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Comment by stare_spb | Hacker News Reader

A short-sighted solution to the problem. You have a fleet of remotely controlled vehicles, information of driver profiles. Limit the speed for beginners to 12 km/h, based on telematics data for careful drivers, outside of busy areas - to 15-20 km / h. Develop bike lines infrastructure.

A complete ban will lead to more people buying their own scooters, which are not limited in speed, as a long-term result - more serious incidents.

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I ride a private escooter but really detest these rental ones, based on the experience in Melbourne. We'll be banning them too soon.

Private scooters are a thoughtful purchase. Riding them is a thoughtful decision. Most people riding them are not first-timers. So generally those I see on private scooters have helmets and follow the rules.

Rental scooters? Nobody is wearing a helmet, they're being ridden dangerously on footpaths, putting pedestrians at risk. Even at slow speeds they're a danger to pedestrians in a busy city.

It's pretty bad, you just walk around Melbourne on any day and you can see idiots without helmets swerving around pedestrians on Bourke St (a pedestrian only shopping area).

> which are not limited in speed, as a long-term result - more serious incidents.

In the EU they are. Of course 25 km/h is significantly higher than the speeds you mentioned

Here in London, at least in Greenwich where I live the only real problem is how this scooters and bikes get nonchalantly dumped in the middle of the pavement, sometimes on the road or cycle lane. It's absolutely horrible especially for people with mobility problems. Judging by how common this is a third of people who ride these are selfish anti social assholes. There are no punitive measures against this so my town is littered with ebikes and scooters. I'm surprised people here have no problems with that.

The article said this:

> because of the risk they pose to pedestrians

I took it to mean cluttering the sidewalks, not crashes.

Is it about crashes?

City could allocate dedicated areas for parking scooters with white line around it on the floor. Usually you can park 30 scooters in the area, used by a single car. Basically, Krakow implemented this. Parking areas are enforced in the Application (fine would be collected for parking in a random place though the app). You still can park your own scooter in the regular bike parking areas though (I think?). Scooter parkings are pretty much near each bus stop in the city center.

So, basically, no need for a ban.

I don't live in an area with scooters. I never got why the parking/littering was a problem. They know who rode the scooter last = who parked there right? Couldn't they fine the people leaving them in the middle of the sidewalk/dumping them in rivers/whatever?

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