for the privilege of getting back in to work. You can't even bring yourselves to put a tiny ding in the wallet of a single Russian oligarch or Chinese embezzler can you?
4
Come to Northampton MA — they’re here.
1
IN EUROPE A number of countries have separate bike paths to make it easy and safe for those those riding such vehicles. It also means that pedestrians have to be aware of an unfamiliar lane of traffic. But there for overcrowded cities, the law of unintended consequences kicks in. When visiting Bangkok, my wife and I got stuck somewhere during the rush hour. We stood for a very long time waiting for a cab to pass buy. Since the traffic jam was so severe that it was not moving, none passed by. Finally, when we did get a cab, a police officer made us get out because the cab driver had not stopped for us at a cab stand. So back we went to waiting on the sidewalk, only to hear a noise that sounded like the buzzing of angry hornets amplified many times. To our horror, we saw these large groups of people riding motor scooters dodging the traffic jam by using the sidewalks to zip along. Fortunately, we lived to tell the story. As Nature abhors a vacuum, if New York City were to encourage motorized bikes and scooters, eventually a goodly number of them would end up zipping along the sidewalks during traffic jams, terrorizing and most definitely injuring many pedestrians. Besides, many parts of the city will be underwater in the coming decades. Better to build dykes than to encourage a dramatic increase in the number of scooters. Unless they are also offered in models. Not Ducks--they're too dangerous. But perhaps mini-submarines. Even Yellow Submarines, like the Beatles.
3
Spot on – kudos…
For personal urban mobility, e-scooters going to displace bikes like LED lighting displaced incandescent bulbs - and as broadly and as quickly...
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/garden/whats-best-led-or-incandescent...
Bikes will endure, for exercise and for – a time – nostalgia...
Even then, would wager that – within five years – most new bikes sold (anywhere) will be electrified…
So many advantages:
> Can better obey traffic laws, because kinetic energy can be recaptured with regenerative braking
> Can stop, start, and turn far more nimbly than bikes (especially so, for avoiding pedestrians)
> Could have the situational awareness of an autonomous car (traffic lights, other bikes – and cars and pedestrians)
> One fold, and more portable than a piece of overhead-compartment luggage
On this last one, the only thing that’s missing is the right business model…
The visionaries need to stop equating scooter use with Uber rides…Do something more akin to smartphone ownership…Lease them month-by-month for $99 – with eventual ownership if continued for six months…
As far as riding on sidewalks – limit to 100 yards within any 5 minute period…When violation occurs, the scooter writes the ticket and sends to PD – and locks out for a 5 minute period…Scooter not “booted” – but can only be moved around a la rolling luggage, till the lockout ends…
On this last one, can first watch how well self-policing works – including data collection for violations…
3
@W in the Middle E-bikes are for lazy, dumb people and bikes keepnthe smart ones in shape.
@W in the Middle Portable e-bikes with regenerative braking? Who are you trying to kid?
Certainly not these folks...
https://www.idtechex.com/research/articles/electric-scooters-with-regene...
Or - just look at a pedal-powered generator through the other end of the binoculars...
As a life long Brooklynite of around sixty five years, who often because of work and other activities, ventures into The City, I sincerely believe this editorial board lives in glass houses! This idea is nuts!!!
12
Let's expand this out further, can we? Commuters from the outer suburbs should be able to bike/ scooter to public transportation hubs. Bike lanes need to expanded from the suburbs to New York City. Imagine, if you will, a person able to bike from northern Westchester to the city. Or from isolated communities, far from the rail line, to hubs.
Now that there is a water treatment plant for the New York City water supply, how about allowing mountain bikes to build trails on all of the land that encircles the reservoir system? There are thousands of acres of land where bike trails could be constructed. Bikes don't poop, so the likelihood of contamination is nil. There are tens of thousands of acres and hundreds of miles of horse trails and hiking trails, but very few biking trails. This should be the logical expansion of human powered transport.
New York City takes water from upstate. Allowing cyclists to create trails from isolated communities to train hubs, would reduce city traffic, increase healthful lifestyles and reduce pollution. It's a win win.
The only push back would come from selfish and entitled NIMBY types, but they should be easy and kind of fun to overcome.
Imagine a tri-state area where cyclists and scooter-enthusiasts and even Segway riders could make it to work without the use of an internal combustion engine.
Now THAT is the future.
1
Here's an idea for a neat new business: Scooter & Bike Off. Just as some folks who fear dog attacks carry spray cans of noxious liquid to ward off menacing canines, pedestrians can arm themselves with aerosols -- or maybe pellets -- if they have to be on foot where pedestrians once had right of way.
It should be just strong enough to stop them, but not enough to maim or kill. Smelly and icky might be OK.
6
Sadly, you are extremely naive about the dangers, both physically and socially, about these awful scooters. In Santa Monica where I live, they are absolutely hated by pedestrians trying to simply live without oblivious hipsters running them down. Then there are the companies themselves who have no long term plan, hatching only scams to make as much money on cheap Chinese scooters as they can before the slow churn of legislation can be activated. In short, companies like Bird and Lime are bro cos looking to find quick fixes and let the consequences be dammed. STAY OUT OF MY CITY
12
Have the Editorial Board writers even been on a motorized 2wheel vehicle in NYC? I suggest you give it a go...its not for the feint of heart.
NYC is not a city built for scooters. Its not really built for cars or trucks. But it was built for foot and beast of burden traffic, not motorized vehicles. Even street level electric rail was a disaster in its hey-day.
NYC has never made any real efforts to re-configure its streets and perimeter roadways for more efficient and less dangerous motorized traffic. Has done nothing truly effective for bicycle traffic - except throw them to the side of the streets and hope for the best. Adding scooters will do nothing but add levels of complexity, that will be compounded by chaos created by riders who don't know a damn thing about operating motorized 2wheel vehicles. (are licenses/permits gonna be required, and who is gonna check?)
Too many motorcyclists are unlicensed and have little real training if they are licensed! Scooters are just smaller, child-like motor-bikes. That operate in ways most motorcyclists only learn by accident!
Hell, Ive seen adults get on a bicycle for the first time in a few decades and they are a complete danger to themselves and anyone around them!
Add a motor, suddenly car-driving adults are thinking they can handle it. Not so! The two skills are not equal! 2 versus 4 wheels are like riding a thoroughbred horse and a broken down draft horse.
No, NYC should focus on fixing its transit system.
10
Reminds me of the chatter about how Steve Jobs didn't know what he was doing, when he began:
> Opening retail stores...Everyone knew all the things he would do wrong, and no one had a clue as to how he would succeed
> Making and selling smartphones...Everyone knew that Apple made cool iPod music players - but a smartphone???
This is why Steve's had no equal - then or since...
Had he lived, we'd be on our second generation of totally-immersive AR/VR headsets by now...
And our e-scooters would be autonomous…
4
There are, unfortunately, no easy solutions to getting around in Manhattan. The fundamental problem is that the population density is too high. As a result, more people want to get from here to there than there is room on the streets. If we increase the number and protection of bike lanes in much of Manhattan, there will be less room for motor vehicles. Buses, delivery trucks, utility trucks, taxis, ride-share vehicles will move more slowly, or not at all. Importantly, emergency vehicles like ambulances will be trapped in traffic. A city crippled by perpetual grid lock will become even worse.
Congestion pricing may raise money, but is unlikely to help reduce traffic a whole lot.
The only partial solution for Manhattan I see is to improve the subways, since functioning mass transit beats single passenger vehicles any day. Good luck with that.
5
with so many people walking with their heads focused on their phones surely more people will be mowed down by these "e-scooters".
Conceptually a good idea, but in practical terms in already crowded sidewalks and streets in NYC? Not so much.
3
These scooters litter my neighborhood. In addition to the infrastructure for using them safely, you also need the infrastructure to park them safely.
The technology and mobility is very cool, but there is a big externality that needs to be addressed.
5
These scooters were introduced in Charlotte NC in the spring and so far I think they are just a menace. Riders ride them on the sidewalks , startling and endangering pedestrians. Some riders think red lights do not apply to them. People just leave them any old place and they litter the sidewalks, at best unsightly and at worst dangerous. NYC should think twice before permitting them.
3
A tourist was killed by a bicycle is a tragedy, but the article could have compared those killed by bicycles versus those killed by cars. The safety problem can be addressed when the streets are emptied of giant, high-priced, exhaust-spewing, steely people-moving machines. Yes, safety is an urgent priority best remedied by thinning the herd of CARS.
8
@Jean Campbell I would like to see statistics on how many of the bicyclist accidents were partially or completely caused by the bicyclist willfully ignoring traffic laws. Yes, the automobiles need to give the bicycle its rights, but along with those rights come responsibilities.
I regularly see bicycles going the wrong way down one way streets, coasting through stop signs and red lights, making illegal turns, etc. If safety is an urgent priority why not give good example by following the laws intended to promote it?
6
@Jean Campbell Cars don’t belong in inner cities, the Europeans got it right. Meanwhile here in the USA we are too backwards and lazy to do the right thing.
I came out of my apartment here in Hollywood and found a scooter thrown in our driveway. I moved it before someone ran over it. On my walk to the store (about a mile) I counted 12 scooters abandoned. They are ridden on sidewalks, usually without helmets, and are discarded like smoked cigarett3es, for someone else to clean up. Beware New York.
14
In addition to the electric scooter there is an electric mono-wheel, made in France. But my personal preference is a scooter with sidecar, the latter equipped with two parallel water cannons.
As far as the speed is concerned, the humans always strived to propel themselves at the speed of sound in the air of the Earth.
1
We just started out scooter trial period here in Portland last week. It's not unusual to see the scooters scattered all over the place. Waiting for pickup. In the meantime, people are figuring out that their heads are not made of some unbreakable material and are starting to wear helmets...per the law. Flip flops are giving way to better foot protection. Jeans are replacing shorts...but it's a learning curve. My hope is that with scooters, bikes, cars, and skate boards golf carts will be approved for urban street use...with the right hardware ( seatbelts, windscreen, brake lights haed lights..) and we can go from there.
3
I agree that the scooters are littered all over the place. I, however, have seen zero evidence of any learning curve with regard to use of helmets, footwear and clothing, or anything else. I have not seen a single scooter rider with a helmet. And I have seen them all over the sidewalk. These are a menace to safety and an eyesore.
The scooters are a real hazard here in San Antonio for both pedestrians and for drivers.
They also seem to be an excuse for already out-of-shape people to avoid physical effort. Walking and cycling are better.
5
I don't want to see another dime spent on "traffic" - in whatever form it might be - until there is serious concern about the safety of pedestrians, and not just the "by the way" mention that I see in this editorial. Sidewalks were created for precisely that reason - the safety of pedestrians - but now sidewalks are for the cyclists and scooter riders (both electric and non-) who can't be bothered with the "inconvenience" of stopping at red lights or riding on the correct side of the street, to name just two areas where riders deliberately ignore existing laws.
Traffic in NYC long ago reached nightmare proportions. The city's response was to add bikes into the fray. Now they're going to add electric bikes and scooters. Why does anyone think this will ease the traffic problem? It will only add to it. People who drive cars will not suddenly switch to bikes or scooters. The streets will become more - not less - congested. The result is inevitable: cyclists and electric scooter riders will continue to ride on the sidewalks and otherwise ignore the laws that are meant to keep all of us safe, and they will continue to feel justified in doing so - because no one is even trying to stop them.
21
@CHN
Good. Implement congestion pricing and all your concerns are solved.
@Tom Leykis Fan
I disagree. Congestion pricing will do nothing for congestion, people will just pay it and maintain their bad habits. The money will end up in someone's pocket. Congestion pricing is definitely not the answer to anything. Serious investment in public transportation is the only answer.
Too fast and too slow. Different speeds increase collisions. Electric "scooters can travel as fast as 15 miles per hour." Too fast for sidewalks -- 5x average walking speed of about 3 miles per hour. Probably too fast for bike lanes -- Copenhagen cyclists average <10mph. Too slow for motorized vehicle lanes -- the standard NYC speed limit is now 25mph. Electric scooters are not a safe fit for NYC.
20
@Active Bystander I visited NYC recently, and gotta say, it was soooo nice (and civilized) not to dodge e-scooters on the sidewalks.
5
Well, yeah - if they stay off the sidewalks!! In Nice, the tourists rent them - along with biks and the pedestrians (and the dogs we're walking) have to really be on the alert. And I've seen some near-misses with the elderly and children. Until there are lanes and rules set up and followed, NOT a good idea!!
17
If only we could change the entire roadway infrastructure of NYC, electric scooters might be helpful. Not a very powerful argument, Editorial Board. Splitting bike lanes from the roadway has already led to more traffic. And scooters have proved to be a major headache in places like Santa Monica and Venice, CA already.
Instead of advocating for another mode of transportation that is likely to cause a mess, why isn’t the NYT pushing harder for vastly increased investment in existing modes of public transport. It is axiomatic that adding scooters to rental bikes will lead to more, not less accidents. Plus, they’re useless for older residents. Rather than Silicon Valley-driven scooter silliness, we should be emulating the large cities of Asia, who have shown the willingness to invest effectively in subways, buses, light rail, and trains.
18
As a senior citizen who bikes all over Manhattan I applaud the dedicated bike lanes and hope we get more. Police enforcement of vehicles double parking in bike lanes might indeed lessen serious injuries. Senior bikers ride slowly and electric bikes and scooters zooming past me at 15+ mph is a scary thing. How about keeping bike lanes for those of us using pedals and let the other riders test their skills on the open roadway. One exception: motarized wheel chairs, so long as they move in the right direction.
8
I would also like to mention I used subways profusely in Manhattan. They are still the best mode of traffic going uptown and downtown. Crosstown is another matter. With very few exceptions, it is still much faster to cross Central Park (time and money wise) in a cab.
1
A real safety to motorists and pedestrians alike in NYC from bikes is the lack of any or adequate lights or reflectors on bikes being ridden when it is dark.
The law requires front and rear lights and reflectors when riding between dusk and dawn.
For one who lives along First Avenue, it is being observed that, perhaps, one third or more of the personally-owned bikes (not Citi Bikes) being ridden at night do not have adequate visual signals with many having none at all.
At times this can be a real danger. Making a left turn across a bike lane requires one to check for pedestrian crossing in both directions and bikes coming from behind on the bike lane as well as bikes illegally coming from the front in the opposite direction. In the dark, and especially when it is raining, a driver has to cross their fingers that nothing is going unobserved, particularly un-lit bikes.
A high percentage of bike riders when it is dark in the evening are food delivery people and commonly they ride bikes that do not meet visual regulations.
It is clear that the NYC's enforcers of traffic regulations are not enforcing bike lighting regulations. What should be done is that restaurants and other stores which are the source of bike deliveries should be liable for the consequences of their delivery people using inadequate equipment. Checking the bikes used by such retail establishments and fining those establishments that hire contractors without adequate equipment should be simple.
10
Agreed. In addition, many bikers do not obey the traffic laws by stopping at red lights and yielding to pedestrians. Bikers must obey the same traffic laws that keep pedestrians safe from cars. A bike traveling at 20 or 30 miles per hour can cause serious injuries and is no joke.
If the Mayor is serious about bikes as a means of transportation, his administration needs to enforce these rules.
12
@Jesse
NYC needs pressure to do what it should.
For activists who want to take up this cause, the first thing that should be done is to check the records for how often citations have been issued for violations of bike visual lighting regulations.
Without a doubt the records will show inadequate enforcement. Then, in the next biking accident (which will certainly occur) in NYC where a bike's lack of required lighting contributed to the accident, the City should be made a defendant.
@Jesse
I work in midtown and, in just the past few months, very narrowly missed three times getting broadsided by a bicyclist or skateboardist running a red light while I was in the crosswalk. This was on streets that do not have a bike lane. There are already too many reckless and entitled people on bicycles and skateboards who think they own the city and that traffic lights and rules do not apply to them. Adding another type of vehicle that travels at a different speed from any of the others will only add to the melee.
4
Putting this in context, 80,000 trips in one day is a very small number considering the subway has 5.6M per weekday. If you live in NYC, you can see that bike lanes move very few people relative to the adjacent traffic lanes. Considering the cost to build those lanes and the reduction in car flow, I can’t imagine that they can be demonstrated as effective in terms of cost or total flow through the city. We see it every day; a road jammed with cars with a bike lane that has one biker.
In terms of real movement, adding bike lanes is just robbing Peter to pay Paul.
7
Yes! Bike advocates represent a small but vociferous public, who have proved overly influential. No cost-benefit analysis could justify the narrowing of roadways to accommodate bike lanes at the expense of motor vehicles and pedestrians.
1
I think they would be great; especially (as noted) in some of the very hard to reach areas. I lived in Soho (Sullivan St. below West Houston St.) for years; plus Flushing and Bayside, Queens for several years. I loved riding my bicycle in both areas. As far as using electric scooters in Manhattan, I think they are a great idea, however the number of automobiles would have to be reduced. As much as I like Uber (or Lyft), they have created a tremendous glut of traffic in Manhattan. There are way too many large vehicles as it stands today before I would think of using a scooter. Also, when I last rode my bicycle in the city, there were not many bike lanes (or Uber), and I did not have any problems. I was extremely careful from a defensive standpoint; especially people getting out of yellow cabs. The worst is when they would open the door on the wrong side of them (the non-curb side). So, if autos can be reduced substantially, then I think they would eventually fit in fine in Manhattan; along with all the other modes listed.
4
None of this is helpful to older people with physical ills that make walking difficult. Is there any city on earth more hostile to the elderly? Bully for those over 70 who have not incurred degenerative joint disease! What about the rest of us? Mobility scooters would go a long way toward helping. I could take my grandchildren to the park near their flat. The scooters go walking speed, and use wheelchair ramps, plentiful in Battery Park City. Yet I never see one, and can't be sure if they're legal.
4
@Gabrielle Hale
Gabrielle must not be an "older people" or she would understand that older people also have problems with balance, not a good fit for a scooter. Additionally, scooters go many times walking speed (15-20 mph vs. 3 mph). A scooter going at walking speed will be too slow to use the battery power. Scooters going at 15mph silently coming from behind will certainly increase the number of balance challenged older people injured. I live partly in San Diego every month. Since the electric scooters have been introduced I have seen many children (often two on a scooter) and many more young adults riding these silent menaces. I have not seen a single older person on the scooters other than a handful that were trying to learn how to use them, only to give up.
Scooters are an eyesore, a threat to walkers, disturbers of peace and tranquility, and unhealthy as an alternative to walking.
They need to look at Salt lake City , they have concrete barriers between the road and the bike lane and the cars park on road side before the barriers .So if a car tries to serve out it would hit the concrete wall.
3
If your destination is so far away that you need an electric scooter to get there, you should be using mass transit. All that allowing these devices to crowd out cyclists and pedestrians will accomplish is more reduced revenue for already cash strapped buses and trains. You’re just making an already challenging set of problems worse. Dense urban areas are no place for this type of device, a fact that has been repeatedly and tragically well proven.
18
I spent a week on vacation in San Diego in June. All of these companies are there now. My sons and I rode the bikes all week at the beach and also downtown.
The only downsides with the bikes are mess since people leave them everywhere and the lack of helmets, which are very important in NYC.
The scooters are difficulty though. They come up fast from behind and are totally quiet. I think they need dedicated lanes and bells or noise of some kind to be safe. San Diego doesn’t have our traffic so other issues might arise here, but those that I mentioned will come with the vehicles.
3
What about mopeds? Every other European city has them all over the place. I have been driving mine for three years in brooklyn, it was amazing, easy to park, gas is cheap, insurance wasnt expensive, you can get a reliable one for 2k.
@Dan
Mopeds are easy theft targets.
How do they propose charging dockless electric scooters? These things belong on the street with cars and other motorcycles, not in bike lanes or on sidewalks.
2
@Alan
The companies pay independent contractors (think gig economy like Uber/Lyft drivers) to pick up and charge scooters. They're paid by the scooter they charge.
It's a tough one for me as to where they belong. I'm a bike rider and while I like the idea of bike-only lanes, I'm also a fan of alternate transportation and getting funding for the infrastructure for these forms of transport. More people receiving benefit will bring additional funding and an increase in infrastructure.
Amsterdam is a decent example, anything with less than a 50cc engine (mopeds) can ride in bike lanes. What seemed like a disaster to me at first appears to work reasonably well there. Like everything you get used it and the occasional idiot it brings.
1
Where are the pedestrians in all these equations?
Scooters, electric bikes, flying carpets! They all need lanes, protection and space, yes, but we all need stop lights and apparently once commuters ride something that becomes easily undetected by traditional ticketing mores—“stop” and “go” applies to everything and everyone else. Bike lanes are “all steam ahead”.
Crossing the streets in our fair city has become a double hazard on foot—first check for cars blowing past red lights, then check the bike lanes for all the cyclists who speed through crosswalks as if they were in the Tour de France.
Don’t add anymore rolling objects onto the streets until they can install crossing gate arms alongside stop lights. I’ve been cursed at for interfering in a cyclist’s rhythm as I stepped off the curb.
In theory, cyclists are supposed to be abiding by the same traffic laws as cars. Of course, so are pedestrians. But as of last count, I’ve never seen a jaywalker collision cause much damage.
26
Electric scooters should be in the mix, but the first step is to police the protected bike lanes more extensively. They are one-way, just like the vehicle lanes, but bicyclists ignore that (especially delivery people). Substantial fines would help, as would holding restaurants accountable for their delivery personnel. Pedestrians shouldn't have to look both ways on a one-way street... but we do.
6
Increasing the number of protected bike lanes is an important first step towards making cycling safer, but the recurring theme I read in these comments of, "We need to enforce traffic laws for cyclists and scooter users," is only half right.
One reason for the 'lawlessness' that car drivers see in bicyclists is that in most U.S. jurisdictions, the same rules apply to everything from trucks to bicycles. This basically forces cyclists to become lawbreakers. Rules that allow cyclists to filter through traffic more effectively encourage bicycle use and pull cars out of the traffic mix. They get everyone, bicycle and car users, where they're going faster.
Unfortunately in the US, car users resent the fact that anyone else (ie, a pesky bicyclist) seems to be getting where they're going faster than they are.
Car drivers & passengers, bus passengers, etc may resent a swarm of two-wheelers (the way California freeway users resent 'lane-splitting' motorcycles) but their attitudes would change if they understood that the only alternative is more cars and even worse congestion.
When a bicycle, scooter, or motorcycle slips past you, rather than resent the fact that guy (or gal) is 'beating' you, you should be grateful they're not one more car clogging traffic (and occupying the parking space you need at your destination.)
3
I live in a California beach town where the Bird and Lime brands of electric scooters have almost taken over.
The laws/rules for riding those scooters are printed and posted everywhere: you must be 18, have a valid drivers license, wear a helmet and you must not ride the scooters on sidewalks. Those laws are generally ignored because they have never been inforced. The police are too busy dealing with what they likely see as more serious problems, like drugs and homelessness.
Pedestrians hate the scooters. Car drivers hate them. I think bikers are beginning to hate them and while the concept sounds good on paper, NYC should think about something : cars have not disappeared. Here you have walking, bussing, biking, driving, skateboarding, the occasional skater and now scooting people vying for the same space. Yes, there are many bike lanes here and there.
And, we have thousands of European tourists and others who maybe don’t know about the scooter rules. And, tourists LOVE the scooters. Whole families with underage kids ride them.
I lived in Manhattan for 15 years and unless the city has a very smart plan for how to integrate the scooters into all the other ways to get around, soon nobody will go anywhere because it will be one big pile of urban gridlock with a small electric scooter on the bottom of the pile.
10
@Dkhatt Your pearl clutching is tremendous
@Tom Leykis Fan
Why, I do declare......she said, swooning as the Bird drove over her outstretched foot.
Speaking as a long time NYC cyclist, many of the bike lanes have had the unintended effect if making cycling more dangerous. Lanes outside my building on West 106 are frequently obstructed by delivery vehicles, cars/taxis standing, parked, traveling, you name it. Riders of all kinds are forced to "pop in and out of traffic" constantly. This makes it difficult for both drivers and cyclists to adjust to the appearing/disappearing traffic. The biggest concern I have about the scooters is the 15 mph speed. To car drivers, I'm sure that seems glacially slow. Someone without riding skills (a cited target group) on a scooter going 15 mph hitting a pedestrian and it's a pretty good bet that serious injuries for at least one, if not two people, is the result.
7
The bicycle advocates, who have successfully chopped up once useful streets into "traffic calmed" traffic jams, have over looked one thing. The bike lanes, etc, only serve a tiny, tiny percentage of the city, not at all in proportion to the damage done to other users. NYC is large-has hills-and will never be Amsterdam. Powered vehicles are illegal in NY State unless registered and insured; even a Segway is illegal in NYC. Into this, the inexpensive and kinda-hidden e-bike has come into use, courtesy China. You've now combined the lawlessness of the bicycle user with almost the speed of the car. Cars are too much for a lot of city trips, and bicycles are limited to the athletic in good weather. We need a middle ground, which in many european cities are a good mass transit system plus scooters. We aren't getting the mass transit system... Here, the scooter is a motorcycle with the same rules as a full sized Harley...we need a new registration, say, a "class C" motorcycle, with a driver's license needed but no extra test, limited to, say 20 mph, and powered only by electricity/human power. It would be impracticable outside the City, but perfect for runs in dense areas, and best, would give the mostly useless and un-used bike lanes a use for the majority of the population. They'd fit in the current bicycle infrastructure, not add pollution at the point of use, and be useful for a much broader spectrum of city residents.
4
@Casey
How does 80,000/day citibike users plus thousands of other daily bike commuters constitute 'a tiny, tiny percentage of the city'? NYC Bike riders, pedestrians, and cars are notoriously lawless and proud of it. Jaywalking is considered a NYC right, illegal, but never ticketed. Bicycles do not cause traffic jams. Developers ubiquitous 'staging areas' out 1 or 2 lanes into the street do. Double parked idling chauffeured SUVs do. Uber does.
1
Instead playing these political games, and trying to make the masses believe bicycles and scooters are somehow valid forms of transportation in a city of 8 million.... Public transport, the subway system should be enhanced. Stop subsidizing the fares which are artificial at $2.75. Goto somewhere like London, fares on a one off basis is 4.90 pounds(which would be $6.00) or if you buy into some alternative format would be 2.90 pounds(about $4.00) per ride. What a windfall for investment this would be for the NYC Subway.
These bicycle and scooter schemes are just cheap political tricks..... Which hurt us in so many ways.
2
@Cromwell
Why yes, make the subway more expensive so that fewer people use it and more people are forced into the streets. Genius!
1
What a bad idea. New Yorkers and people who visit do whatever they want and would ride scooters in and out of traffic and on sidewalks. It hasn't worked in other cities and it would not work here. Too many people ride bikes without wearing helmets. As it is now, pedestrians have to use extreme caution to prevent being hit by people riding on the wrong side of the street.
The scooters would be left all over (just as people drop trash all over) to clutter up sidewalks and bike lanes. There are good reasons why the scooters are illegal here.
7
Hmmm, I know they have that “urban cool” so beloved by some, but here in Milwaukee they’re trying really hard to BAN them. Accidents with cars, collisions with pedestrians, riding on the sidewalk, people falling off, etc. And we’re much less dense than NYC.
4
Who will protect the pedestrians from scooters, bikes and skateboards?
Start printing liscences and handing out tickets for wreckless riding.
4
In Sicily no one and everyone has the right of way. Scooters rule the streets and pedestrians walk at their peril. Somehow it works. But please not in NYC.
1
I invite the writer(s) of this editorial to visit my UES neighborhood and stand on a sidewalk or near a bike lane for even 5 minutes and observe anarchy. No observance of traffic laws and no enforcement of same. Add scooters to the mix of bikes, electric bikes, skate boards and wow. This is not the Netherlands for example where there is a "bike culture". Do these writers walk in the city or even live here??
11
From what I've witnessed in DC, it's hard to imagine this working in NYC. Motorized vehicles do not belong in bike lanes, period. And for whatever reason, maybe just inexperience, maybe feckless youth, at least 50% of the time that I see a scooter here, I see an illegal action like popping up on the sidewalk or not even pausing for a stop sign.
No matter what form of travel, even your feet, the biggest threat to us all is the distracted minds created by phone addiction. We need to learn to be fully present, starting with strict rules for no headphones/earbuds on wheels.
9
@Barbara
Just need bike lanes bigger than car lanes.
I love the NY TImes editorial board. The world's most naive convocation of idealists has now taken their collective genius literally to the streets. Of course, to make the bike/scooter idea actually work, it simply requires a massive infrastructure investment in street/sidewalk revisions, added law enforcement and a major cultural shift. Piece of cake. Oh--and take a guess as to the "strong feelings" most us in SoCal have as to the practicality and efficacy we've experienced with this "solution."
7
Why do we constantly delude ourselves... that there is even a scintilla of hope/chance that people who ride these things will be lawful, respectful, or mindful of any/all pedestrians, or other vehicles/bikes... to a safe degree??! It is another madness waiting to happen, a new pandoras box.
4
Evolution has provided us with legs to walk with and brains to think. Human evolution has gifted us with cleverness to avoid both of these things although many of us are physically limited so we need help in these areas. Nothing wrong with that except when we neglect the primary natural gifts we lose them and that is one of the major tragedies of being human.
No, no, no. I have more than once almost been run over by a bike going the wrong direction, speeding, ignoring traffic lights, or on a sidewalk. Stop the madness before adding more danger. People are going to get hurt or killed, no joke.
26
is the editorial board kidding us? "protecting
riders...?" how about protecting pedestrians
from the bike and scooter riders? in my
Brooklyn neighborhood, scooter riders
routinely ride on the sidewalk and bike
riders regularly weave in and out of traffic,
endangering older new Yorkers and children
without the slightest consideration for them.
it is laudable to want something done about
pollution and congestion caused by cars,
but only if bike and scooter riders are trained
and made to have licenses displayed very
prominently on the back of their machines.
24
@Frank
Yes, Frank. And jaywalking, cellphone using pedestrians should also should have licenses displayed very prominently on their backs.
Check out Casey Neistat and his bikes, boards, etc., getting around. And his suggestions to make thing safer!
Unless you have a disability that makes walking impassioned or a danger to your health, God or biology gave you two legs and a body that needs exercise to remain healthy — use them!
And for crying out loud, don’t impede others doing the healthful-for-self-and-environment thing by walking from doing so by dumping (errr... “parking”) your scooter on sidewalks, stoops, across curbs and walkways, or by riding/driving them on sidewalks and other pedestrian pathways. You’re non-disabled and have to get somewhere by motor? Them get into a lane of traffic, where you belong. And if you own or operate a motorized scooter company, put big bold unique-to-each vehicle license plates on your equipment and make sure users are properly educated on safe driving and parking and that they carry valid insurance to cover cost in the event they hit or run-over or otherwise harm someone or someone else’s property. And NYPD be sure to ticket violations and violators. The neighborhood toddlers and grandmas and parents and dog walkers and disabled folks and voters will thank you.
2
Bird or Lime in NYC? I predict 10,000 fatalities in one year. Here in LA they are dangerous, and some auto drivers in this great city even follow some of the traffic laws some of the time. In NYC, it will be a blood bath.
8
Personal vehicles like bikes and scooters -- silent, unruly -- contribute nothing but chaos to transit and pedestrian space in a dense city.
For dense cities to work, pedestrians and mass transit should be the only priority, and it's selfish fantasy to claim that pumping yet more personal vehicles into Manhattan will lead to anything but making life more miserable for everyone else.
Every time I read one of these articles I think of the increasing amount of time I have to spend checking for someone flying out of nowhere while I walk, as though I was deaf. Why is it that lowly pedestrians like me should have to defer to someone using a personal vehicle, like a peasant to royalty?
I wish the Times would put more energy into improving all our lives instead of those of the select few on two wheels.
9
@nyx
"Personal Vehicles"! Do you mean Giant Black SUVs carrying one wealthy passenger? 'Silent, unruly', untouched by law enforcement. You've been deferring to royalty all your life. You know, the select few who don't have to take the subway or walk. Their chauffeurs await. Congestion pricing? No problem, just another corporate deduction.
Good that your illustration shows cyclists and scootists wearing helmets for safety. Reflective clothing also can help. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/home/be-safe-be-bright/
2
A simple reality check is in order. I moved to NYC in 1966 after leaving the famed “New Christy Minstrels.” Why do I bring that up? Because back then, I could afford to take Taxi’s, at least for the first 3 or 4 months. After that, it was public transportation, and finally, WALKING! Yes, walking! Do you know what most bicycles were used for? Messenger services. Subways were filthy and dangerous. Buses, at least in the city were so crowded and slow, that walking was just easier. With the addition of Lyft and Uber, although much cheaper, has clogged the streets so that nothing really moves anymore. Now you want to add “Electric Scooters” to the mix? Are you insane? I have a solution. How about redoing the subway system? Regardless of what it would cost, that’s the only solution to NYC’s transportation problem.
11
Hilarious. As Dubya once said: "bring it on!" I cannot wait to see the Darwinian pile up of crashes, lawsuits, and crammed emergency rooms, full of tank-topped, Fieri-fueled tourists, their broken arms their NYC memento. Let the games...BEGIN!!!!
1
Bermuda recently allowed the use of the Renault Twizy on their roads. They are available for rental by tourists.
Very small, 2 back to back seats, and 100% electric.
https://www.currentvehicles.com/
1
In short, until people walk without looking at their cell phones ignoring other people/traffic (let’s assume they’re reading the NYT :)), adding more variables to an already hectic situation seems a little easier said than done, to put it mildly.
4
Ha, ha. I would like to see that. Wall Street guys on scooters in winter. What fun would that be?
2
Unlike CitiBike, these electric scooters are dockless. In L.A. they are left all over the place when the rider is done. Laying in the middle of the sidewalk, in doorways. Everywhere.
Need a better system.
4
The problem with electric scooters is that they look ridiculous. There is no dignified way to ride on one. They are perfect for children.
So ANOTHER menace for pedestrians?
Thanks
16
I saw my first electric 'scooter-er' yesterday!! Going the wrong way against the light. Quelle surprise! Now I'm going to have to work on increasing the bobble head-iness of my neck. Yours truly, Increasingly Endangered Pedestrian.
5
I saw a car going through a red light yesterday. No, really, it's an important anecdote. We don't need no stinking facts.
LOVE POWER says pedestrians come first.
1
There is an absolutely critical word that never appears in this article "dockless".
The Citibikes (love them or hate them) have to be picked up and returned to specific racks.
Back in the day companies started car-sharing programs where an app would just show you where the nearest car was and you'd unlock in through the app and drive away. As far as I can tell, that's gone away and you now find and return the cars to specific locations.
The coming scooter wave is "dockless." That means: laying all over the place. That's the absolute root of the issue. Dockless is a horrible idea. Fortunately, it's so horrible that companies will change or go out of business very quickly.
1
I looked up on the web one of the illegal e-bikes that is common in my neighborhood. It has a top speed of 30 mph. There is no speedometer. The rider simply opens the throttle all the way.
The problem I have with them is they ride in my bike space. And are going about twice the speed of us bicyclists.
A while back de Blasio was touting that they have increased the ticketing of these illegal e-bike from one ticket every other day to two tickets a day. Pathetic. If every police officer was told told to ticket every one they saw -- every one -- it would only take a few days for the word to get around and they would be off the roads.
6
I imagine so many people ran over riding scooters. I was in LA and I saw scooters over every square inch of concrete it seemed. Scooters in the canals at Venice Beach. Scooters in the ditches and people running around like idiots at night fighting over the right to use electricity they probably dont even pay for to charge the scooters.
If Denver caves in an accepts unlimited scooters I plan on destroying as many as I possibly can. I can deal with a couple hundred of scooters but if it becomes like LA I plan on making sure Denver doesnt become a wasteland of Bird Catchers and scooters flying down sidewalks at 20 MPH.
1
@Jacqueline
yes of course, you don't like the scooters so you deserve to be able to destroy them. Great.
When will you start destroying cars?
Just get rid of the stupid bike lanes and give the space back to cars. These misplaced ideas of using unprotected humans as fodder for these ill-thought-out projects are way beyond the ability of any authorities to control. For real-time proof of this just stand at a major city intersection, try 1st Ave and 72nd St. The traffic light system is like a lighted bingo board, with different rules for 2 and 4 wheelers whether continuing through the intersection or turning. Restaurant delivery boys and teenagers play havoc with these rules. One reason is that more often than not they’re riding full speed the wrong way, then, frequently, turning from the Avenue into the incoming wrong lane on 72nd St. In the hundreds of times I walk by that corner I have never seen an traffic agent or cop stop the culprits.
As an of self-protection I now carry a sturdy cane whenever I go out. Simply brandishing it as one of lunatics hurtles at me causes a immediate reaction -usually fear -as the rider screeches to a halt. If enough of us were to head to the streets as anti-bike vigilantes maybe the authorities and the riders would take the actions required to rid the city of the two-wheeled menace.
5
@Brian Rom. When I taught my kids to drive, I told them that a bicycle is "meat on a stick", and the most dangerous thing on the road, because ANY contact or issue can kill the biker. A motorcycle has parity at speed and better maneuverability. The idea a bicycle and car belong in the same space is simply insane.
Get the Emergency Rooms ready!
8
If you really want to think about the future you might want to include flotation devices
4
@Jeff Caspari
Exactly! When our Dubai on the Hudson becomes Venice, then the everglades. 15 years?
Maybe the subway trains could be retired and the subway tunnels could be converted to electric scooter passways.
The NYT EDITORIAL BOARD must be JOKING! You bet we complain about bicycles, their riders mostly don’t obey traffic rules.
I have never seen a rider stopped by the NYPD for riding the wrong way or on a sidewalk.
Electric scooters, no helmets and mixed in with bikes and Uber etc.a receipe for disaster.
26
@Uhearditfromhank
'We'? I've commuted by bike in NYC every day for 45 years. I've been ticketed many times for virtually nothing, just a revenue earning crackdown (while the real criminals enjoy Fifth Avenue). As a jaywalker? Never a ticket.
Sorry, walking in NYC is dangerous---and now you want to put me on an electric scooters.
5
Was just in Raleigh,NC. Saw a bunch of people on these. Mostly millenials with no alacrity of movement.
They were an unfettered nuisance.
5
FTFY
So the question for New Yorkers is this: How can Warren “Bill de Blasio” Wilhelm and/or Andrew Cuomo secure enough in donations to make this a viable idea.
Better yet, you want to ease congestion, start with the easy stuff.
First some rules that work in cities all over the world.
Buses stay in bus lanes. Bikes stay in bike lanes. Pedestrians only cross at the crosswalk and only when they have the light. Now enforce these rules.
Next, in Manhattan, get rid of parking on the avenues. Issue resident parking permits. Charge people coming in from out of state, upstate and Long Island to access Manhattan.
Use that money for roads, not another social justice program for the mayor’s unqualified wife to run.
No more double parking and no more negotiating parking tickets with commercial offenders. It’s not too much to demand that delivery companies treat the residents of NYC with a modicum of respect.
And... no congestion pricing for residents of NYC to drive on their own streets. They already pay enough in real estate, rent and taxes. Even the wealthy ones mayor Wilhelm likes to vilify. They aren’t the problem.
2
I have a better idea: all cars OUT of Manhattan. Buses, ambulances, police, fire, the essentials please. delivery trucks must be electric and deliver at night (jobs!). Then perhaps people walking and riding non-polluting, space-saving bikes will have a chance to get to where they are going safely.
2
@Johannes de Silentio
Indeed 'The Wealthy Ones' are the problem. Unregulated Developers are allowed 1 or 2 lanes as 'staging areas all over NYC. They narrow major streets down to one lane then stop traffic endlessly for the fleet of cement trucks. The chauffeurs of the wealthy double park and idle unticketed. Congestion pricing will have no effect on the wealthy who will just make it a corporate deduction. The rich fly out of NYC in spewing helicopters to dodge traffic. They do not need mass transit except to import their servants. Servants can be disciplined when they're late.
One more pedestrian killer is what this city is lacking. Seriously?
3
They just dumped a bunch of scooters in Columbus, and already, in a matter of days, certain suburbs have banned them. They are terrible. They clutter the landscape and cause yet another distraction and safety concern for pedestrians and drivers alike.
6
What a profoundly stupid idea! Of course that won't stop the City from adding electric scooters to the chaotic mass (mess) of NYT transportation problems.
The real problem, of course, is that the buses and subways are pretty much a disaster, with no solutions in sight short- or long-term.
Can't fix the buses and subways? Cap Uber and Lyft. Add electric scooters, do anything to distract residents/taxpayers from the failure of NYC leadership to solve the city's real transportation problems.
5
Protecting riders? What about pedestrians? NYC cant get the bicycling thing right. Now you want to add scooters? Driven by anyone willing to climb on board one? No way! Recipe for disaster.
I'm a decades long and well-trained motorcycle rider, who knows how to handle powered 2 wheels, and I get queasy riding in NYC. And I know for a fact that most motorcycle riders have little to no training other then what they needed to get a license- which ain't much training at all. IF they even went that far! (too many are not licensed!)
Scooters are just "child-sized" motor-bikes, that react in ways most novice riders do not comprehend, or are trained to understand. FYI; unlike cars where you can look around while operating and not have the car stray from its path - where you're looking is where the bike goes. So if you're looking at pedestrians, locked-in on them, you're heading for them! Hitting a pothole can and does often jolt ones hands off the handlebar. Even practiced riders experience this. NYC would have to re-pave the entirety of its streets to lower this very common risk. Proper braking is a learned...dare I say, art.
But the Ed-board wants anyone willing, to be free to shoot thru traffic on what looks, is too often treated like a toy? You know how many tourists get hurt on scooters in Bermuda alone?
There are so many more variables that a motorized 2-wheel rider has to be constantly aware of, but more importantly KNOW OF - before they should even climb on one.
5
For good natured laughs about this suggestion please attend the monthly community meeting at the 10th Precinct in Chelsea; at these events you will hear from any number of aging adults who have spent serious time recovering from hit and runs - adults on electric skateboards or scooters on the sidewalk, going full speed in the crosswalks - mindlessly tuned out on cells or blessed out listening to music, oblvious to all others. Broken bones abound. But our police shrug and say we can't do nothin' about it - it's the Mayor's issue. Put out some beat cops? Can't do it. How about giving away thousands of LED lights to board and scooter riders who typically fail to wear reflective gear? Not our job. We have an aging adults problem on our hands, seniors who are a real menace to cities across the nation. Electric scooters and boards just might work - to kill off the aging and improve access to housing stock. I say knock them down and drag them under taxis!
44
Hot tip: no.
I’ve moved to Texas and these electric scooters have recently arrived in our capitol city. As someone who tries to walk more than the average Texan, and also uses a car, a bike, and a motorcycle to get around, these things are a joke. As a pedestrian, my biggest pet peeve is when they are parked in the middle of the sidewalk, or thoughtfully herded by the renting company too close to a sidewalk corner ramp, making passing with my kids’ stroller a challenge or straight-up impossibility.
One Austinite had a serious head injury on one just last week; not sure how he or she is doing.
When you buy your own bike or motorcycle I think you’re a little more aware of thinking through risk and responsibility. The casual scooter relationship is cruisin for bruisin. Seriously.
4
I like riding bikes but wont use a bike until NYC creates TRUE bike lanes where cars are not flying behind you or next to you with you unprotected; Then we have bike lanes with actual cars being parked next to bike lanes; that is a no-no. A bike lane must only be a bike lane no cars near! And lanes must be segragated by some kind of iron short beams or something protecting us from cars. Also, fast e-bikes I'm not sure if they belong on bike lanes as they (from what I see with delivery people) go too fast and may be a danger to those going slower.
2
Let's get to the heart of the matter. All of these proposals are designed to put increasing pressure on the use of automobiles, so congestion-pricing advocates can further claim that traffic is slowing to a crawl, and needs to be penalized. The recommended use of unlicensed, short-haul scooters is just a foil in this continuing process of making travel from the outer boroughs to Manhattan untenable for all but the affluent, who will gladly pay for the privilege of quicker commutes from their suburban enclaves.
1
https://www.wnyc.org/story/traffic-speeds-slow-nyc-wants-curb-car-servic...
Traffic speed within the city HAS slowed. It’s fairly apparent even without the data.
While scooters may not be the solution, one option put forth by the article proposes to limit pilot programs to public transit starved areas in the hope that it would reduce commuting into and around the city by vehicle.
1
Cincinnati just got scooters. At this time it appears many users are recreational users. The scooters just showed up without the public being briefed about their use. The riders weren't told about the etiquette and legality of riding a scooter. As a result, the scooters went anywhere. They were on the sidewalk, and weaving in and out of traffic when ridden on the street. Riders weren't wearing helmets even though the scooters were fast enough to cause serious injury, or death. In addition, when riders are finished they just leave the scooter whoever they are. There seems to be no rule about placement of the scooters. City officials eventually banned them from riding on the sidewalks, but not all riders are aware or care.
Overall, they may become very popular in urban areas. The areas where they are used need to make sure rules are enacted prior to their use. It is easier to insure compliance if standards of use are emphasized. The companies would have to cooperate for that to occur.
1
They are all over Austin now and they are unsafe because it's one extra thing to look out for. I also don't think they keep anyone from using a car. They are a substitute for walking and they complicate the streets of our town a lot so I can't imagine having them in addition to the crazyness of NYC sidewalks.
5
BAD IDEA. We already have quite a few (illegal) electric scooters, ridden mostly by delivery bikers. And they are the biggest menace on the road. Despite having motors (which requires them to obey even more laws than regular bicyclists), they do not stop at red lights, go the wrong way on one-way streets, ride with one hand while on their cellphones, and occasionally ride on the sidewalk. And the most dangerous aspect, particularly for pedestrians, is that these bikes can go upwards of 20 mph - without making a sound. So there is nothing to warn you of their presence. In fact, the City only recently issued a law AGAINST these electric bikes, and the NYPD has (in some areas) been cracking down on them. And you want them to be LEGAL? / I would add that even your own article poses an awful lot of "ifs" with respect to whether doing so might work. And any New Yorker can tell you that most or all of those "ifs" are doomed from the start. / I say: not only should they not become a "thing," but those that are on the street already should be removed.
109
@Maani Rantel
I just wrote a response saying the same thing. I guess someone will have to be killed by one of these electric bikes before the city at least makes them obey traffic laws.
@Maani Rantel These electric bikes have been illegal since the 1870's. The Mayor has instructed the Police Department not to enforce the law.
1
An eletric scooter is a motor vehicle as per New York State law. Does the city have the authority to change that? I think not.
Until that changes, eletric scooters are illegal in New York, regardless, making this whole editorial irrelevant.
32
I The NY Times Editorial Board crazy? The use of electric scooters will imperil the safety of pedestrians, especially the elderly and young children, and destroy the quality life of people who enjoy NYC because it is easy to walk around to get places. Watch senior citizens refuse to walk outside for fear of being hit by one of these things.
44
California classifies e-scooters as motor vehicles. New York should do the same. ¿What does this mean? The rider must have a valid drivers license. It is illegal to ride e-scooters on sidewalks. Only one person can be on the scooter. Helmets required. The maximum speed is 15mph.
Unfortunately it is up to the municipalities to enforce these restrictions. More troubling is the fact that the scooter companies are trying to rewrite the law (dropping the helmet requirement etc.) in an attempt to maximize their profit, while to assuming any liability. These companies do not care about rider safety, just like the cigarette manufacturers.
Don't get me started on the way the riders indiscriminately dump the e-scooters, blocking sidewalks, doorways etc.
5
There's a lawlessness to traffic in NY. Cars park illegally in bike lanes, bicyclists run red lights, and e-bike deliverymen cruise the wrong way. It might be because New Yorkers are from all over the world and we like to bring our own cultural navigating preferences to the city, or perhaps it's simply because there's too much traffic and we're all in a hurry.
Scooters are just one more vehicle added to the mix and won't solve the G Train crisis or make rush hour easier. We have potholes and scooters have tiny wheels. Not a good mix.
Congestion Pricing, improved subways, and capped Uber numbers are the best solutions to traffic. Not scooters.
7
Are you crazy??? Try flying out to Los Angeles, Venice or Santa Monica and see how well these electric scooters work? Forget the fact that New York does not have one street not under construction or with a smooth pavement/road. you will see two people on a scooter or no helmet or going the wrong way or in lanes they are not to be. It is tough enough to navigate the city with another hindrance added to it
How about we make the MTA responsible to do their job and start working 24/7 and fix the subways and buses!
52
I spend part of the summer in Barcelona, where there people (primarily tourists) that use Segways and electric scooters, they often end up on sidewalks which they feel are safer than streets clogged with cars, taxis, buses, and motorcycles. They make little noise, so you can easily be almost hit by one unless you know to get out of the way. This is not a safe solution.
11
I won’t repeat people’s point on more bike lanes needed, that’s obvious, the problem with NYC is the pedestrians. Firstly the locals who sometimes use the cycling lanes as a second sidewalk, secondly the tourists who will step into cycling lanes without looking for photo ops (especially dangerous on the Brooklyn bridge), as a cyclist in the city I know these are way more dangerous than car traffic. I don’t know how you can change the pedestrian mentality quickly enough.
2
First, let's apply traffic laws to bike riders. Cyclists ride in NYC as if the law does not apply to them. They run red lights; they ride in the wrong direction; they pay attention to Stop signs. I walk about 5-10 miles per day, many times with my dogs. I've had bike riders almost hit my dogs because they don't follow the law.
8
@NYC Independent - as a cyclist, I hear you. I (and many of my fellow riders, especially those in my clubs) try our best to obey laws, traffic signals and yield to pedestrians. I've been hit by a cyclist going the wrong way in a bike lane and I, like every NYer, deal with my share of reckless cyclists.
However, please keep in mind the other side of the coin: we deal with unleashed dogs running across the loop in CP, runners jumping into or running the bike lane in CP (usually wearing headphones so they can't hear our bells or shouts), pedestrians not paying attention to traffic signals and pedestrians stepping into the roadway bike lanes without looking. It happens very often. I drive defensively anyway, but sometimes that's not enough especially when a runner jumps in front of me, in my bike lane, without looking. We all need to be more aware and obey traffic signals (and if we go against them, be hyper-aware, go slow and do not overtake the one crossing legally).
7
Ditto. I've had the same experience with bikers countless times. Bikes and bike lanes, yes. I'm all for it. But countless times I've nearly been clocked by bikers--and NOT just messengers or deliverymen--at crosswalks who violate the light and shoot between crossing pedestrians at incredible speeds. One of my older friends was hospitalized for a month by such a person. Now electric bikes (for those too lazy to peddle) and scooters? Though not legal, I've had them driving me to the fringes on sidewalks, crosswalks, you name. Are electric skateboards next? Watch your ankles when those babies get free, folks.
5
Police need to enforce the existing laws, no doubt. Which would include ticketing those canine-led pedestrians who leave slippery piles of you know what and puddles of pee stinking up the hot summer streets.
Just looking at the illustration for this article is enough to give me a conniption.
A pigeon patiently waits to cross, as all of the folks use the protected lane in total harmony, even (for some bizarre reason) a rat on a scooter with a messenger bag. Everyone wearing helmets, including the rat, as a tailpipe belches pollution from an evil car. A happy pedestrian, presumably tickled by the prospect of being stuck on a narrow painted strip in no man’s land, gets in a cab. How did he get there, exactly?
I walk on these streets every day, and I can tell you, that is not an accurate depiction. It’s Thunderdome out there. In real life everyone in that picture would be cursing at each other, the cabbie would be on the phone, the cyclist would be tweeting as he zips through a red light, the rat would be carrying a slice of pizza and the pigeon would be roadkill. And now The NY Times editorial board is suggesting we welcome scooters and e-bikes to the party!? Have you lost your minds?
What about the safety of pedestrians? What about the added confusion and congestion?
So frustrating how you completely ignore an entire side of the story. Now I have to go write yet another op-ed you guys will never print. Way to ruin my Sunday.
80
Kudos to the Editorial Board for thinking creatively at a time when transit solutions in NYC appear to be gridlocked. While many comments note that scooters in other cities have led to chaos and danger for pedestrians, that is a lack of enforcement and should not be evidence in and of itself of ebikes and scooters being bad.
We need more enforcement of all traffic rules including violations by drivers and cyclists to keep streets and sidewalks safe in addition to protected bike lanes. Part of why this solutions work in Copenhagen and Scandinavian cities is that the user education efforts, a network of bike lanes and enforcement are pervasive, creating a safe transit culture over time.
1
The real issue is that it is far too easy to get and keep a driver’s license in the US. One takes a test at 16 and is good for life despite having forgotten the most basic traffic laws, like yielding to pedestrians and parking only in authorized spaces.
Separate bike lanes are actually terrible: they reenforce drivers’ misconception that bikes have no place on the street. This leads to animosity and “accidents”. Rental bikes are also generally bad in our society because people with neither the knowledge nor ability to ride safely and lawfully are hopping on bikes.
Similarly, electric bikes are a disaster. They are also completely unnecessary in a city as flat as NY. If one can’t physically handle pedaling in NYC, they need to not be on a bike.
Electric scooters are yet another menace. As others have noted, they end up being used mostly on sidewalks by people with no regard for traffic law.
Congestion pricing for cars, enforcement of traffic laws for all vehicle users and higher standards for holding a driver’s license are the best answers. More uneducated vehicle operators will only exacerbate problems.
BTW, I am an avid cyclist who rides over 2000 miles each year.
4
@Upstate Guy
Well, you cant be selfish and think only of yourself. We do need better laws and true bike lanes as these are not true bike lanes as they are next to car lanes and electric bikes (fast ones) should be forbidden. Also, what is miles?
This editorial must have been written by people who don't bicycle in NYC regularly. Any regular bike rider knows that while electrically assisted bicycles can work in a bike lane electric scooters are not compatible with bicycles; the difference in speed creates dangerous conditions. Take a ride on the Manhattan Bridge bike path which electric scooter riders use and you will experience this hazard.
9
Right on! I have an electric scooter and love it as a way to get to work. I find it amazing that anyone would harp on the dangers of an e-scooter when New Yorkers take their lives in their hand just crossing the street. Our mayor would be better served controlling yellow cabs, delivery trucks, double parking etc.
3
Why should New York throw money at what is clearly a dangerous and not terribly effective new form of transport? Why do you have to give up on fixing the subway/bus system? I lived in Tokyo for eight years, a metropolitan area of 18 million people. It was huge and crowded but the safe, efficient, clean subway and bus system got me anywhere I wanted to go, in usually 40 minutes or less. And I could catch up on my reading!
11
@Susan Napier
Ditto Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul and many other places. Could it be that residents of other countries are more considerate and likely to obey rules against eating, littering, holding doors open, etc? When the DC Metro system opened in the 70s a young woman was arrested for eating an apple on the train and refusing to discard it. How things have changed.
2
@Mike
And you think that is an appropriate use of police resources?
Keep motorized vehicles away from bike paths and pedestrian paths. The paths are designed to create opportunities for recreation and physical fitness, to allow motors on the paths, who can achieve speeds of 25 mph, is to add a dangerous imbalance to these already crowded thoroughfares. As I ride around each day, I see zero enforcement of speeds or red lights- not even a warning from the officials who happen to be there- to add more cowboys and Even Knievals to this paths without traffic control is asking for trouble. Good signage, good rules, and good enforcement are critical to sustaining a decent quality of life for us and our children.
10
@John Quixote, I think you are confusing motor scooters (small motorcycles that you ride sitting down) with motorized scooters (like the kids' toy but with a motor, that you stand on to ride). Motorized scooters do not go 25 mph. I do agree whole-heartedly with your last sentence, however. Through in some subway etiquette lessons, too!
This would work well in a city like Tsukuba, Japan, which was built from scratch about 40 years ago. Car traffic is separated there from pedestrians and bike riders. It is incredibly safe to get around the city - one rarely encounters a car.
That is just not possible in cities like ours that have grown over centuries without planning for these modes of transportation.
4
I lived the first 50 years of my life in NYC and while it sounds wonderful to have more bikes and perhaps electric bikes the city also needs to consider pedestrians
Most bikers look out for pedestrians but a sizable number do not follow traffic rules
- they bike in any direction
- are on the sidewalk
- Central Park is hard to navigate with all the bikes on pedestrian paths
- go right through crosswalks against the light
- go far too fast
A fortune has been spent on bike lanes and Citibike. Pedestrians are at least as important as bikers.
NYC does not have the historic culture found in places like Amsterdam and Copenhagen of cars/bikes/pedestrians and has always been more of a free for all.
Perhaps another fortune will need to be spent on enforcement of rules for bikers.
18
Having just returned from a trip to Europe, I can attest that electric scooters can make the difference between a chaotic, dangerous walk around town and safe, relaxed one.
In Barcelona, either a lack of rules or lack of enforcement means the sidewalks are overrun with people speeding by on electric scooters (and bicycles), making the sidewalks nearly as dangerous as the streets.
In Paris, they appear to have been all but banned. Nobody rides on the sidewalk, and we noticed very few electric scooters on the streets. As a result, the sidewalks felt like a safe haven for pedestrians where one's attention could be spent on sightseeing and relaxing rather than defending one's life.
New York's sidewalks are already overrun with cyclists who feel that the streets (and lights and one-way signs) are not designed for them, and so they rob pedestrians of any feeling of safety on the sidewalks; as a daily walking commuter, I'm far more in danger of getting hit by a bike than a car. An influx of electric scooters can only make that situation far, far worse.
18
I'll take my chances being hit by a bike than a car, thank you!
1
@AJ
Agree. But; "As a result, the sidewalks felt like a safe haven for pedestrians where one's attention could be spent on sightseeing and relaxing rather than defending one's life."
You do know that people live and work in these cities and tourists are a by-product...and to often a nuisance to most residents trying to live and work there. Tourists safety while important, is hardly on residents minds. It should be the other way around...tourists need to get the flock out of the way of the residents. Let them get on with their business. Then stand there gazing at the sights, or tying up a cafe line trying to choose a snack.
@Paul Schiavo...on my daily mile or so walking commute in NYC, I'm far more in danger of being hit by a bike than a car.
I stay on the sidewalk and obey the lights; the cars don't bother me there. But many bikers ignore both the street AND sidewalk laws.
Insane idea. I spent few days on Santa Monica beach, where there is high use of Bird and lime scooter throughout Santa Monica .
I witnessed 5 wipeouts in two days- one severe injury .
These scooters go too fast and there is zero protection.
Helmets may be required - but NO ONE was wearing them.
10
Anyone who has done any driving in midtown knows this is a disaster in the making. Delivery people on bicycles don't stay in bike lanes, don't obey traffic lights, and even go the wrong way down one way streets. Meanwhile the livery cars block every intersection as well as weave their way down streets that will inevitably lead to the same kind of deadly accident referenced in this opinion piece. Here's what we will get with this proposal; No less traffic congestion because people who drive will continue to drive. Periodic headlines about who was killed or maimed riding on one of these. Law firms posting ads eager to help those who've been hurt or killed. Enormous new expense for the City managing thru all of the inevitable disasters. Another example of the Editorial Board being out of touch.
12
Please - this is written as though transit problems can't be solved! Amazing that NYC, NYS and the feds all throw their hands up and pretend there is no way to finance fixes, even though many millions of dollars are lost to businesses and workers with each delay. So we don't have enough workers to schedule more trains, and they are driven at fast speeds over infrastructure that languishes with repairs done on weekends because we won't hire more workers. And all of the technological improvements that could be provided by the myriad of tech workers in NYC also go by the wayside. PS - where are the stats on scooter rider injuries? A single blow to the head without a helmet can mean death or a lifetime of disability - all at an inevitable cost to the public!
10
Just curious, NY Times reporters:
did the Editorial Board come up with this idea all by itself, or was it the subject of an influence campaign?
27
I have been living in NYC for over 20 years, and brought my bicycle with me when I arrived. I have watched with great interest the increase in cycling and the addition of almost all the street-level bike paths. The jury is still out, but deliberations are not going well.
Many people who experience driving a car in NYC don't enjoy it. The same is true of riding a bicycle. There are certain skills that you must have in order to ride safely, and the bike lanes have largely made a problem worse. The problem is this: Not everyone can be an NYC cyclist. The protected bike lines are largely a disaster, and citibike has made many problems worse. Pedestrians use the bike lanes as extensions of the sidewalk, or cross them obliviously against traffic. Other cyclists are slow and ride next to one another, making passing impossible. Cars abuse the bike lanes by parking in them, turning in them. All in all you are safer riding in the street with cars.
Citibike has added a new dangerous aspect to riding as well. Many people using the citibikes do flagrantly unsafe things. Ride against traffic on major avenues, plough through large groups of pedestrians who have the right of way crossing a street, riding on the sidewalk, etc. All cyclists do these things occasionally, but with citibike it has become a plague.
I don't trust new yorkers to do the right thing with the introduction of electric scooters, and I am one.
32
@Ben Agreed that it takes a particular know how ride in NYC. It is my impression that the bike lanes, at least the unprotected ones, make accidents actually more likely since riders and drivers are lulled into a false sense of safety. I also agree about slow riders taking up the whole bike line riding side by side. There should be ettiqutte about how to ride and pass. Other countries have learned how to make cycling a viable alternative for most of its citizens and I am sure NYC can a well.
4
Does anyone seriously believe these scooters could become an actual, functioning component of a city’s transportation infrastructure? We had them in San Francisco for awhile before the city banned them to develop some sort of permitting process. It was a joke. Ugly scooters strewn all about on public sidewalks... riders zipping around on sidewalks, unprotected themselves and with little concern for pedestrians (who can’t hear them coming). Cities will eventually cave to the scooter companies, and do so by touting how they’re doing something positive to address public transportation concerns. Bad behavior, yet again, will be rewarded. Meanwhile, our public transit systems.. busses, subways, etc., continue to deteriorate. Let’s label these scooters for what they really are... VC scams. When the dust settles, a very few founders/executives will walk away with lots of cash. And we’ll be left with worsening transit infrastructures and a mess of useless scooters to contend with. And along the way, hopefully no one will get hurt.
14
protect the Riders? what about the pedestrians? electric scooters are especially dangerous. they don't obey the traffic laws. they don't follow bike Lanes. they don't go in the direction they're supposed to. you have to look both ways like we were in the UK. they don't have lights.
at least once a week I am almost hit or brushed by an electric scooter that is often going even faster than the cars on the street. if I don't stop at a crosswalk for bicycles which are going through traffic lights they will just continue and you have to jump out of the way or be hit. and it doesn't matter if there is a group of people crossing with the light in a crosswalk the bicycle just goes into them and expects them to scatter.
and that's not to mention the skateboards and other stand-up devices which are also battery-powered now.
I used to say to other people that the taxis are especially dangerous and needed to be watched for. that is no longer true. taxis are far safer than the electric personal vehicles. and they are vehicles
24
Take this from someone who works in Washington, D.C. where these scooters are already established. It’s a rarity that I see someone ride them in bike lanes, and this is a city with many miles of them. They are mainly ridden on sidewalks with riders weaving in and out of pedestrians. Most are tourists who have no idea how to ride them and have no helmets. We lost 3 dockless bike sharing companies because of problems with regulations, theft, and vandalism (they’ve been found at the bottom of the C&O canal) so I don’t see these scooters being around for long.
11
@Brian
To drive this motorized scooters on a sidewalk can only happen in the United States. Where are the brains?
1
Several city councils The Netherlands are looking to ban 15 mph scooters because they're too slow for the road and too fast for the bike path (they were always illegal on the sidewalk). They are considered simply too dangerous. For everyone.
If a nation with a fine (bicycle) infrastructure can't find a way to fit in the scooters, it's hard to see how NYC could...
31
@Erik. Yes, but someone can turn a profit, so who cares how much it inconveniences and endangers the rest of us.
2
I saw very few words about protecting walkers. Bikes already largely ignore traffic rules. If one steps off the sidewalk without looking 3 ways (left and right for the bike lane plus the car lane) one risks life and limb. Adding electric scooters to the mix without education or strict enforcement will certainly be interesting.
55
If the scooters used in congested areas had three wheels, then the scooters would be more stable to go slow when needed. Also, older people could use them too.
7
@Phyllis Mazik Not opposed to electric bikes or three wheeled electric bikes if rider is required to ride with cars and trucks in the in the street. Both electric bikes and three wheel electric bikes are too dangerous to bikers and pedestrians. In other words all motorized means of travel belongs on the road.
4
Protecting riders? How about protecting everyone else on the sidewalks and roads from scooters. We have them in DC. They use the sidewalks, already crowded with pedestrians - remember them?- and runners and they use the roads as wells. I've watched them on the street sail through busy intersections against red lights - not green turning yellow, but red. Pity the poor driver who hits one with his car and ends up in court. If scooters and bikes are going to share the roads and the sidewalks and threaten the safety of others, they need to be licensed, both the scooters and the riders, and held accountable for observing the rules of the road. And there can be mandatory insurance also for the inevitable day when they kill someone.
68
@Cornflower Rhys
It's really not that difficult for drivers to not hit, kill nor maim non-vehicle users. Why do you insist on portraying it as such?
Before we encourage the use of more electric bikes and scooters, how about the city enforces traffic laws when it comes to these vehicles. The electric bikes used now by delivery men are fast and dangerous. Don't ban them -- these guys have a tough job and this makes life a little easier. But they ride them on the sidewalks, go through traffic lights and stop signs, and go the wrong way down one way streets, all at great speeds. I come close to being run over 3-4 times per week. Personally, I would love to have an electric bike to ride in a protected lane. But PLEASE, let's prevent the first death by electric bike that is sure to happen before any protected lanes are approved.
39
@NSB
They speak about the convenience of bikes and scooters and drivers responsibility to watch out for them but when do we put the responsibility on the riders who should also have to preclear their sights. When drivers open car doors suddenly the bike rider should have looked out in advance. Would it have been too difficult for the rider to have stopped her bike ? Would it. Have been too difficukt keep distance from the cars and other bikers so they too could stop short like we require from cars and trucks? No one wants to hit a biker or other vehicle but both sides should be required to maintain safety.
7
@NSB
Enforcing is a real problem for example near Prospect Park West I see everyday cars go double the speed. If all traffic light had speed cameras to punish offenders that might change how fast drivers go and changing speed from miles to kilometers should make people think they go fast (Km use higher numerals for lower Miles speed) and start a final revolution of converting to metric system. We use it everyday in everything without knowing even and cars and speed are the only thing left to convert in this country.
I have yet to experience a biker to obey traffic lights and other regulations. More than once I have almost been knocked to the road! We don't need more of this which would surely happen if these other bikes and scooters are on the road. Bad idea! Regulating the number of cars and trucks is what is needed.
21
Has the board tried them? It does not sound they have actual experience - take the Amtrak to Baltimore and try Bird. In my experience these are not bikes with the key being that bikes require more focus and conectivity with the experience. NY’s population density can not handle the scooters.
15
There have been news reports of increased injuries to both scooter riders and pedestrians in cities and towns where the electric scooters have been introduced. They can go over 20 mph and make no noise, so hearing them as they come near especially from behind a walking pedestrian can be problematic.
As a native New Yorker who lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan for over 35 years, the problem with traffic in Manhattan is, obviously, the traffic! New York should have regulated cars and trucks coming into Manhattan years ago. It's only getting worse.
How about a steep tax on anyone bringing a car into the City?
29
In Paris, France, electric scooter rental is increasingly popular, but they do not run on bike lanes! znd they re are no reasons they should do it, for safety reasons.
But they are extremely convenient, on some occasions... and clearly dont park at random. You have scooter parking space, and it is illegal to leave it on the sidewalk at random. You just educate people to do it, I assume.
There will always be people who complain about bikes and other transportation that tend to take away space on the roads for cars. But it s really time to give back some space to less polluting transportation systems, as well as to pedestrians...
6
I live in San Francisco. The scooters were here for about 2-3 months and it awful. Scooter riders often rode on the sidewalks. Since the scooters are quiet, pedestrians don’t hear them - as the come from behind you. Young people on scooters reminded me of snowboarders, weaving around pedestrians on a hill with joy but never understanding the potential danger for an older pedestrian who could easily get knocked over.
62
@Miep Gies
I have a friend who was struck and injured by a bike - the rider rode off - no accountability at all. I fail to understand why public officials refuse to understand the hazards of bikes and scooters. Oh, I suppose it has to do with hoping that these cheap tricks will be the solution to our transportation woes and not massive investment in good public transportation.
18
Same here in Portland, Oregon. The scooters don’t obey traffic laws and ride up among us sidewalk walkers with the apparent expectation that we will jump out of their way. We’ve only had them around for a few weeks as an experiment, which I hope doesn’t lead to their permanence here unless the rules/laws can be enforced.
3
I ride an electric 3-wheel mobility scooter every day in Copenhagen. We have a very good, and extensive system of separate bike lanes. These are usually respected by motorists, who do not use them for parking.
Mobility scoooters can also be used on pavements, and on the road, if there's no bike lane. When on the pavement, speed is restricted to max. 4mph (6km). In bike lanes it's a minimum of 4mph.
Some electric bikes can do up to 25 mph, and like all bikes, may not be ridden on pavements.
I stay well away from narrow pavements, which are crowded with pedestrians.
I even take my scooter into large supermarkets. At the lowest speed setting, it's slower than the walking customers.
Before starting, I went on a 2-day/8 hour course in scooter driving, including the rules and regulations. I'm glad I did.
11
but you're talking about Europe where there is a "bike culture". there is no such thing in the US. it's a free for all. at least in NYC, with zero enforcement or education.
3
Pity the poor pedestrian who has to contend with riders who are heedless of the official direction.Bikes and scooters need regulations.
41
I was not aware that SF banned electric scooters for the time being. Unless I was traveling on the flat or on gentle slopes, I would not care to be on a scooter. Not in that town!
1
Here in DC, the rental scooters have largely disappeared. Theive and adventurers have dumped the things everywhere ad hoc, with no regard to regulations. They remind millenials of their youth, but there's no GPS or helmets, and they don't drive uphill very well. Most ride share scooters have ended up in the muddy waters of Rock Creek, or tossed into the Potomac. Kids driving scooters at night are likeliest for sudden death The lights are mounted nearly at street level. No one subjected electric scooters to DOT traffic testing, so how are you supposed to pick that small scooter from all the other lights coming at you in the dark? A wobbly, under-lit scooter at night probably isn't the solution for mass-transit needs. But they make millenials happy.
16
This is long overdue. Electric bicycles were banned by the City Council largely because of "there-ought-to-be-a-law" knee-jerk reaction to complaints of misbehaving cyclists striking pedestrians. OK. But the rest of the world can't be completely wrong. Rather than fight technology, we should learn how to make it adapt to urban life. It's happening anyway -- banning these modes of transportation will be as successful as Prohibition or stopping people from gambling or smoking. But unlike those vices, these new forms of transport can really be a benefit. We can learn from other cities how to make it work.
9
but the rest of the world has a culture of biking with respect of laws. there is no such thing here in the US
4
in most of the rest of the world (and certainly where i have traveled) where bicycles of any kind are in use they obey traffic laws. And violators are subject to tickets and fines. and often they are licensed and display license plates.
New York seems to be the Wild West. traffic police are not even able to control cars. they should also police bicyclists, but I have never seen that occur. even when something happens directly in front of a police officer.
2
I have to say I really disagree. And I come from tech-loving-central.
It is not rue that just because others do it, it must be okay to do everywhere or by everyone. It is not true that because it exists it must be embraced. And it is not true that it’s like the other things to which you compare it.
And, young one (for you sound like a not-so-long-ago-teenager, or at least a wanna-make-biography-bucks-from-teenagerish-ideas), anti-smoking campaign and laws did and have worked, much to societies’ and individuals’ and families’ benefit; thought perhaps you are too young to remember, or the carcinogens got to your memory cells?
1
"Safety, however, is the most urgent priority."
Indeed, but you seem to consider the safety of the riders first. That is a mistake. All of these electric vehicles are a danger to pedestrians. If they use the sidewalk or other pedestrian lanes then they weave in and out at quick speeds and often collide with pedestrians and do not always remain after the "accident".
Do these people have insurance like a real car or motorcycle? They are certainly not licensed? They are a menace, tried and proven where they exist.
And if they use the roads? What are they? Usually they are a danger to cars, trucks and other licensed vehicles. And bike lanes? They are not bikes.
So they may relieve some congestion, but they will send many a pedestrian to the ER, some of whom will be left high and dry by "drivers" not insured or identified.
84
And think of the traffic congestion caused by the ambulances needed to help injured pedestrians and motorized scooter users alike!
5
Listen, my kid and my kid’s young classmates get scooters for birthday and holiday gifts and ride them for fun. In other words, scooters are, and have always been marketed as, TOYS. As such, they are, even in their motorized from, regarded as and treated as toys by most users of the rent-a-scooter companies. When grown ups (if it’s even grown ups renting and using them — often it is not and the companies do zero to ensure they are) get on these motorized scooters they seem to revert back to the self-centeredness of childhood, and all the recklessness that goes with it. There is no wide-spread and standardized public education campaign, at least that I or my neighbors know of, to teach kids or adults how properly to use an electric bike or scooter, as there at least used to be for bike riders and for the other motorized vehicles we drive and ride - cars, trucks, motorcycles, heavy equipment like bulldozers c etc.
An elderly person close to me stumbled while stepping off an easy side curb, fell and hit her head on the pavement and very nearly died (saved only by neurosurgery to relieve swelling and bleeding in and from her brain). I can only imagine how many more such incidents will happen, probably with worse outcomes, if rental or free motorized scooters are permitted in the city, especially without ongoing massive public education,; strong, thorough, and with-teeth laws and heavy and consistent enforcement; licensing; and other precautions in place.
9
I would assume that other countries where bicycle use is much higher could provide valuable lessons.
In the Netherlands 99.1% are cyclists. The average distance cycled each day is 2.5km. Pictures of the bicycle parking areas are really astounding. Some areas use double decker paking.
In the U.S. Bicylists: ~32,2%
Only 0.9% of all trips are made by bike. The average distance cycled per person is 0.1 km.
8
@Eric People in Holland own several bikes and use safety helmets.
1
@Eric
Really? The last statistic: an average distance cycled in US of 0.1 km = 100 m = 328 ft, just over a block. If that's average, around half the trips are shorter, which is clearly ridiculous. This calls all your statistics into question without citation.
Also, citing a bicycle-focused country like the Netherlands is pretty irrelevant when compared to the commuting chaos of NYC. You should check out both before assuming they're comparable.
@Eric
Trust me in the USA that would be much higher if they had TRUE bike lanes with no cars next to you. Cars next to you = not a true bike lane! I travel to work with NYC subway back and forth about 18 km and if there was a true bike lane I would easily use a bike. But, I'm not going to risk my life traveling next to cars and even wild pedestrians or electric delivery bikes going all over. Small electric scooters with a seat are fine as they do not go too fast.
2
The article makes an incorrect statement. Just like electric bikes, scooters are legal as soon as they cannot go above 15 Mph. You are also supposed to ride them like a bike (eg, on the side of the road).
I live almost 1 mile from subway and a scooter is almost lifesaving. It takes little space and helps the environment.
I am for scooter rental, but it should only be docked and people should be shown a short training video (they don't realize you cannot ride them in the middle of the road).
3
@John
Using a scooter to go the last mile home does not help the environment, since it is replacing walking. If you want to claim environmental benefit, there has to be some tangible reduction in something environmentally harmful - a reduction in physical exercise does not qualify.
7
@CD Sometimes I have to ride 2 miles because there is no express train to my area. My commute would have been almost 3 hours without the scooter.
1
Why can’t you either take a local train or a bus in order to connect to an express as most people do, or just leave home 20 minutes earlier and walk, like the rest of NYers do and always have done?
1
one protected lane on every avenue for bikes, scooters, robotic unicycles, Segways--are there still segway? Anything that is light non polluting...these lanes can be used by emergency vehicles in the case of emergencies with the scooters easily scooting out of the way. Its a no brainer. Long overdue. Go for it NYC. Cars in cities are so last century (sorry Tesla).
4
@Harris Silver, Agreed, a big deal is made about electric cars which do nothing to relieve congestion given they take up more space than a body needs to get from A to B. I was recently in Berlin where two years ago the government removed car lanes on major arteries to create very wide sidewalks with bike lanes within. Thousands are cycling now making the city resemble Amsterdam in volume of two wheelers.
4
Bikes in Manhattan okay with licence plates and a crossbar showing owner's name, address and proof of valid insurance. No plates, registration and valid insurance the police must impound the bike and return it upon payment of a $300 fine and proof of paid up insurance of $250,000 paid up for one year. Bikers go the wrong way, ignore stop signs and red lights and hit pedestrians and keep on going and I have seen it all and often.
46
@Sheldon Bunin
As a Santa Monica resident, I have been struck by a "Bird" being ridden by what appeared to a 16 year old. I have stumbled over these devices left on sidewalks, seen other pedestrians have to dodge sidewalk -using riders- I could go on. I also recognize their popularity with (mostly) under 30's. I am not against these devices but the company seems to take no responsibility for safety, for instruction on how to use them safely, for the way they become "litter", or for insisting riders wearing helmets. I think that the only way cities are going to get safety compliance is by hefty fees/fines on these companies until they start to take responsibility for what they have created.
4
@Sheldon Bunin
Yes! Same for pedestrians! Plates, registration, valid insurance, $300 fine for jaywalking and impound the cellphone. $400 for walking in a bike lane.
I use Citybike and own two bicycles. I oppose any effort to increase use of bikes/scooters etc until the City enforces proper use. The direction indicators are completely ignored and the Di Blasio has backed off confiscating illiegal electric bikes that are truly dangerous as they get ever more powerful and speedy.
41
I am from Boston and have given up my car a year ago. I use an electric scooter regularly now. Even for Boston, only 2-3 months are a little problematic. On snow days, I use Lyft and public transportation to fill in the gap. On nice sunny days, the commutes to and from work have become quite pleasurable.
9
And where do all the rental scooters stay when it snows? Are they collected and stored in a warehouse from October to May? Or are they left about, still blocking people’s ways and, in snow, becoming obscured and all the more hazardous, including a risk of street-salt induced erosion and possible water-caused electrocuting?
Scooters, including and maybe especially electric scooters, suck in slush and snowdrifts and piles, on ice, in Nor’easters, in freezing rain or sleet, in lightening storms and heavy wind.
What we really need to do is take a lane away from cars on most major streets to increase sidewalk space. We need room to walk.
19
@Mike
Also, make a law whrre only certain size cars can be bought and used in a city. Most cars are WAY too big and long for most people. If someone want a current size car there should be huge price to be paid in insurance and city licensure such as done in other countries that have limited space eg Bermuda etc. I laugh when I see a tiny 1.5m person comes out of huge SUV with 6 seats. Give me a break man. Compensating self counsciousness with car size does not work it just creates mess in our city.
1
How about making more space for bicyclist, pedestrians and adopters of the new active transportation devices? Reduce the vast amount of space devoted to CO2 spewing steel cages known as cars.
16
Yes, we need more well-protected bike lanes, not "bike lanes" (white stripe between parked cars and traffic) like Central Park West where a tourist tragically died last week when a limo illegally in the bike lane pulled out in front of her, forcing her into a truck.
But, NO!, NO electric scooters in bike lanes; put them somewhere else. Just when bicyclists feel protected (somewhat) from motor vehicles......
Already, motorized scooters are zipping in the lanes (illegally now) buzzing the bicyclists.
Bike lanes are narrow, with pot holes, manhole covers & other non-smooth surfaces to avoid (and texting pedestrians wandering across the lane), so that speeding scooters exacerbate the risk of being knocked over (either by the speeding scooter or the pothole that could not be avoided due to the scooter speeding by)
I can understand the "pedal assist" motors to help people (including seniors, as the editorial mentions) pedal over the bridges, but fully motorized scooters in the same narrow spaces create danger.
Is there a communications strategy by a scooter company that has been pushing various rationales for these things?: first to help the elderly, then to help delivery people (but it would only increase the speed of delivery peoples' crashes & intensity of injuries).
Is a scooter seller or take out owners that want to access a wider market behind the push for scooters?
Don't make life even more challenging for those who seek a safe, healthy bicycle commute.
12
I ride an electric mobility scooter, using the bike lanes in here in Copenhagen. These electric scooters can't do more than 10mph, so I'm almost always overtaken by ordinary cyclists.
The biggest danger to us and to themselves is from tourists, who don't know the rules. They ride their hired bikes in the wrong direction on bike lanes, and don't stay on the right hand side, so that faster riders can overtake. Neither do they always stop at red lights, or signal when they're about to turn or stop.
Tourists are involved in more than 50% of the accidents we have on our bike lanes.
1
@Katrin Mason
You are right that accommodating electric mobility scooters is important--right now they are allowed on sidewalks (and even on buses) --does Copenhagen have wider bike lanes?
This is different from the motorized bikes and scooters that are speeding through the bike lanes here at faster speeds, than the cars in the street
1
@Lynn
I think you mean those dangerous delivery electric bikes which go faster than some cars and I agree with you. But, i think iyts OK to have smaller true electric scooters with a seat (some of them are foldable) as they go at most 15-20km per hour.
Here's an issue:
The Australian tourist was killed on CPW a block south of where I usually get out of cabs in front of my building. This article indicates she was on a rental bike and swerved into traffic because she was blocked by a stopped livery car. She must have been in the northern-bound bike lane on the Eastern side of CPW, between northern-bound car traffic and the parked cars.
But if my taxis don't pull hard to the right when they let me off, the bicycle riders routinely speed between my right exit door and the parked cars to my right. I've almost been clipped a number of times, even though I look.
WHY CAN'T THE BIKE RIDERS STOP AND WAIT? Why do they feel entitled never to stop?
36
@znlgznlg
In other words, you agree with this editorial that it is protected bike-lanes that are required.
3
@lowereastside "WHY CAN'T THE BIKE RIDERS STOP AND WAIT? Why do they feel entitled never to stop?"
Probably because they are in the right and you are in the wrong.
@znlgznlg a. Bikes have the right of way and looking before exiting your vehicle is the rule of the road. b. Bike riders don't stop for you to get out of your automobile due to the The Law of Inertia. "An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force."
If having any impact on traffic other than making it worse and more dangerous to all, the electronic scooter companies, IMHIO, are draining much-needed revenue from our area’s public bus system — a system that serves more people more efficiently and more safely than do multitudes of e-scooters (that also do nothing for people who can’t stand for lengths of time, as is he case for many people with disabilities.
5
In NYC the buses are really pokey, particularly the crosstown routes. I'd love to get a scooter. I don't use Citibike because it doesn't make sense for my commute.
1
Used to live in NYC. Never found buses problematic or “pokey”. Trust me, NYC is better off without these poorly-considered, poorly-designed, poorly-regulated, and badly-used motorized scooters (that are also particularly poor at navigating on snow and ice and slush puddles and snow mounds and oil slicks and potholes, and human toes and feet!).
6
@Oakla dish much has changed, Oakla. The buses are dreadful almost all day. I waited 23 minutes recently on 5th Ave (at 1 p.m.) where there are FOUR routes. I gave up and took a taxi. Crosstown is even worse. Once, when I had a damaged knee, I took the M 34a to the theater district for a matinee and I actually missed the show, leaving my house on Park Ave 1 and 1/2 hours ahead. The system is now nearly broken...
The editors should have addressed how the many thousands scooters now impact the residents of cities which were chosen by Bird and its competitors - without warning.
1. Most - almost all - riders don't wear helmets. A far more accurate depiction of scooters, as experienced in Santa Monica, would show no riders with helmets.
2. We could have the police stop and cite all riders without helmets who now ride scooters on our public roads, sidewalks, beach paths, and bike lanes (often in the opposite direction).
But these traffic stops would insure even more downtown gridlock and divert limited police resources.
3. I've nearly hit two young riders (no helmets). Each time, as I turned right (while signalling), a scooter approached me from behind in my right "blind spot" and tried to pass me - just prior to the right turn. A pathetically Darwinian state of affairs.
Many scooter riders don't drive defensively, in part, because they can't yet drive.
4. Scooters sometimes hit pedestrians here; often their riders don't stop.
The editors' clear path ahead, already creates very hostile walking environments for seniors and less agile walkers.
We will probably have scooters - just as we have skateboards - in many, perhaps most urban environments.
But to benefit all city residents - we must very carefully consider the vehicle/pedestrian mix along with the "rules of the road" - for our shared streets, bike paths, and sidewalks.
23
I am an avid cyclist and occasionally have ridden on city streets in various places, including NYC on 5th Avenue in the middle of the Christmas crush. (Yikes) I fully understand that bicycles in traffic make drivers nervous (in a car, I have felt the same concerns) but I also believe the bikes ultimately make the streets safer for everyone by forcing attention in driving, causing slower speeds and greater "situational awareness" for everyone.
When on the bike, I follow traffic laws like stop signs and red lights, but my number one concern and absolute rule is to get home safely, in one piece. I will do whatever it takes to meet that goal, even when it might seem outrageous or very risky to someone in a car (they don't see what I see when I have to make what would otherwise be a wild maneuver).
We shouldn't make excuses for cyclists who ride wildly with abandon, but for more ordinary riders, one reason we take chances and dart about is...because we can. Being on a bike regularly, feeling in full control and fully alert, can lead to overconfidence and occasional recklessness, but the ability to maneuver is itself a safety feature for the rider, even though it is sometimes just outright wrong and reckless.
Bikes are here to stay. Get used to them, please. They are a great alternative transportation in a crowded city. It is going to take work and patience to fully integrate them and some cyclists will have to pay fines. We'll all be better for the change, however.
14
@Doug Terry Nice one. Realistic and to-the-point. Thanks
I ride a bike in Manhattan, mostly in protected bike lanes. I'm an avid recreational cyclist, and belong to two cycling clubs. I obey traffic laws and yield to pedestrians. I ride the correct direction in bike lanes. I'm all for cycling. However...
I've been crashed into by a cyclist going the wrong way in a bike land against the traffic light. I'm passed in bike lanes by motorized scooters going about 25 mph. Motorized bikes whiz past me in bike lanes. Skateboarders fly past pedestrians on sidewalks. Many Citibike users (and other bike riders) DO NOT obey traffic signals. I've had motorized scooters coming at me the wrong way in bike lanes. POLICE DO NOT ENFORCE THE LAWS NOW. Why? Placing officers, on a regular basis at busy intersection (especially bike lanes) will help solve this problem. Until I see officers yanking bikes, skateboarders and scooters, and ticketing those who endanger pedestrians, this will only add to the chaos (yes, NYTimes - there is a kind of chaos out there on the streets with the tremendous growth of two-wheeled vehicles).
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@Sara G.
A very ample description of what is happening on the streets of a big city. This dangerous and lawless behavior is typical in a society where everyone thinks he/she can play out his/hers individuality. That this is not possible in a "mass society" doesn't enter the brains of all involved.
That the same trend reigns in the White House you have to take as given. Such things are typical for a nation in decline. If you don't believe this: compare your country with China. If you still don't understand it, wait a few years and a hard lesson will have to be learned, by you.
1
@Sara G.
Where are those PROTECTED bike lanes? I never seen one. They are all next to car lanes with parked cars nearby and no metal beams or anything between car lanes and bike small pathway.
1
@Sara G., I commute to my workplace in my bicycle. I believe that more serious than scooters on the sidewalks are trucks and all kind of vehicles standing on the bike lanes,thus provoking many of us to use the lanes designated for cars and trucks. I In the case of truck drivers willing to deliver products to commercial places, I would recommend spaces like the ones available around Columbus Ave., where they may park and do their download job. As of motor vehicles standing on bike lanes, a licence must be granted to bikers to tag and report violators. All we need is a camera and an app we may use to relay the information to authorities who, in turn, would process these reports.
1
We've had Bird scooters in Portland for the past week or so, on a test run ending this November. A second company, Skip, is offering their brand starting next week; and a third company, Lime, is working to meet Portland Bureau of Transportation initial requirements. PBOT tells us they will continue to accept e-scooter brands that meet their requirements, thru the November test period.
There's a learning curve on riding e-scooters. Most riders fail to wear helmets, nor obey the bike lane rule. Many riders seem tenuous and vulnerable, forcing car traffic to avoid them frequently. For more adept riders, one can imagine their childhood unrestrained riding experiences being re-lived, caution to the wind. (Good luck to'em!)
But, I agree with the Board's optimism about e-scooters. Bird appears to have learned from it's SF experience, bringing an innovative cooperation that makes these early growth problems seem solvable.
3
No, Bird distinctly has NOT learned from its SF experience. They now are in Oakland (like going to Brooklyn from Manhattan), and they and their drivers (I agree that if one steers something, then one is driving it, not merely riding it!) are causing many if not all the same problems here. And police do nothing and city council is broken. I just the other day saw and heard a lady and young child remind some teenage e-scooter drivers that they could be ticketed for driving on the shopping district sidewalk (if only!), only to have he kids call them words that can’t be printed in this newspaper, tell menacingly that they are not afraid of the cops, and then linger around the corner from the shop she and the young child stepped into for safety. And then they cavalierly dumped the e-scooters on the side of the road and took off, leaving the scooters blocking pedestrians and other vehicles alike, most notably the bikers whose bike lane was now blocked. Bird does little if anything to screen its users, to prevent underage or untrained or unlawful drivers or riders, to help injured or almost-injured parties identify malicious users, and they do the equivalent of dumping their product on city streets and byways. I can get fined and worse for leaving a scooter or baby stroller or other “large item” on the sidewalk or street as a freebie or free cycle or in hope that regular trash collectors will dispose of it on pick-up day, but Bird and the like, and their users, seem immune.
8
@dmbones Scooters in Portland has been a bad idea in my opinion. Even in this test phase I have seen no one wearing helmets or complying with the no sidewalk law. The sidewalk is used for dumping the scooter haphazardly in whatever neighborhood is being visited and there are plenty of those with the unrestrained attitude that include the free spirit of not obeying ANY of the rules of the road.
7
One small scooter front wheel in a medium sized pothole can lead to a serious brain injury. Hyper-vigilant maintenance of bike lane surfaces will be required for safety, another demand on city resources.
3
no. no, electric scooters in new york city will be a total disaster.
52
I live in Santa Monica. No, they won't work. Jerks will ride them on the sidewalk, they won't stop for red lights or stop signs, they will go the wrong way on one-way streets, they won't give way to pedestrians, all behavior that is there to see in a few minutes here in downtown Santa Monica. They hit someone, fracturing that person's skull or inflicting who knows what life-altering injury, they will simply zoom off. No license plate for a passerby to note. And if somehow the culprit could be tracked down (will it take a lawsuit to force the company to disgorge the identity of the person who had the scooter at that moment, supposing that a court would accept the presumption that this person was the driver who knocked over a pedestrian?), how will the innocent pedestrian consigned to spend the rest of his or her life in a hospital bed recover his or her medical costs? Not to mention loss of income to the spouse and kids? The people who ride these things are for the most part young. They don't have assets and they don't have insurance. Where does that leave the victims? And, no trivial matter, the scooters will litter the sidewalk. Pedestrian mayhem is already enough of a problem in much of Manhattan. Now add the obstacle course of scooters piled up.
Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it.
Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it.
Bikes, subways and buses, taxis. Or shank's mare. No scooters.
138
@MF This is a terrible argument. Why not penalize bad riders instead.
I am a New York City pedestrian and I walk to and from work every day, about 4.5 miles a day according to my iPhone. I am very unhappy in the last two or three years by the rapidly increasing number of people renting all the bikeshare options and completely flouting the rights and safety of pedestrians. The bikes do not stop at red lights! They scurry through every intersection as if the rules of the street do not apply to them because they are not a car and they are not a pedestrian. I am also concerned that this article does not even use the word PEDESTRIAN! By millions the biggest number of NYC commuters! Until NYC finds a way to promote good and safe behavior by the bicyclist I will not countenance an even more menacing and deadly threat to pedestrians - the electric scooter motons.
137
Totally agree! One of things I most love(d) about NYC is its walkability. And it’s a big plus for tourists. A much bigger plus than bikes or scooters are or would be (I ve travelled around the world, and always prefer walking to faster modes, unless have to go very long distance or massive hurry or in dangerous neighborhood or time of night — in which case I use car or public transport train/bus).
I also recall numbers of NYT articles and editorials calling attention to the individual and communal costs of our obesity epidemic and the ills of sedentary lifestyles. The best way to get around, if you have time to scoot, is to get off the scooter and use the power of your own two feet. Better for you, better for society, better for the environment, better for your fellow New Yorkers, and way easier to carry things while walking than motor-scooting! More social, too.
10
@Mom - And for those who have limited mobility? I guess in your world, they should just stay home and not bother trying to get around.
My observation is that non-motorized bicycles fail to stop at red lights and stop signs at least 80% of the time, and often ride in the wrong direction on one-way streets. Motorized bicycles do the same, in addition to riding on sidewalks at excessive speeds. Scooters can be expected to do the same, given the total absence of enforcement. I've seen statistics on the number of bicycle riders injured and killed in the City, but not as to the number of pedestrians injured by bicycles, whether mechanical or motorized. Right now, mechanical and motorized bicycles and motorized scooters are, and will continue to be, a serious hazard to pedestrians. I think, given the experience to date, we can expect that they will continue to violate traffic rules with total impunity.
36
I have been riding a bicycle in New York City for decades, and have very much welcomed bike lanes, most especially the protected ones.
I do not, however, welcome sharing those bike lanes with motorized bicycles. Riders of these types of vehicles often rip along these narrow paths at dangerous speeds. And just by the way, 15 miles an hour on a bicycle is FAST, way faster than an average bike rider peddling along will easily reach, much less maintain.
It surprises me that the obvious hazards of these new types of bikes seem not to make an impression on the normally prudent NY Times editorial writers.
103
Motorized vehicles, whatever the type, belong in the regular road, plain and simple (unless they are to have their own designated protected/ive lane, too). The one exception: those driven by people with documented disabilities who require them to get around and who tend to be pretty darned respectful and careful as the go.
6
@John H.
Changing max speed on those scooters to 15km/hr (not miles get rid of miles already people its 2018! should do the trick.
1
@John H. you are correct! I rode in Brooklyn 100 miles a week in the 90's.
My new electric assist bike is extremely fast with little effort. Far too dangerous for city usage.
1
Here in San Diego, electric scooters and bikes are no solution to mass transit and no solution to mobility for the elderly, as suggested elsewhere in these comments. Here they are used mostly by young people anywhere they please, which would be fine if they weren't also abandoned anywhere they please and ridden in a manner that creates hazards and diminishes a walker's ability to use a sidewalk. That they are ridden in the streets in a manner hazardous to the rider is irrelevant to me. Just organs for transplant. PEOPLE, THEY'RE EXPENSIVE TOYS, NOT SERIOUS TRANSPORTATION.
11
Three things about scooters: 1. They should make enough noise to tell the pedestrian where they are, 2. The should have to use bike lanes and stay off sidewalks, 3. lawmakers will need accident records to understand what to modify to make them safer.
6
@Anon I agree with you but there are many people who are hard of hearing and who would not hear a scooter bearing down on them.
3
Add requirement for lights, front and back, rear view mirrors, horns, manual-override braking systems, big visible front and rear license plates, built in lice proof helmets, $250k liability insurance (preferably no-fault insurance), built-in speed limiting controls — maybe like self-driving cars — and mandatory annual licensure with testing of and for users. And in-handle finger-printing of users do their age and licensure may be confirmed before scooter unlocks and in case of accident to confirm the person renting the scooter is the one actually using it the whole time. That would be a start.
Then again, there may be privacy concerns with that... but that may be the price to pay for the company saving on brick and mortar rental kiosks. Hmm sometimes disruptors just disrupt, and in the case of mass use of motorized scooters, we’re all left to clean up the mess.
7
More noise in our cacaphonous streets! Yeah. That does seem like a sound plan!
1
A couple of points before we add another ingredient to the mix
Bike lanes are underutilized
Truck deliveries cause significant congestion
Streets are paved and then immediately torn up??
Figure out a solution to the congestion caused by Uber/Lyft
Fix mass transit
When all that happens then we can take a look at electric scooters.
15
Completely agree with you. Well put. I hope folks listen, and DO!
3
@Patrick
Add construction lane blockages & construction vehicles to the list of things that slow this city to a standstill
2
Why on earth would anyone want to make the largest city in the country a test lab for a potentially dangerous and difficult to regulate product? Let other, smaller cities "figure it out" instead of risking lives and avoiding tough decisions by betting on a lottery ticket technology.
29
You're nuts! New York City streets and sidewalks are crazy enough already! In Southern California, electric scooters have replaced walking, not other forms of vehicular traffic. The scooter companies' business model infringes on public spaces and gives lip service only to the safety of riders and pedestrians.
71
You are so very right in all that you say. Same in Northern California, too,
Not sure what good the scooters do for pedestrians, though. Impact I’ve seen on pedestrians has been less space to walk, far less safety, tons more trip hazards, additional trucks on he streets (and related carbon footprints) as un-benefited gig-employees (if you can even call them that) drive around to collect scooters at various hours of the night and day, and so forth.
The scooters and their drivers (for it is driving, not riding) regularly block or otherwise impede access to businesses by obstructing sidewalk space or stealing car parking spaces by leaving fallen scooters splayed across curbside parking spots (without paying metered parking rates), etc etc.
And the scooters do nothing to help ease the public health toll of obesity, and one can’t even safely use an umbrella while on one of the scooters.
14
I whole-heartedly agree with Arthur from NY, the very first of those to comment on this article, below. And with calls for requiring a decent level of liability insurance and public education regarding relevant rules and regulations.
Motorized bikes and scooters can and do go as fast as many cars travel on NYC streets. And if you wouldn’t want a car doing it, then you (we) should write and ENFORCE traffic and other laws to ensure other motorized vehicles can’t and/or don’t.
This is all the more important in a city of so many millions of people and that has already been the target of “creative” terrorism — including through the use of motorized vehicles.
Wish other US cities had done/would quickly do the same.
10
@ROI
Its simple problem to solve; make it illegal to go past 15km/hr in those e-scooters or e-bikes basically you cannot buy a bike that goes faster than that and done. Eliminate miles also use kilometers as we bike in km, run in km and the whole world uses km not ancient roman empire miles which the brits took and modified and we still use!!!!!in 2018!
As one who’s witnessed, in just a matter of weeks, a number of near-misses by un-helmeted, sometimes-under-16yo, on-the-sidewalk-illegally riders of pay-per-hour motorized (electric) scooters in a CA city, I warn NYers to be very thoughtful and careful before legitimizing their use in your city.
These (often unnecessary) vehicles are now routinely dumped, any which way, on and across sidewalks, car parking spaces, curbs and curb-cuts, blocking safe entrance and exit to/from legitimately and legally parked cars, forcing young children and elderly and those on crutches to maneuver, sometimes unsafe Into traffic, around them. There’s no helmet provided, no reliable confirmation that riders are of-age ir using their product legally and safely (including not breaking the law by driving them on sidewalks or against traffic signals). I’ve almost been hit by one, seen cane-using 80-95 year olds nearly mowed over by one, and kindergarten-sized child almost hit and deeply scared by a swarm of sidewalk drivers. There’s no individual ID to record if scooter involved in injury accident, no requirement that users prove they have covering liability insurance, no required proof that they have standardized training in how to safely operate the vehicles and of relevant safety laws. Others renting out motorized vehicles (eg motorcycle) require proof of basic safety precautions. Those renting out other motorized vehicles need same requirements. AND what happened to obesity-fighting walking?!
37
"...seen cane-using 80-95 year olds nearly mowed over by one ..." That's why I use a walker.
1
@Mama True, that.
There is no way New York sidewalks can handle a dockless scooter or bike system. I can't imagine how anyone could think it would work.
It sounds nice to say they would be a boon to the mobility impaired, but are the mobility impaired going to be comfortable balancing and steering on a scooter going 15 miles an hour? They mostly appeal to the young and fearless.
This really is a very foolish idea.
Reads like the editoriat has put on hold its eternal support for taxing motorists to unclog Midtown Manhattan at the cost of the outer boroughs with inadequate mass transit; and now is entertaining whatever notions one can glean from saloons with good brews on tap.
I support alternative methods of transportation, such as electric bikes and scooters, particularly for areas of the city not well-served by mass transit. But widening sidewalks and extending protected bike lanes in Manhattan will only add to the congestion as the largely unchanged volume of autos, trucks and buses simply will clog-up arteries more efficiently as they compress all that traffic into fewer or narrower lanes. Pilot programs in the outer boroughs won’t address Manhattan’s challenges, where the real problem occurs.
How familiar is this sight: bike lanes with nothing in them but parked and double-parked trucks? You going to force New Yorkers to take to rickshaws next … at the point of a gun? Safety? Motorists (autos, trucks and buses) are ALWAYS going to pose threats to bikes and scooters that share the same roads – unless you partition the roads with barriers, in which case the congestion problem with motorists is worsened; otherwise, before you solve the safety problem in bike lanes you first need to solve the problem of too many trucks blocking them and restricting visibility that a de Blasio order to better-enforce ordinances can’t solve.
The solutions to traffic congestion in …
4
… Manhattan and to inadequate mass transit in parts of the outer boroughs aren’t susceptible to brew-illuminated bright ideas one hears in good saloons. It’s big, it’s expensive, and it will require both New York City and State to better adjust their funding priorities to vastly improve and extend mass transit. Until that happens, these marginal attempts at lessening the severity of the problems will create as many problems as they mitigate.
1
I have been biking in NYC for 30 years and sadly I have seen along with a vastly improved bike path network (still not enough) a vastly discourteous biking community emerge.
Unlike in the past when New Yorkers chose to bike for exercise it's now mostly to avoid subway fare they can't afford. This group is going to grow enormously with new electric bikes.
There's an important place for electric bikes and scooters in the city. The handicapped and elderly will be much more mobile if they are given the maximum number of options.
Yet Bicycle paths in NYC now already suffer from many people using electric devices to travel at dangerous speeds, and unfortunately many regular bikers routinely use the paths (especially the westside path along the Hudson) as if it were a Velodrome where it was safe to go as fast and furious as you feel. It is not. Safety laws to be the equivalent of automobile laws now that electric bikes travel the city at the same speeds as cars.Speed limits need to be established and posted clearly. Then after a period of acquaintance —very, strictly enforced.
The new electric bikes and scooters do not just endanger their operators if driven poorly, they are in heavy traffic of mixed pedestrians and bikers and endanger all of them when they ride recklessly. Speed bumps should also be placed and posted on straightaways were speeding takes place. I would also gladly agree to bike licensce plates and speed/ticketing cameras.
54
Amen to the observation of discourteous behavior on the rise.
And if experience in (usually polite, easy-going) West Coast cities replete with motorized scooters is any clue, adding scooter-users to the mix is NOT going to help matters.
Nip it in the bud while we still can, that’s what I say.
24
@Arthur
As part of the bicycle fad our Mayor has assigned an entire car lane on Queens Blvd service roads to bikes and has even gone to the expense of separating the lanes by planting thousands of lane demarking poles. On any afternoon you can see a lane of stop and go cars confined to that single lane - each car spewing ten times the pollution that the freely flowing two lanes road used to see.
These poles force drivers to close proximity with the parked cars, with no maneuverability - where even an opening door threatens a fatal accident. Meanwhile, the bike lane is completely empty; ideology and fashion over observed truth - our own elite form of science denial.