Before rolling out to the US, electric scooter craze had already spread up in Europe. Europe has some of the perfect places to ride an electric scooter. A lot of e-scooter rental company grew up to cope with the market trend. Lime was the first company who started the e-scooter rental business. Followed by Lime, many companies like Wind, UFO, Tier, VOI joined the party.
At the moment there are approximately eight companies who are renting e-scooters. From the beginning, rented electric scooter riders were causing some issues on the sidewalk. People were parking their electric kick scooters or electric bikes on the sidewalks which were blocking pedestrians walking path. That’s why many countries in Europe like Malaga prohibited electric scooter rider to park their scooters on the sidewalks. €200 was the fine for the rule breaker.
Now let me express some of my experiences using a rental e-scooter. My first rented two scooters that I scanned weren’t unlocking. After 25 minutes of trying I moved to the third one and then successfully unlocked it. The first impression was so bad that I was in agonizing anger. When I started driving the third electric scooter, I found the steering wasn’t agile. I was having difficulties when going over some bumpy sidewalks and rough terrain. The suspension was so unsettling.
When finally, I made it to my home, it took me another 15 minutes to lock the e-scooter. But keep in mind that, the meter was still running. I was able to park the e-scooter at my home. At that time, I was starving. But I already wasted in a total of nearly 1 hour to locking, unlocking and changing the vehicle two times. So, there was not much time to take lunch at home. I had to go out again after the work at home was done. This time the e-scooter took 10 minutes to unlock. After successfully unlocking it, I rode again to the city center, locked the scooter and gave it to Lime. Apparently, I gave a bad review with one start.
A ride to my home with a rental electric scooter gave me the pain to remember. So, my suggestion is, if possible, avoid renting an electric bike which can’t deliver it meant to deliver.
Despite my frustration, I keep riding an electric scooter. The city where I live in has much public transit, but I keep coming back to the electric scooter. It is fun to ride. Even though there are stories of multiple e-scooter related accidents going on, but if you know how to drive it, and you put the required safety gear, electric scooters are a convincing ride to the office from home and vice versa.
This week I’ve gathered some great issues to love electric kick scooters or electric bikes and some reasons to hate it. It’ll be divided into two articles. The first one I chose is the reasons to love electric scooter. The later one will be about the issues to hate it. So, let’s begin.
The open-air. Public transports are good when there is a seat available. If you can read a book sitting, it is enjoyable. But the most disgusting thing is a crowded bus stopping on each stop. Especially in this post-Covid world, a crowded bus is a must to avoid. On the other hand, on an electric scooter, you can be free as a bird! An electric kick scooter like the Slide Rideon 365 can run at 25 km/h leaving fresh air for you to breath. Another thing is, e-scooters can reduce the congestion on public transports.
Convenience. You can start up your e-scooter with your mobile app and jump on or off anywhere from it. Though you may have good access to public transit, you must have to walk for some minutes from your home to the bus stand. An electric kick scooter can cover up this walking distance and save your valuable time.
A public transit like a bus will not take you to where you want to go. You have to get in and get out from a bus or train at a certain place and then go to your destination by walking or on an Uber. Right now, most of the e-scooters have over 30 km mileage which is not bad! It is so convenient. So you can reach your destination within 30 km, recharge it and again get back to your home.
It’s fun. Feel the wind breezing against your hair. See the surroundings. Feel the smartness. But remember, riding an e-scooter isn’t like riding a car. You’ll have to face way more obstacles and rough terrain. So look for it. But otherwise, riding an electric scooter is nothing but a fun thing.
It’s ECO-FRIENDLY. As people say, electric scooters are completely eco-friendly or it emits zero carbon footprint. The truth is, e-scooters are not 100% eco-friendly. To charge an electric scooter, we need to use electricity which may or may not come from renewable sources. But e-scooters only produce 1-2% CO2 than a car for going the same distance.
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