Based no how they mostly seem to be used in Berlin, scooters are predominantly a joyride thing for teenage to 20-something boys, doubling as status signaling given their relatively high costs (for this demographic)

As a middle-aged dude, I find them quite awkward to navigate and much prefer a car, and I have literally never seen an older person use them. Are people commuting with those? I guess it happens occassionally, but the predominant use case, at least in Germany, seems just-for-fun cruising. Probably not a powerful or frequent enough thing to justify lofty valuations, and given the externalities (cluttering sidewalks, or folks having to fish them out of lakes and rivers) probably a net negative for society, too.

Wouldn't like to see them banned out of principle, but I assume it'd make sense for cities to ask providers for some upfront deposit in case the provider can't ensure proper clean up etc...