So Lime scooters who I am sure all you Ameribros are familiar has launched the ride-share scooters here in New Zealand. 600 in total in my hometown of Auckland.
After riding on one to see what the hype was about I formulated my opinion on them. It essentially boils down to this: Excellent in the theory, horrible in reality.
The scooter itself felt good to ride on the pavement and flat areas in general. However, riding uphill it struggled and needed to be pushed and downhill felt scarier than any downhill MTB trail I've ever ridden, with the speed limiter constantly fighting with me to break the scooter. The breaks themselves were very weak for how fast they are allowed to go.
After only 2 weeks I've seen these clog up footpaths, been thrown in waterways and put in rediculous spots where you couldn't ride to normally. They are too fast for footpaths and sidewalks and felt too dangerous for the majority of public areas. On the road you are in battle with the traffic and I felt more of a nuisance than anything else and I was fearing for my life on rough surfaces thanks to the hard wheel design of the wheels and the excessive turn radius of the fork.
The rules for using them cannot be enforced like having a drivers licence or wearing a helmet and riding with only one person. (on multiple occasions I've seen people riding them with up to 2 others on them).
Overall I think they are too dangerous for the average person and are more of an eyesore without actually helping with traffic management. Also they are expensive as fuck too.
What do you bros think?
A quick word on blocking ads
It looks like you are using an ad blocker. That's okay. Who doesn't? But without advertising revenue, we can't keep making this site awesome. Click the link below for instructions on disabling adblock.
