Earth Rider
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
    • Learning Center
    • Explore Ebikes
    • Newsletter signup
    • Privacy Policy
    • Refunds
    • Learning to Ride a Bike
  • Shop
    • Ebikes
    • Bikes >
      • Youth Bikes
    • Lights
    • Helmets
    • Bags and baskets
    • Accessories >
      • Pedals
    • Outerwear >
      • Glove Box
    • Apparel
    • Bicycle inspired goods >
      • Greeting Cards
  • Service
  • Rentals

Scooting and Juicing without a Citrus Fruit

2/19/2019

 
Picture
We learned some new jargon while we were learning about electric scooters at the Feb. 19 Evanston Bicycle Club (EBC) meeting.  For example: 
 
“Electric Scooter” (also known as e-scooter), a shared, dockless, application based, micro-mobility device that requires charging
“Scooting”, the act of using an e-scooter. 
“Juicing’, the practice of charging Lime brand scooters; people who are authorized to pick up and charge e-scooters at their homes at night for a fee are called Lime juicers
 “Geofencing”, the use of GPS or RFID technology to create a virtual geographic boundary

Maggie Melin, Advocacy Manager at Active Transportation Alliance, started our education by citing the beginning of the scooter craze in Santa Monica CA in September, 2017 with the operator of the Bird brand scooters dropping scooters in the community without permission.  In less than 2 years there are 18 state with e-scooter sharing programs.  Advantages of e-scooters are:
  • Replaces auto trips
  • Addresses the first/last mile connection
  • Provides access to jobs, transit
  • Positive impact on public health, air quality, local economy and equity
Potential disadvantages are:
  • Riding scooters and parking on sidewalks
  • Crowded bike lanes and trails
  • Speeding
  • Crashes, falls, and injuries
  • Replacing walking or biking trips
 
E-scooters are current not allowed in Chicago.  To help recommend what the policy for e-scooters in Chicago should be, Active Trans conducted an e-scooter survey, analyzed the results of a 120 day pilot in 2018 in Portland, OR and reviewed a study by DePaul University.  Among their recommendations are:
  • Limit sidewalk riding in congested areas and use in bike lanes, parks, and trails if necessary
  • Cap the speed at 15 mph
  • Manage fleet size and allow to scale
  • Require user education on safety and parking
  • Make anonymized trip data publicly available
  • Assure coverage in underserved neighborhoods
  • Enable payment options for people without smart phones
  • Use a portion of fees for a dedicated Bike Walk Fund
 
Operators of e-scooter programs include Bird, Bolt, Jump (Uber), Lyft, RazorUSA, Scoot Networks, Skip, Spin (Ford), and Lime.  Matt Donelan, Operations Manager of Lime in Chicago was in attendance with an actual Lime e-scooter.  Lime is an American company that operates mostly on the west coast.  One of the advantages of e-scooters as a micro-mobility option is that there is no need for docking stations.  The result is:
  • The user is not limited to a 30-minute trip before you have to find a dock
  • Funding for building out the infrastructure of docks is not required 

Comments are closed.

    Earth Rider Blog about Cycling


    Author

    Sharon Kaminecki and others comment on adventures in bicycling and other stories

    Categories

    All
    Being Visible On Your Bike
    Bike Comfort
    Bike Safety
    Buying A Bike
    Cycling General Interest
    Learning About Ebikes
    Protecting Your Bike


    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017

Earth Rider logo of earth intersected with a banner with an image of a cyclist and the words Earth Rider in colors blue, green, aqua, black and red

Address

1873 N Milwaukee Ave
​Chicago, IL 60647

Phone

773-360-1816

Email

bikefun@earthridercycling.com

Payment methods:
Credits card visa, mastercard, american express, and discover
Sign up for our newsletter - click here.

Winter Hours              

Wed. 10am - 8pm
Thu.   10am - 5pm
Fri.      10am - 5pm
Sat.      10am - 5pm
Sun.     Closed
​Mon.    Closed
Tues.    Closed
Or by appointment--contact us!
SPECIAL HOURS:  Closed 1/20-24 for Brazen Dropouts Bike Swap; 2/7-9 for CABDA Midwest
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
    • Learning Center
    • Explore Ebikes
    • Newsletter signup
    • Privacy Policy
    • Refunds
    • Learning to Ride a Bike
  • Shop
    • Ebikes
    • Bikes >
      • Youth Bikes
    • Lights
    • Helmets
    • Bags and baskets
    • Accessories >
      • Pedals
    • Outerwear >
      • Glove Box
    • Apparel
    • Bicycle inspired goods >
      • Greeting Cards
  • Service
  • Rentals