Just imagine the scooter parking. They’re so small, you could convert a single roadside car space into docks for at least 15 eScooters. It could become a completely normal expectation to be able to park within 20m of wherever you’re going.
I echo your sentiments. I too bought an e-scooter during the pandemic, and now it mainly sits(I will admit to occasionally popping out to the corner shop on it, because it's a quiet neighborhood.) I thought I was doing the smart thing, turned out I was just throwing money away. For a while I used it as a "last mile" vehicle, but them TFL banned them on the buses and tubes, and most of the trains-Oddly, my E-bike, which cost me less, is still allowed on all the aformentioned modes of transport(because it folds) and it has a much larger battery. Yes, I have an e-bike. "Why not just use the e-bike?" The haters will ask. Because the E-scooter fills some needs better than the e-bike. There's room for both in my life. There should be room for both on the roads. Should there be some some of restrictions on them? Yes, certainly, in the same way bicycles have restrictions. Let's at least play fair with the rules.
Couldn't agree more - I definitely want to get an e-bike this year too for similar reasons. (You can still subscribe to the Substack even without Twitter, if you want more blazing hot takes!)
I thought I loved E-scooters until I bought my e-bike. I still enjoy the odd ride - Voi in Oxford trial area - but I think the high quality e-bike is more likely to really be the big change we need in transport. They are so fast, more comfortable and multi-functional (e.g. add a trailer for cargo/kids) and with a healthy bit of exercise too.
Looking forward to your late 2023 substack post on why its the best item you bought in years....
Urgh, this is annoyingly compelling argument for a thing I really don’t like and I’m annoyed you’ve convinced me on it. Curious as to whether you think we should try and separate out cyclists and scooterers (scooterii? Scooter-users?) on roads or if that’s more hassle than it’s worth?
I think in an ideal world where there were no space limits, separating the two would be good, but realistically it'd be hard to find the space and would be a headache to administer (different coloured paint on the road?). It's a bit like having a separate lane for vans and cars.
I think the case for e-scooters over bikes (and especially e-bikes) is still underargued. Most bike journeys for most people don't leave them a sweaty mess, and certainly not e-bike journeys. And all of the nonsense about special clothes and equipment can be safely ignored by people who just want to cycle to get around and not make it a pillar of their personality. Practical everyday bikes (as opposed to the finicky ones beloved of enthusiasts) don't require much maintenance.
Bicycles are much safer and - for journeys of more than a few minutes - more comfortable than scooters. They can much more easily carry luggage or groceries. The only real downsides are that e-bikes are somewhat more expensive than e-scooters (though of course conventional bikes are much cheaper), and they fit less easily in a train.
Now I'm going to lay my cards on the table here and admit that I live in the Netherlands and benefit from the world's best cycling infrastructure. Viewed from here, the prospect of scooters cluttering up a well-functioning system is not appealing and abundant bike parking/hire at virtually all stations makes the multi-modal upside of scooters almost irrelevant.
So *given excellent cycling infrastructure*, scooters are largely pointless. But you may well be right that from the starting point of the UK, encouraging scooter riding could be helpful at the margin in getting that infrastrucutre built in the first place. "Scooters: worse than bikes in virtually every way except that some people still inexplicably use them and that's at least better than driving" might need some work as a slogan though.
The thing that sets scooters out from e-bikes is how cheap they can be.
I love cycling and didn’t enjoy using a scooter the one time I tried it one in Bristol but this was largely because using it on roads having to share space with cars and potholes was a nightmare.
We need better infrastructure for both bikes and scooters:)
As a libertarian, I’m basically with you on this, even though as a city pedestrian I curse e-scooter riders on a regular basis. But - and here’s the thing - I curse cyclists more (even if I am an occasional cyclist myself). Why? With freedom comes responsibilities. Cyclists don’t get this. Because cycling carries real risks on London’s streets - I’ve been knocked off by pedestrians, cars and coaches - cyclists assume that absolves them of responsibility to others.
Pedestrians, bikes, e-scooters and even cars can mix if all behave responsibly. So, why don’t they? There are rules - and even without rules there is decent human behaviour. Find me a cyclist in London who stops at a red pedestrian light.
My knee jerk response is that the police should enforce the rules. But that’s defeatist. There’s something deeper going on. Partly it’s about what my dad would call the collapse in standards of behaviour. But there’s some tribalism - the cyclist tribe against the world.
I’m not a sociologist. And I’m definitely not a columnist. So how about writing another piece showing how the tribes can live together on the city streets?
It is all about street design; separation of modes from each other and signalling etc which reduces conflict and danger. For sure enforcement and personal behaviour have a role, but if the fundamental layouts are wrong, then risky or bad behaviour is baked in. There is a big literature on this and lots of examples where conflict has been removed, even in London.
I've been a keen cyclist since the late 70s and I agree with you 100%. BTW, I do stop at red pedestrian lights, and at zebra crossings, but, sadly, I am in a tiny minority add you rightly say. I find many cyclist's holier-than-thou, entitled attitude thoroughly repulsive and selfish and it infuriates me, because I get tarred with the same brush. It's the sheer arrogance. Cyclists expect drivers to stick to the rules, but how can they when they ignore the rules themselves? It's pure hypocrisy. And don't get me started on signalling. It's just common courtesy and decency to let other road users know what your intentions are. How many times have I waited to cross a junction only for the cyclist to turn left? If they'd signalled I needn't have waited. If I were that rude, I wouldn't wait for them to pass, they can slow down and let me go first. Where did it all begin? It's not just the Lycra clad zealots either, it's pretty much 90% of all cyclists. I really wish the police would start enforcing the rules. They'd make a fortune. One hour spent at Dalston Junction, for example (it happens to be close to where I live), with spot fines of £40 (I believe that's the current rate) would easily net them £2,000 (the cycle – sorry, no pun intended – lights is about 1'40"-1'55" and at least half a dozen cyclists run the light just going north!). Sooner or later, someone is going get killed. I've had arguments with cycling friends when another cyclist gets killed by a lorry turning left. Tragic as it is, it's the cyclist's fault. It's very difficult for lorry drivers to spot a cyclist that's close to their left hand side, and it's just common sense that you never assume a lorry driver has seen you unless you've made positive, distinct eye contact. If the vehicle has indicated that it's turning left, you should really be on its right anyway. If they don't indicate, well, alas that happens too often, but you should consider who's going to be worse off in a collision. Anyway, two wrongs do not make a right. I have to say that I find the vast majority of drivers patient, courteous and given most cyclists' bad behaviour, surprisingly respectful. Perhaps, while they're making a fortune ticketing cyclists running red lights they could also fine the drivers who ignore the cycle boxes at busy junctions.
I think you miss a couple of points and problems. For cycles vs scooters, ebikes are a better model:
* they confer the same advantage of easy propulsion
* they are more stable and probably less bad in an accident for the rider
But the big problem with scooters, to me, is that they are more dangerous to ride, so need a safer environment. The low centre of gravity makes it much easier to fall off unpredictably, and in traffic that could easily be fatal. Even from a perceived safety angle, who wants to be an electric scooter driver next to a lorry or a bus?
Likewise they cannot mix with pedestrians comfortably. Even if it is objectively safe, for elderly people and small children, it is not at all pleasant.
Where this points to is that segregated cycle lanes and / or traffic free zones are needed to make scooters safe for the majority.
I have more scooters and bicycles and my e-scooter gets a lot of use. THis is thanks to all the police I’ve chatted who turn a blind eye unless you’re ‘being a twat’.
They really don’t care, and don’t want to waste their time hassling someone it’s just going from A to B (responsibly).
I have a funny feeling, though that while more people cycling reduces health costs for a region, (and they can justify building cycle tracks due to the savings for the health service), speaking from personal experience, you’re more likely to end up visiting a doctors or hospital, when riding a tiny wheeled scooter on our crappy potholed roads.
Out here in the villages of Cambridgeshire, you’ll see a lot, fewer yobs on e-scooters. they are mothers, taking the kids to school, you will see them parked outside shops and leaning on tables and pub gardens.
But it only takes one knob on a de-restricted scooter, having a close shave with someone on a pavement, for the perception to change.
When it comes to personal transport which is convenient and can be taken into any building, the scooter is hard to beat. Unless you own a particular British made folding bike. ;-)
As per it does come down to proper usage, I'm all for things like it. However when I see people on dirt bikes over protected common grounds, or teens on e scooters all over the place I can't help but hate it.
Having gone down a local alleyway to the park and with my dogs and having some go down too fast swearing at me to get out of the way , nearly hitting my dogs in the process I can't help be biased.
Cars are ridiculous though in wasting space and we should move away from them for sure.
Like all things , can be used well or it can be a menace like a bad driver on the road. Maybe we need to tackle a cultural problem too.
Also look at Netherlands a country that used to look like ours built for cars that tore it all up and moved to public transport and bikes. Great case study
As an out-of-touch Zone 2 Londoner who cycles everywhere, I'm actually quite keen on getting an e-scooter. I can get a bit knackered towards the end of the week, so an e-scooter would be a viable alternative to the tube. But the other commenter makes a good point about safety - don't people fall off them more regularly? I'd need a bit more reassurance before I make the plunge.
Don't quote me on this but my understanding from people much smarter than me is that the risk profile is somewhere more than a bike, but less than a motorbike.
My favourite recently discovered phrase is "multi-modal arseholes". Some people are idiots whether they are cycling, walking, driving or scooting.
And, if they are idiots, I would rather have them being idiots on a little scooter than in a tonne of car.
Just imagine the scooter parking. They’re so small, you could convert a single roadside car space into docks for at least 15 eScooters. It could become a completely normal expectation to be able to park within 20m of wherever you’re going.
I echo your sentiments. I too bought an e-scooter during the pandemic, and now it mainly sits(I will admit to occasionally popping out to the corner shop on it, because it's a quiet neighborhood.) I thought I was doing the smart thing, turned out I was just throwing money away. For a while I used it as a "last mile" vehicle, but them TFL banned them on the buses and tubes, and most of the trains-Oddly, my E-bike, which cost me less, is still allowed on all the aformentioned modes of transport(because it folds) and it has a much larger battery. Yes, I have an e-bike. "Why not just use the e-bike?" The haters will ask. Because the E-scooter fills some needs better than the e-bike. There's room for both in my life. There should be room for both on the roads. Should there be some some of restrictions on them? Yes, certainly, in the same way bicycles have restrictions. Let's at least play fair with the rules.
I don't do twitter, so I can't subscribe.
Couldn't agree more - I definitely want to get an e-bike this year too for similar reasons. (You can still subscribe to the Substack even without Twitter, if you want more blazing hot takes!)
I thought I loved E-scooters until I bought my e-bike. I still enjoy the odd ride - Voi in Oxford trial area - but I think the high quality e-bike is more likely to really be the big change we need in transport. They are so fast, more comfortable and multi-functional (e.g. add a trailer for cargo/kids) and with a healthy bit of exercise too.
Looking forward to your late 2023 substack post on why its the best item you bought in years....
Urgh, this is annoyingly compelling argument for a thing I really don’t like and I’m annoyed you’ve convinced me on it. Curious as to whether you think we should try and separate out cyclists and scooterers (scooterii? Scooter-users?) on roads or if that’s more hassle than it’s worth?
I think in an ideal world where there were no space limits, separating the two would be good, but realistically it'd be hard to find the space and would be a headache to administer (different coloured paint on the road?). It's a bit like having a separate lane for vans and cars.
I think the case for e-scooters over bikes (and especially e-bikes) is still underargued. Most bike journeys for most people don't leave them a sweaty mess, and certainly not e-bike journeys. And all of the nonsense about special clothes and equipment can be safely ignored by people who just want to cycle to get around and not make it a pillar of their personality. Practical everyday bikes (as opposed to the finicky ones beloved of enthusiasts) don't require much maintenance.
Bicycles are much safer and - for journeys of more than a few minutes - more comfortable than scooters. They can much more easily carry luggage or groceries. The only real downsides are that e-bikes are somewhat more expensive than e-scooters (though of course conventional bikes are much cheaper), and they fit less easily in a train.
Now I'm going to lay my cards on the table here and admit that I live in the Netherlands and benefit from the world's best cycling infrastructure. Viewed from here, the prospect of scooters cluttering up a well-functioning system is not appealing and abundant bike parking/hire at virtually all stations makes the multi-modal upside of scooters almost irrelevant.
So *given excellent cycling infrastructure*, scooters are largely pointless. But you may well be right that from the starting point of the UK, encouraging scooter riding could be helpful at the margin in getting that infrastrucutre built in the first place. "Scooters: worse than bikes in virtually every way except that some people still inexplicably use them and that's at least better than driving" might need some work as a slogan though.
The thing that sets scooters out from e-bikes is how cheap they can be.
I love cycling and didn’t enjoy using a scooter the one time I tried it one in Bristol but this was largely because using it on roads having to share space with cars and potholes was a nightmare.
We need better infrastructure for both bikes and scooters:)
What would it take for a e-scooter to be defined as an e-bike and get away with it? A tiny saddle? Change the terms of debate, perhaps...
As a libertarian, I’m basically with you on this, even though as a city pedestrian I curse e-scooter riders on a regular basis. But - and here’s the thing - I curse cyclists more (even if I am an occasional cyclist myself). Why? With freedom comes responsibilities. Cyclists don’t get this. Because cycling carries real risks on London’s streets - I’ve been knocked off by pedestrians, cars and coaches - cyclists assume that absolves them of responsibility to others.
Pedestrians, bikes, e-scooters and even cars can mix if all behave responsibly. So, why don’t they? There are rules - and even without rules there is decent human behaviour. Find me a cyclist in London who stops at a red pedestrian light.
My knee jerk response is that the police should enforce the rules. But that’s defeatist. There’s something deeper going on. Partly it’s about what my dad would call the collapse in standards of behaviour. But there’s some tribalism - the cyclist tribe against the world.
I’m not a sociologist. And I’m definitely not a columnist. So how about writing another piece showing how the tribes can live together on the city streets?
It is all about street design; separation of modes from each other and signalling etc which reduces conflict and danger. For sure enforcement and personal behaviour have a role, but if the fundamental layouts are wrong, then risky or bad behaviour is baked in. There is a big literature on this and lots of examples where conflict has been removed, even in London.
I've been a keen cyclist since the late 70s and I agree with you 100%. BTW, I do stop at red pedestrian lights, and at zebra crossings, but, sadly, I am in a tiny minority add you rightly say. I find many cyclist's holier-than-thou, entitled attitude thoroughly repulsive and selfish and it infuriates me, because I get tarred with the same brush. It's the sheer arrogance. Cyclists expect drivers to stick to the rules, but how can they when they ignore the rules themselves? It's pure hypocrisy. And don't get me started on signalling. It's just common courtesy and decency to let other road users know what your intentions are. How many times have I waited to cross a junction only for the cyclist to turn left? If they'd signalled I needn't have waited. If I were that rude, I wouldn't wait for them to pass, they can slow down and let me go first. Where did it all begin? It's not just the Lycra clad zealots either, it's pretty much 90% of all cyclists. I really wish the police would start enforcing the rules. They'd make a fortune. One hour spent at Dalston Junction, for example (it happens to be close to where I live), with spot fines of £40 (I believe that's the current rate) would easily net them £2,000 (the cycle – sorry, no pun intended – lights is about 1'40"-1'55" and at least half a dozen cyclists run the light just going north!). Sooner or later, someone is going get killed. I've had arguments with cycling friends when another cyclist gets killed by a lorry turning left. Tragic as it is, it's the cyclist's fault. It's very difficult for lorry drivers to spot a cyclist that's close to their left hand side, and it's just common sense that you never assume a lorry driver has seen you unless you've made positive, distinct eye contact. If the vehicle has indicated that it's turning left, you should really be on its right anyway. If they don't indicate, well, alas that happens too often, but you should consider who's going to be worse off in a collision. Anyway, two wrongs do not make a right. I have to say that I find the vast majority of drivers patient, courteous and given most cyclists' bad behaviour, surprisingly respectful. Perhaps, while they're making a fortune ticketing cyclists running red lights they could also fine the drivers who ignore the cycle boxes at busy junctions.
I think you miss a couple of points and problems. For cycles vs scooters, ebikes are a better model:
* they confer the same advantage of easy propulsion
* they are more stable and probably less bad in an accident for the rider
But the big problem with scooters, to me, is that they are more dangerous to ride, so need a safer environment. The low centre of gravity makes it much easier to fall off unpredictably, and in traffic that could easily be fatal. Even from a perceived safety angle, who wants to be an electric scooter driver next to a lorry or a bus?
Likewise they cannot mix with pedestrians comfortably. Even if it is objectively safe, for elderly people and small children, it is not at all pleasant.
Where this points to is that segregated cycle lanes and / or traffic free zones are needed to make scooters safe for the majority.
I have more scooters and bicycles and my e-scooter gets a lot of use. THis is thanks to all the police I’ve chatted who turn a blind eye unless you’re ‘being a twat’.
They really don’t care, and don’t want to waste their time hassling someone it’s just going from A to B (responsibly).
I have a funny feeling, though that while more people cycling reduces health costs for a region, (and they can justify building cycle tracks due to the savings for the health service), speaking from personal experience, you’re more likely to end up visiting a doctors or hospital, when riding a tiny wheeled scooter on our crappy potholed roads.
Out here in the villages of Cambridgeshire, you’ll see a lot, fewer yobs on e-scooters. they are mothers, taking the kids to school, you will see them parked outside shops and leaning on tables and pub gardens.
But it only takes one knob on a de-restricted scooter, having a close shave with someone on a pavement, for the perception to change.
When it comes to personal transport which is convenient and can be taken into any building, the scooter is hard to beat. Unless you own a particular British made folding bike. ;-)
As per it does come down to proper usage, I'm all for things like it. However when I see people on dirt bikes over protected common grounds, or teens on e scooters all over the place I can't help but hate it.
Having gone down a local alleyway to the park and with my dogs and having some go down too fast swearing at me to get out of the way , nearly hitting my dogs in the process I can't help be biased.
Cars are ridiculous though in wasting space and we should move away from them for sure.
Like all things , can be used well or it can be a menace like a bad driver on the road. Maybe we need to tackle a cultural problem too.
Also look at Netherlands a country that used to look like ours built for cars that tore it all up and moved to public transport and bikes. Great case study
Regarding footnote 7. Is that in total, per journey, per 100 miles? Without the context it's not a very useful statistic.
As an out-of-touch Zone 2 Londoner who cycles everywhere, I'm actually quite keen on getting an e-scooter. I can get a bit knackered towards the end of the week, so an e-scooter would be a viable alternative to the tube. But the other commenter makes a good point about safety - don't people fall off them more regularly? I'd need a bit more reassurance before I make the plunge.
Don't quote me on this but my understanding from people much smarter than me is that the risk profile is somewhere more than a bike, but less than a motorbike.