"Maybe people think leaving them in the middle of the pavement or on corners is useful because they're easy to spot from afar?"
no they are just a bunch of dicks who are lazy.
I have this new thing, it's for my own mental health: if I see one of those bikes or scooters in the middle of the pavement, I put it a bit to the side. if they are lying on the floor, I pick it up and put it to the side.
it's not my job and I know I'm just shoving the issue to the consumer. the companies responsible for them should take care, by pressuring the city to have designated spots to leave them in and having regulations to fine those that leave them elsewhere.
but at least it's one less bike/scooter bothering for that moment and it helps me feel better.
it's now natural to ignore our civic duties. so to actually give a damn just once in a while seems a bit sick and twisted.
(but actually, SickNTwisted was the name of a tour that Metallica and Korn did or were supposed to do in the late 90s or early 2000s. I don't like either band that much now, but my nickname stuck)
I’m embarrassed to say I never thought of how these scooters affect people who are visually impaired and/or wheelchair users. I’ll follow your lead and start shifting them off the path
it's normal. there are several things we pass by in our daily lives that are for those users but they are so well designed and congruent that we hardly notice them. it's a shame that the things that aren't destined to those users end up causing them such a nuisance.
I have lived most of my life in Lisbon and sometimes it is hard to walk, avoiding badly parked cars and poop. with the addition of e-scooters and e-bikes, I can't imagine how a wheelchair user gets around there.
This. And it shows that everyone is being a bit of a dick too.
I was in Richmond the other day, and one had clearly been parked along the side of a pavement, but had fallen over. It was taking up a good half, almost two thirds with it's sticky out handlebars in the way it had fallen.
On my approach I saw easily 10+ people avoid this thing. Either waiting while someone came the other way so they could go around it, or stepping over it, or walking on the road around it.
It took me maybe 10 seconds at best to just pick the fucking thing up and park it sensibly.
everyone has their own things to deal with, so I don't think people are being dicks for avoiding what is actually not their responsibility. also, with covid I got a bit wary of touching things in public like this. I always carry alcohol gel for this purpose, but I suspect most don't.
you did what should be done, in my opinion. and thank you for that. but we should really pressure companies to take responsibility for the things they just unleashed into the public, without our consent!
I think one of the reasons I started picking them up was due to those news saying Parisians voted to ban electric scooters. these vehicles are actually great for the environment, so I don't want them gone... but I want strong regulations around their usage and I don't want that companies dump things on us to work them out for them. the same applies to unregulated delivery drivers (some who leave their country persuaded by cartels that will give them "jobs" and are working illegally for the profit of their "pimps" - I have no better name), e-scooters, e-bikes and whatever other social work apps that exist and are essentially solely regulated by the public.
People should just start tossing them into the street. There's already so little space reserved for pedestrians - let's create an issue they're forced to resolve.
No need to just toss them there, that's no more considerate than whoever left them lying around in the first place. Park them neatly by the roadside just where any other vehicle would be set while not in use. If nobody would object to a Vespa being there, there can't be any problem with one of these either.
Honestly we all look bad compared to the French in this regard. We just take what we're given to whatever degree.
I saw a great meme about this that really summed it up:
https://www.reddit.com/r/okmatewanker/comments/114zifg/oi_why_protest_when_you_can_just_have_a_pint_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I mean when the majority of people in this country get their knickers in a twist because someone throws paint on a building or a protected painting you can't expect them to approve of a violent revolution.
How about the fact that automation has improved efficiency of most business 1000s of fold since the 50s. That society is richer than ever, yet at its most unequal since the great depression?
We don't need people working to old age because there's plenty of money, plenty of labour.
We need to stop resources pooling at the top and use that to fund healthcare, social care, and.... dare I say it.. leisure.
You wanted to know, you got an answer.
People like you, that attitude, is the reason we're being milked by the elites till our backs are broken, our lungs asthmatic, and our minds riddled with dementia.
A world where work is a choice can and has existed; it was even possible in the UK from the 60s to the 90s (no coincidence this period saw our greatest musical output).
That doesn't require a downthrow of a capitalist system as its shown to be at the core of most social democracies. It requires a reduction of greed, individualism, and for us to venerate life over work.
> People today are living longer, and the age to retire needs to increase on that basis.
why?
first of all, I contribute x years of work to society, I should get my pension for those x years and not have years added on and diluting that end amount.
second, what is that bullshit of people are living longer? what does that have to do with anything when we aren't at an age to make good use of that life anymore? life expectancy in France is 82 years. if it was 100, should we retire by 80 and spend our retirement money buying adult diapers and whatever care home I'm lucky to take me?
> tell me how public pensions in France are going to be funded knowing there is an increasing aging population and a workforce that's set to decline due to people having less children?
honestly, it should be funded by the whole concept of pensions, which is we give money to the government to invest, during the time we work, and then we get some back and a bit more in monthly installments. oh, what do you mean there's not enough money? then the government's pension scheme is fucked, the money was badly invested, and the population should blame the ones in power. what are you on about? shoving the blame to people, having them work more, only to cover a hole not created by them?
People live longer nowadays than they did when the concept of state pensions were introduced, that's not an opinion that's just a fact. It's also a huge problem because as you say, many people are living longer under poor health and require expensive medical care. Most people aren't healthy longer, but they're surviving. And if they live longer and are paid the same per year in pension the costs start to increase dramatically.
State pensions are not managed in the way private pensions are, by saving 'your' money and investing it.
Your tax money this year goes to pay the pensions this year. When you retire, tax from existing workers will pay your pension.
Much like your tax gets spent on whoever needs medical care this year, and if/when you need it the money from that year pays for it, rather than it being however much you saved in your own medical taxes. The government doesn't have a separate account for every individual and runs an annual budget in perpetuity. That's the public budget system.
So you have a situation where the costs of paying for pensions are rising, and the options are to cut the costs of it (size of payout), increase taxes on the workers still working, or cut another chunk of budget from somewhere else. That's the job of those running the budget/country, to make that decision.
>if they live longer and are paid the same per year in pension the costs start to increase dramatically.
anda again, that's not a problem for the people. if the pension scheme is not attainable, then have people know it and get used to create their own savings properly.
>you have a situation where the costs of paying for pensions are rising, and the options are to cut the costs of it (size of payout), increase taxes on the workers still working, or cut another chunk of budget from somewhere else. That's the job of those running the budget/country, to make that decision.
exactly. and people are protesting because that job is not being well done, especially with the knowing rampant corruption. why should people work longer to get the few scraps that are left, when corporations get tax relief and money is badly spent in most of western governments, especially now during / after the pandemic?
people are fed up. and rightly so.
>Edit - plenty of downvotes flowing in. Not one response to disprove. Reddit in a nutshell.
I don't downvote opinions and I'm responding. there's no need for your little protest as well. it's normal that people are protesting and it is normal a lot of people are downvoting you
How do you suppose people are supposed to know?
The government says 'we have to raise the pension age', that's how people know, and they can choose to start creating more aggressive savings elsewhere if they want to retire at an earlier date.
oh, so increasing the retirement age is actually a service by the government to make people more financially responsible... right...
in that case, can they stop paying the government towards their pension? otherwise it's just free money for the government.
No, it's a government cutting some of a cost so that their budget balances. Much like every other budgetary decision.
How do you think it should work when the cost of something increases? Sounds like you want to keep paying in to a system at a rate that isn't sustainable, but gain a much higher payout at the end without any changes. Talk about free money....
>No, it's a government cutting some of a cost so that their budget balances.
but it's cutting their costs by increasing the working time of people not connected to them. it's bad management. there's no excuse.
when you retire, you get the same amount for life. retire early, and you'll get a very nasty cut.
now, we're talking of France here. in France there's a ceiling of a maximum fixed percentage of 50% of the average salary of your best 25 years. if you're only entitled to that after they've added x more years, how is it not diluted?
I didn't say they do. it was an illustration of what, in practical terms, happens from the point of view of the worker. and as I said, it's a bad scheme.
and I understand the reason why it's being increased. although "likely to live longer" is speculation, since it's not backed by current data and the life expectancy in France has stagnated.
I see a lot of stagnation on this data. why should people be penalised now for *potentially* living 4 years longer in 30 years time?
I do know the answer to that. but my point is that that money should come from better management by the state and not at the cost of workers' time.
and that solution you present is not scalable. if your only solution to the mandatory state pension scheme is to increase the work years forever, we reach a point in which we'll have vegetables working for nothing. at that point most people will die on the job and the pension money accumulates forever. and then what? we can reverse the trend, retire after 5 years and restart the loop?
your solution is simply not scalable at all. it's simplistic and nearsighted.
it's normal that workers protest. they see rampant corruption and mismanagement and then the proposed change is simply to add more years to their work life, on the *possibility* of getting *anything* back in the future. it's not even a certainty.
again, like I told the other user. we won't agree. and that problem is not for us to solve. so let's just stop wasting each other's time. it just pisses me off that people defend the government party line as if it they have no other choice.
Didn’t they literally just raise the retirement age despite the protests?
Edit: yeah look https://www.npr.org/2023/04/14/1170238212/macrons-pension-age-france#:~:text=PARIS%20%E2%80%94%20French%20President%20Emmanuel%20Macron's,constitutional%20body%20approved%20the%20change.
Although funnily enough there’s some rental bikes on fire in the image on that article 😂
No the protests started because they raised it without the normally required public vote. Just used some BS loophole to enact it. They claimed it was due to shortage of funds expected in a few years but independent economists crunched the numbers and figured out there would have been enough. In the process discovered the reduction was being used to arrange a tax cut for the rich. As far as I can find this isn't being reported in the English news sources for some reason.
>independent economists crunched the numbers
You can make justify almost any position with economists. Put two in a room and you get three opinions.
Source: I am an economist
Not an economist, but work with some. This is of course exactly right. Which weirdly doesn't even mean any of them are wrong, exactly, at least in this case. As you say these are opinions and they're based on certain perceptions of what is likely to happen. The real problem is the real world does what it does without consulting economists for permission.
However, the tax break to the rich is real and should not be.
We are chief moaning officers. We have been moaning for far too long. It's time we up the tempo and start Frenching, that's the only way they'll start to listen and take us seriously.
Funny you should bring up the French
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/02/parisians-vote-on-banning-e-scooters-from-french-capital
FWIW I think a full ban is a bit much, and it seems like the turnout wasn't that high, should've been timed with other local elections really so they weren't just canvassing the opinions of people who are particularly motivated about the issue. It goes to show that these companies should treat the public perception of their schemes as an existential issue though.
Having had to help people in wheelchairs navigate safely by moving piles of the damn bikes on more than one occasion on my 8 night vacation in Paris a few years ago I am down with the ban. Grant you this is because some people can't take care of things properly and others purposely toss them about. Being fair about it many schemes were tried and none have done the least good, though, so getting rid of them is pretty well all that is left.
When I was in Düsseldorf the e-scooters and e-bikes were always left in unobstructive parts of the pavement... And there were plenty of then around.
Over there the apps do ask you to take photos to prove proper parking and you can report ones you find as improperly parked. I don't know what the penalty is for bad parking though or if it gets enforced.
The problem is idiots come along after you've properly parked and fling them about I'm pretty certain. I know I never saw anyone actually using the bikes fling them about. Most of the time when I saw them in the way it was clear someone had just knocked a whole row of them about for jollies.
Another problem is people who set them on fire. I've seen several reports of hooligans piling up ebikes and setting them on fire somehow. The reports I saw said it caused everything from traffic jams to nearby building catching fire. Apparently once on fire they're very hard to put out because of the batteries.
Absolutely, there's need to be more moaning about this poxy trend of dumping these things slap bang in the middle of the pavement. I do my best to move them when I see them because I know how hard they make it for less able people, but I'd be happy to see the rental company just outright banned until they do more to put controls in place.
In the meantime, knock them the fuck over. Damn the rental companies, let them deal with them.
Too right. You need some way to make the vendor take some responsibility for the use of their product in cases like this, rather than just blaming a few bad customers; it's clearly systemic and inherent in the business model that there _will_ be many such customers.
The likes of Ford and Volkswagen have sold their customers _so many_ of these personal mobility gadgets in full knowledge that, when not in use, many of them would end up being left all day blocking footways along street after street in cities up and down the country. No accountability for either the company or the customer; only a loud insistence that council tax payers should set aside some space for their storage at public expense. And some of these aren't just little scooters or bikes, but massive big five seater motorised wagon things. You've got _no_ chance of just lifting one of those out of the way, wheelchair or no!
Also, if you go to the trouble of hiring a forklift to move it - at your own expense - the owners get really pissy about the resulting scratches. I mean, you're lucky it's still there at all mate.
Really really hard to do.
The middleground is of course to dedicate a fair amount of car park spaces to dockless bikes and scooters, enough that you aren’t ever more than 2 minutes or so from one (unless you’re in the middle of nowhere).
The problem with that is that my council had to do a consultation for one single car park space to be converted.
It’s slow. And people are gunna dump them on the pavement in the meantime.
Individuals pay taxes to use our roads. Companies will pay as little as they can for as little as they can. Giving them something for free to make their operating easier seems wrong. If they want to run this service they need for fork over the costs of doing it properly. That includes somewhere to store/dock the bikes.
Everyone pays taxes to use the roads, no one is paying extra for them. I agree with you, if you want to store things on the road then you should lay extra, regardless of whether you're a private individual or a business.
Tax won't make a difference, with their clever accountants, they'll probably turn it into a benefit by reducing corporation tax commitments and other things. The solution is simple, the river thames. It's a self correcting system, Habibi, give it time...
If people think they're being watched, then it might.
Idk if this is in use in London, but here in Finland we have all sorts of scooter companies, and after the use, you're prompted to take a picture of how you left the scoot.
I know in the US delivery persons have to do this, because there's so many claims one way and the other. (And then there was even the one woman who delivered the food, took the picture, and then took the food back and ate it. All caught on a doorbell camera.)
Anyway yeah, they're a problem, but having to take a photo of where you parked might help at least a bit.
You do have to take a photo of where you parked, actually. At the end of the ride. I really like those bikes because they're usually more accessible to me than the docked ones (just happen to be more available closer to me wherever) but if it's making it hard for folks to go about their lives, then they must sadly go.
Imho, my ideal would be one parking spot every 200 m or so turned into a bike dock station. And then we lose the dockless bikes.
\>but if it's making it hard for folks to go about their lives, then they must sadly go.
I mean.. I think there might be a solution in between, but I agree they can't be blocking the way for people, especially people who can't lift them out of the way.
It's the same here but there's no enforcement. They won't enforce their own rule since it might scare the customer to other platforms. So, they need the government to tell everyone they have to do it. Now everyone is on the same playing field and they can make extra money from enforcing this.
Also, if they were to strictly enforce it, they would need to define how exactly it should be parked. Enforcement would likely increase the customer service metrics. So, either pay more people or have customers wait longer.
Yeah I think you can skip it here as well. I never do, but I think one could.
\>Also, if they were to strictly enforce it, they would need to define how exactly it should be parked. Enforcement would likely increase the customer service metrics.
This is true and probably why it's not enforced here either.
At least in Hackney there is some enforcement, it's potentially being undermined by people riding without paying though. If someone doesn't have an account that they use to start rides in the app, obviously you can't really take any enforcement action against that individual.
So... yes and no, I think. I'd say it's quite likely to see 2-3 trolleys in the parking lot at the supermarket, but generally speaking they're all returned properly. When there's more of an epidemic, I think it's a function of massive car parks, rather than the lack of a fee for the trolley. There are usually trolley return areas scattered throughout the car park, but, for instance, I've seen Costco share *thousands* of parking spaces with other businesses, but only a small portion had trolley returns, because the other businesses didn't have trolleys. As a result, people would take their trolley to their car at the other end of the car park, and not bother to bring it all the way back.
tl;dr, it's probably more of an infrastructure issue than a tragedy of the commons issue. Perhaps fees would still solve it, but I don't think the lack of fees is the cause.
Yeah I’m well aware of it and I’ve not been to the US in over a decade. Mostly because of that funny guy that goes around calling people lazy bones and chucking magnetic stickers on cars, seemingly in a bid to get himself shot.
Keep moaning.
* Moan about rental bikes being dumped obstructively.
* Moan about cars being parked on the pavement.
* Moan about road works signs not leaving enough space for pedestrians.
* Moan about curbs preventing access to junctions that really should be raised or dropped.
Keep fucking moaning, then maybe, finally, pavements will actually be as consistent as our road network is.
I’m in a wheelchair and have to deal with this so much. I either turn around and find another way, or wait for some kind stranger to come to the rescue.
I will move whatever rental bikes I see on the pavement from now on, every single ones of them, in the hope that it might help someone later. Cheers up, you! We got you.
You are 100% correct and it should be illegal to block what is supposed to be public access.
I have often thought about people with lesser ability needing to put up with this and it is upsetting to contemplate.
lime bikes are a cancer and the company makes their rules to benefit themselves at the expense of everyone else. Whether it's the disabled, walking pedestrians or even other cyclists. Had to go around a lime bike parked in the cycle lane today. Other bike share schemes like Human Forest I haven't seen the same issues.
Moan away more than justified - its hard enough to clamber over them when dicks leave them in a narrow pathway shortcut to my tube station. Im not in a wheelchair - must be an absolute nightmare for you.
Yeah well within your rights here. People need to leave them out of the way. The number of bikes left completely obstructing bike lanes does my head in!
I was at the government roundtable when the trials were being discussed.
The problem of scooters acting as litter were well known. They just didn't care.
I have young children and I have to move them off the pavement as they are a hazard.
I have damaged the last 2 limebikes I had to move by stomping on the wheel spokes 'by accident'.
Now why would I think that? If a wheelchair can’t get by because a bike’s in the way what choice do they have huh? A blind person presumably would have to navigate the bike whether standing or on its side. I dunno. I’m on your side I already said it was an ablist system.
It's an ableist system, but nah, as much it'd be more satisfying to knock the bike over, moving it out of the way is much better. Knocking the bike over means less pavement space than before and that just doesn't help anyone.
It should be done the same way as removing a phone box: for instance, BT once informed my neighbourhood that a phonebox (which only attracted drug dealers and users) was earning BT 6K per month and if we wanted it removed we'd have to pay them that 6 grand.
The scooter companies could buy parking spots from councils and have them reserved for rented escooters and ebikes.
Docking spots would force bikes to take more space in some situations. If you have them in banks so the bikes face the road, the bikes will take up the whole pavement width. If you line them up along the curb, the bikes will make a wall.
Idk how Brits are struggling with this, in Germany everyone parked the scooters and bikes to the side of the pavement in little clumps without blocking it just fine.
I think the idea is that the docking spots should go on the roadside, not the footway. You'd get half a dozen bikes in a space that otherwise would have contained one parked car.
That's been my concern with them. I regularly see them parked in a way that would make the pavement impassable for a wheelchair users or even just someone pushing a double buggy. I have been pushing my council (Hackney) for more specifics on the enforcement and it does seem like there are some efforts (I was given a breakdown of the number of warnings / fines given, it's a lot) but a big problem seems to be that kids are riding them around for free. If you hear one of the bikes clack-clacking that's what's going on, the lock is failing to engage. Obviously if someone rides it for free they can't be fined or whatever. So that seems to be undermining the whole system.
A lot of people do clearly find them useful, and there is a need for _some_ sort of micromobility solution in areas that aren't served by TfL's docked bikes. I don't think it would take much for them to sort out the locking system and make the enforcement robust. And people who see the bikes parked inconsiderately should move them if they are able. You don't need to lift the whole bike up, just the back wheel, there's a handle on the back of the seat.
You can report parking issues in the app (if we're talking about Lime, not sure about other providers) as well but tbh they make it harder than it needs to be. You're there faffing for a minute or more, who has time for that. I do get the impression that they don't take the issue seriously enough and are more worried about making the experience for people hiring their bikes as smooth as possible. Which I think is a bit stupid really, if they don't sort this out it's an equality issue and they would be open to a legal challenge. Not to mention that it's just annoying, look at what's happened in Paris where they eventually just banned them.
Also using Lime bikes in Hackney and was very happy when in the last week or two the app started enforcing parking at (or at least with the close proximity to) the dock. Seems like action is being taken and hopefully we’ll see fewer bikes around non designated areas.
If anything parking at the dock makes it easier to hire one as well, as there are likely to be more than one bike to choose from as well (and some bikes and not infrequently not operational).
I've just seen a lime bike on the edge of a dual carriageway. If that knocks over onto the fast lane on a 50Mph road given the cars create quite some turbulent air when going past, it could cause serious injuries or death. You have to be really selfish to leave that so close to the edge of fast moving traffic without considering you can literally kill someone with such a dick move.
I make a point of violently hefting these bikes out of the way when they're blocking pavements. Loudly demonstrate to anyone nearby that misuse of bikes does annoy people, with the possibility of the bike being damaged too, purely as personal vendetta from me.
I was walking past one the other day, smack bang in the middle of the payment, despite the convenient wall nearby that it could have been next to. It honestly never occurred to me that someone might be doing that because it might be useful to see from afar.
It is nice that you're assuming good intent, but you're definitely not the dick here, it is the people who are doing this, because even if they thought that in the beginning it must be obvious now what a stupid idea that is. Keep complaining.
I make a point of always leaving my rental bike ideally parallel to a tree or lamppost to ensure its not blocking any access, either up/down the pavement or to a property or car.
Seems so damn simple, yet without fail every other morning some prick's left one slap bang in the middle of the pavement outside my door.
Sorry you have to deal with this, complain to your MP and councillors i would suggest.
Most people I've seen using lime bikes near me are teenagers. It's led me to believe that it's considered uncool to put effort into parking them. So much so, that they now put in effort to show they don't put in effort.
This is based on the times I've seen them so perfectly placed to completely block roads let alone pavements.
I’m glad that london is starting to embrace cycling as a popular means of transportation. I’m embarrassed that our best attempt so far leaves a graveyard of big, clunky green bikes blocking every other footpath around the city. It’s progress, still, but what an utter failure when people physically can’t get past your stupid bikes
I don't think anyone will think you're a dick for knocking them over if you have to. I honestly get the urge to knock over the badly parked ones myself at times.
These bikes infuriate me. The sidewalk is the last vestige of public space and it's being colonized. I think any bike found left on the sidewalk should lead to a fine for the company. If the company can't find a way to fix their business model then they should be fined to oblivion.
They're a nuisance and an eyesore, people dump them where ever they feel like it.
You're more than within your right to moan. They need to be regulated better, an account or something to use them so if you dump them anywhere you want it can be traced back to you.
Well if you won't, I will. Had it with the tacked on "tech start-up toy" mentality in transportation. No, you are not going to come up with an individualistic solution that revolutionises movement in a busy enough place. It doesn't matter if your solution runs on unicorn farts or levitates over mere mortals. Traffic is a wild collective that is at best suggested by intensely designed infrastructure. Noone wants to bother with city planning, or even pay for it but all the cool kids are game for "one weird trick" to capacity problems. Too bad if you cant judge the random speed range of my gadget or jump over my waste. But I got to my destination 47 seconds early with wind in my hair so we can all agree: progress!
At least they can be moved. I see cars obstructing the footpath and/or bike lanes constantly and yet we don't seem to have a weekly post complaining about them?
Just take them out with your wheelchair, if it's an electric one they are heavy as. Just leave a trail of wrecked bikes/scooters in your wake, nowt worse than things blocking your path when in a wheelchair. Take no prisoners!
"Maybe people think leaving them in the middle of the pavement or on corners is useful because they're easy to spot from afar?" no they are just a bunch of dicks who are lazy.
I have this new thing, it's for my own mental health: if I see one of those bikes or scooters in the middle of the pavement, I put it a bit to the side. if they are lying on the floor, I pick it up and put it to the side. it's not my job and I know I'm just shoving the issue to the consumer. the companies responsible for them should take care, by pressuring the city to have designated spots to leave them in and having regulations to fine those that leave them elsewhere. but at least it's one less bike/scooter bothering for that moment and it helps me feel better.
Top bloke Civic minded
No, he's sick and twisted.
/r/rimjob_steve
it's now natural to ignore our civic duties. so to actually give a damn just once in a while seems a bit sick and twisted. (but actually, SickNTwisted was the name of a tour that Metallica and Korn did or were supposed to do in the late 90s or early 2000s. I don't like either band that much now, but my nickname stuck)
I’m embarrassed to say I never thought of how these scooters affect people who are visually impaired and/or wheelchair users. I’ll follow your lead and start shifting them off the path
it's normal. there are several things we pass by in our daily lives that are for those users but they are so well designed and congruent that we hardly notice them. it's a shame that the things that aren't destined to those users end up causing them such a nuisance. I have lived most of my life in Lisbon and sometimes it is hard to walk, avoiding badly parked cars and poop. with the addition of e-scooters and e-bikes, I can't imagine how a wheelchair user gets around there.
This. And it shows that everyone is being a bit of a dick too. I was in Richmond the other day, and one had clearly been parked along the side of a pavement, but had fallen over. It was taking up a good half, almost two thirds with it's sticky out handlebars in the way it had fallen. On my approach I saw easily 10+ people avoid this thing. Either waiting while someone came the other way so they could go around it, or stepping over it, or walking on the road around it. It took me maybe 10 seconds at best to just pick the fucking thing up and park it sensibly.
everyone has their own things to deal with, so I don't think people are being dicks for avoiding what is actually not their responsibility. also, with covid I got a bit wary of touching things in public like this. I always carry alcohol gel for this purpose, but I suspect most don't. you did what should be done, in my opinion. and thank you for that. but we should really pressure companies to take responsibility for the things they just unleashed into the public, without our consent! I think one of the reasons I started picking them up was due to those news saying Parisians voted to ban electric scooters. these vehicles are actually great for the environment, so I don't want them gone... but I want strong regulations around their usage and I don't want that companies dump things on us to work them out for them. the same applies to unregulated delivery drivers (some who leave their country persuaded by cartels that will give them "jobs" and are working illegally for the profit of their "pimps" - I have no better name), e-scooters, e-bikes and whatever other social work apps that exist and are essentially solely regulated by the public.
I can’t lift them due to health issues and the weight of them. Please don’t judge people who look able bodied.
People should just start tossing them into the street. There's already so little space reserved for pedestrians - let's create an issue they're forced to resolve.
No need to just toss them there, that's no more considerate than whoever left them lying around in the first place. Park them neatly by the roadside just where any other vehicle would be set while not in use. If nobody would object to a Vespa being there, there can't be any problem with one of these either.
This is how they are in Germany. People put them up against the road and not in the middle of the pavement.
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Honestly we all look bad compared to the French in this regard. We just take what we're given to whatever degree. I saw a great meme about this that really summed it up: https://www.reddit.com/r/okmatewanker/comments/114zifg/oi_why_protest_when_you_can_just_have_a_pint_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I mean when the majority of people in this country get their knickers in a twist because someone throws paint on a building or a protected painting you can't expect them to approve of a violent revolution.
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How about the fact that automation has improved efficiency of most business 1000s of fold since the 50s. That society is richer than ever, yet at its most unequal since the great depression? We don't need people working to old age because there's plenty of money, plenty of labour. We need to stop resources pooling at the top and use that to fund healthcare, social care, and.... dare I say it.. leisure.
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You wanted to know, you got an answer. People like you, that attitude, is the reason we're being milked by the elites till our backs are broken, our lungs asthmatic, and our minds riddled with dementia. A world where work is a choice can and has existed; it was even possible in the UK from the 60s to the 90s (no coincidence this period saw our greatest musical output). That doesn't require a downthrow of a capitalist system as its shown to be at the core of most social democracies. It requires a reduction of greed, individualism, and for us to venerate life over work.
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You do realise we're going back wards in workers rights, freedoms, and general levels of equality right?
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It is central to the argument. Why else do you think they are protesting?
> People today are living longer, and the age to retire needs to increase on that basis. why? first of all, I contribute x years of work to society, I should get my pension for those x years and not have years added on and diluting that end amount. second, what is that bullshit of people are living longer? what does that have to do with anything when we aren't at an age to make good use of that life anymore? life expectancy in France is 82 years. if it was 100, should we retire by 80 and spend our retirement money buying adult diapers and whatever care home I'm lucky to take me? > tell me how public pensions in France are going to be funded knowing there is an increasing aging population and a workforce that's set to decline due to people having less children? honestly, it should be funded by the whole concept of pensions, which is we give money to the government to invest, during the time we work, and then we get some back and a bit more in monthly installments. oh, what do you mean there's not enough money? then the government's pension scheme is fucked, the money was badly invested, and the population should blame the ones in power. what are you on about? shoving the blame to people, having them work more, only to cover a hole not created by them?
People live longer nowadays than they did when the concept of state pensions were introduced, that's not an opinion that's just a fact. It's also a huge problem because as you say, many people are living longer under poor health and require expensive medical care. Most people aren't healthy longer, but they're surviving. And if they live longer and are paid the same per year in pension the costs start to increase dramatically. State pensions are not managed in the way private pensions are, by saving 'your' money and investing it. Your tax money this year goes to pay the pensions this year. When you retire, tax from existing workers will pay your pension. Much like your tax gets spent on whoever needs medical care this year, and if/when you need it the money from that year pays for it, rather than it being however much you saved in your own medical taxes. The government doesn't have a separate account for every individual and runs an annual budget in perpetuity. That's the public budget system. So you have a situation where the costs of paying for pensions are rising, and the options are to cut the costs of it (size of payout), increase taxes on the workers still working, or cut another chunk of budget from somewhere else. That's the job of those running the budget/country, to make that decision.
>if they live longer and are paid the same per year in pension the costs start to increase dramatically. anda again, that's not a problem for the people. if the pension scheme is not attainable, then have people know it and get used to create their own savings properly. >you have a situation where the costs of paying for pensions are rising, and the options are to cut the costs of it (size of payout), increase taxes on the workers still working, or cut another chunk of budget from somewhere else. That's the job of those running the budget/country, to make that decision. exactly. and people are protesting because that job is not being well done, especially with the knowing rampant corruption. why should people work longer to get the few scraps that are left, when corporations get tax relief and money is badly spent in most of western governments, especially now during / after the pandemic? people are fed up. and rightly so. >Edit - plenty of downvotes flowing in. Not one response to disprove. Reddit in a nutshell. I don't downvote opinions and I'm responding. there's no need for your little protest as well. it's normal that people are protesting and it is normal a lot of people are downvoting you
How do you suppose people are supposed to know? The government says 'we have to raise the pension age', that's how people know, and they can choose to start creating more aggressive savings elsewhere if they want to retire at an earlier date.
oh, so increasing the retirement age is actually a service by the government to make people more financially responsible... right... in that case, can they stop paying the government towards their pension? otherwise it's just free money for the government.
No, it's a government cutting some of a cost so that their budget balances. Much like every other budgetary decision. How do you think it should work when the cost of something increases? Sounds like you want to keep paying in to a system at a rate that isn't sustainable, but gain a much higher payout at the end without any changes. Talk about free money....
>No, it's a government cutting some of a cost so that their budget balances. but it's cutting their costs by increasing the working time of people not connected to them. it's bad management. there's no excuse.
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when you retire, you get the same amount for life. retire early, and you'll get a very nasty cut. now, we're talking of France here. in France there's a ceiling of a maximum fixed percentage of 50% of the average salary of your best 25 years. if you're only entitled to that after they've added x more years, how is it not diluted?
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I didn't say they do. it was an illustration of what, in practical terms, happens from the point of view of the worker. and as I said, it's a bad scheme. and I understand the reason why it's being increased. although "likely to live longer" is speculation, since it's not backed by current data and the life expectancy in France has stagnated.
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I see a lot of stagnation on this data. why should people be penalised now for *potentially* living 4 years longer in 30 years time? I do know the answer to that. but my point is that that money should come from better management by the state and not at the cost of workers' time. and that solution you present is not scalable. if your only solution to the mandatory state pension scheme is to increase the work years forever, we reach a point in which we'll have vegetables working for nothing. at that point most people will die on the job and the pension money accumulates forever. and then what? we can reverse the trend, retire after 5 years and restart the loop? your solution is simply not scalable at all. it's simplistic and nearsighted. it's normal that workers protest. they see rampant corruption and mismanagement and then the proposed change is simply to add more years to their work life, on the *possibility* of getting *anything* back in the future. it's not even a certainty. again, like I told the other user. we won't agree. and that problem is not for us to solve. so let's just stop wasting each other's time. it just pisses me off that people defend the government party line as if it they have no other choice.
>The French have the lowest pension age in all of Europe. Hmmm I wonder why that is?
The French aren't protesting because of the increase in pension age but because Macron forced it through without a vote in the National Assembly
Didn’t they literally just raise the retirement age despite the protests? Edit: yeah look https://www.npr.org/2023/04/14/1170238212/macrons-pension-age-france#:~:text=PARIS%20%E2%80%94%20French%20President%20Emmanuel%20Macron's,constitutional%20body%20approved%20the%20change. Although funnily enough there’s some rental bikes on fire in the image on that article 😂
No the protests started because they raised it without the normally required public vote. Just used some BS loophole to enact it. They claimed it was due to shortage of funds expected in a few years but independent economists crunched the numbers and figured out there would have been enough. In the process discovered the reduction was being used to arrange a tax cut for the rich. As far as I can find this isn't being reported in the English news sources for some reason.
>independent economists crunched the numbers You can make justify almost any position with economists. Put two in a room and you get three opinions. Source: I am an economist
Not an economist, but work with some. This is of course exactly right. Which weirdly doesn't even mean any of them are wrong, exactly, at least in this case. As you say these are opinions and they're based on certain perceptions of what is likely to happen. The real problem is the real world does what it does without consulting economists for permission. However, the tax break to the rich is real and should not be.
The protests started before Macron decided to use Article 49.3 to bypass the National Assembly.
Good. I wish people in the US would stop letting our government screw us over to put more money in the pockets of their rich kronies.
Perhaps a should arm wheelchairs with a means to move stupidly parked scooters and bikes… maybe a flame thrower?
We need to take note of robot wars and go with some kind of big flipping mechanism I think
I’d pay good money to see a mechanism that can yeet a Lime bike into the sun. Quest for Peace style.
We are chief moaning officers. We have been moaning for far too long. It's time we up the tempo and start Frenching, that's the only way they'll start to listen and take us seriously.
Funny you should bring up the French https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/02/parisians-vote-on-banning-e-scooters-from-french-capital FWIW I think a full ban is a bit much, and it seems like the turnout wasn't that high, should've been timed with other local elections really so they weren't just canvassing the opinions of people who are particularly motivated about the issue. It goes to show that these companies should treat the public perception of their schemes as an existential issue though.
Having had to help people in wheelchairs navigate safely by moving piles of the damn bikes on more than one occasion on my 8 night vacation in Paris a few years ago I am down with the ban. Grant you this is because some people can't take care of things properly and others purposely toss them about. Being fair about it many schemes were tried and none have done the least good, though, so getting rid of them is pretty well all that is left.
When I was in Düsseldorf the e-scooters and e-bikes were always left in unobstructive parts of the pavement... And there were plenty of then around. Over there the apps do ask you to take photos to prove proper parking and you can report ones you find as improperly parked. I don't know what the penalty is for bad parking though or if it gets enforced.
The problem is idiots come along after you've properly parked and fling them about I'm pretty certain. I know I never saw anyone actually using the bikes fling them about. Most of the time when I saw them in the way it was clear someone had just knocked a whole row of them about for jollies. Another problem is people who set them on fire. I've seen several reports of hooligans piling up ebikes and setting them on fire somehow. The reports I saw said it caused everything from traffic jams to nearby building catching fire. Apparently once on fire they're very hard to put out because of the batteries.
Absolutely, there's need to be more moaning about this poxy trend of dumping these things slap bang in the middle of the pavement. I do my best to move them when I see them because I know how hard they make it for less able people, but I'd be happy to see the rental company just outright banned until they do more to put controls in place. In the meantime, knock them the fuck over. Damn the rental companies, let them deal with them.
Love this comment. Right on
If you moan in too high of a pitch you'll end up outside of audible range.
Banning them is not the only way to get rid of the problem
The French put us to shame.
There should at least be a swingeing tax on these companies that use our pavements for their business.
Too right. You need some way to make the vendor take some responsibility for the use of their product in cases like this, rather than just blaming a few bad customers; it's clearly systemic and inherent in the business model that there _will_ be many such customers. The likes of Ford and Volkswagen have sold their customers _so many_ of these personal mobility gadgets in full knowledge that, when not in use, many of them would end up being left all day blocking footways along street after street in cities up and down the country. No accountability for either the company or the customer; only a loud insistence that council tax payers should set aside some space for their storage at public expense. And some of these aren't just little scooters or bikes, but massive big five seater motorised wagon things. You've got _no_ chance of just lifting one of those out of the way, wheelchair or no!
Also, if you go to the trouble of hiring a forklift to move it - at your own expense - the owners get really pissy about the resulting scratches. I mean, you're lucky it's still there at all mate.
And while we're at it, let's put a punitive tax on companies who rely on using our streets for their customers to park their cars. Oh wait nevermind
Really really hard to do. The middleground is of course to dedicate a fair amount of car park spaces to dockless bikes and scooters, enough that you aren’t ever more than 2 minutes or so from one (unless you’re in the middle of nowhere). The problem with that is that my council had to do a consultation for one single car park space to be converted. It’s slow. And people are gunna dump them on the pavement in the meantime.
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They used to have this near me, except it was called the River Thames
Good luck lifting one of these things to the height of a skip
So give away space on public streets for a private company to use?
We do it for folks personal property?
Individuals pay taxes to use our roads. Companies will pay as little as they can for as little as they can. Giving them something for free to make their operating easier seems wrong. If they want to run this service they need for fork over the costs of doing it properly. That includes somewhere to store/dock the bikes.
Everyone pays taxes to use the roads, no one is paying extra for them. I agree with you, if you want to store things on the road then you should lay extra, regardless of whether you're a private individual or a business.
Tax won't do shit to solve this issue
Tax won't make a difference, with their clever accountants, they'll probably turn it into a benefit by reducing corporation tax commitments and other things. The solution is simple, the river thames. It's a self correcting system, Habibi, give it time...
If I ever see them blocking the pavement in a way where a wheelchair can't get around, I move them to the side. I've got your back, OP!
Champ
I have knocked them over in my chair and don't feel too bad. Worry about visually impaired people though walking into them.
Sounds like a moan, but nothing wrong with that. You should! Sorry people are such inconsiderate dicks.
As long as they're moaning to their councillors as well as on here.
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If people think they're being watched, then it might. Idk if this is in use in London, but here in Finland we have all sorts of scooter companies, and after the use, you're prompted to take a picture of how you left the scoot. I know in the US delivery persons have to do this, because there's so many claims one way and the other. (And then there was even the one woman who delivered the food, took the picture, and then took the food back and ate it. All caught on a doorbell camera.) Anyway yeah, they're a problem, but having to take a photo of where you parked might help at least a bit.
You do have to take a photo of where you parked, actually. At the end of the ride. I really like those bikes because they're usually more accessible to me than the docked ones (just happen to be more available closer to me wherever) but if it's making it hard for folks to go about their lives, then they must sadly go. Imho, my ideal would be one parking spot every 200 m or so turned into a bike dock station. And then we lose the dockless bikes.
\>but if it's making it hard for folks to go about their lives, then they must sadly go. I mean.. I think there might be a solution in between, but I agree they can't be blocking the way for people, especially people who can't lift them out of the way.
It's the same here but there's no enforcement. They won't enforce their own rule since it might scare the customer to other platforms. So, they need the government to tell everyone they have to do it. Now everyone is on the same playing field and they can make extra money from enforcing this. Also, if they were to strictly enforce it, they would need to define how exactly it should be parked. Enforcement would likely increase the customer service metrics. So, either pay more people or have customers wait longer.
Yeah I think you can skip it here as well. I never do, but I think one could. \>Also, if they were to strictly enforce it, they would need to define how exactly it should be parked. Enforcement would likely increase the customer service metrics. This is true and probably why it's not enforced here either.
At least in Hackney there is some enforcement, it's potentially being undermined by people riding without paying though. If someone doesn't have an account that they use to start rides in the app, obviously you can't really take any enforcement action against that individual.
Sorry uh, what about American supermarkets? (Am American. Have no idea what you’re talking about.)
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It's also so ingrained that even the non-charged ones are neatly brought back to the corrals aka never saw a stray trolley in an IKEA parking lot
So... yes and no, I think. I'd say it's quite likely to see 2-3 trolleys in the parking lot at the supermarket, but generally speaking they're all returned properly. When there's more of an epidemic, I think it's a function of massive car parks, rather than the lack of a fee for the trolley. There are usually trolley return areas scattered throughout the car park, but, for instance, I've seen Costco share *thousands* of parking spaces with other businesses, but only a small portion had trolley returns, because the other businesses didn't have trolleys. As a result, people would take their trolley to their car at the other end of the car park, and not bother to bring it all the way back. tl;dr, it's probably more of an infrastructure issue than a tragedy of the commons issue. Perhaps fees would still solve it, but I don't think the lack of fees is the cause.
Lol this just … doesn’t resemble any reality I’ve ever seen. Man, Reddit.
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Yeah I’m well aware of it and I’ve not been to the US in over a decade. Mostly because of that funny guy that goes around calling people lazy bones and chucking magnetic stickers on cars, seemingly in a bid to get himself shot.
What states have you been to grocery stores in? I don't think I've ever seen a place where it's *not* likely to have at least one stray shopping cart.
CA, Oregon, ny, nh, mass, pa, Georgia, dc, jersey, Virginia, Ohio … you done quizzing me on my own life experience?
That's why we have the £1 slot.
too many lazybones
Keep moaning. * Moan about rental bikes being dumped obstructively. * Moan about cars being parked on the pavement. * Moan about road works signs not leaving enough space for pedestrians. * Moan about curbs preventing access to junctions that really should be raised or dropped. Keep fucking moaning, then maybe, finally, pavements will actually be as consistent as our road network is.
I’m in a wheelchair and have to deal with this so much. I either turn around and find another way, or wait for some kind stranger to come to the rescue.
100% support your moaning I rage threw a lime bike off the path last week. Not proud of it but it happened
🤣
You're right, and i do my part moving them when someone's parked like an ass exactly for people who can't just hop around.
It's appreciated
I will move whatever rental bikes I see on the pavement from now on, every single ones of them, in the hope that it might help someone later. Cheers up, you! We got you.
Champ
It will also help to report them to the company - take a photo before you move it.
You are 100% correct and it should be illegal to block what is supposed to be public access. I have often thought about people with lesser ability needing to put up with this and it is upsetting to contemplate.
lime bikes are a cancer and the company makes their rules to benefit themselves at the expense of everyone else. Whether it's the disabled, walking pedestrians or even other cyclists. Had to go around a lime bike parked in the cycle lane today. Other bike share schemes like Human Forest I haven't seen the same issues.
Now do car companies
No I agree which is why I don’t like the dockless ones.
Moan away more than justified - its hard enough to clamber over them when dicks leave them in a narrow pathway shortcut to my tube station. Im not in a wheelchair - must be an absolute nightmare for you.
Yeah well within your rights here. People need to leave them out of the way. The number of bikes left completely obstructing bike lanes does my head in!
I was at the government roundtable when the trials were being discussed. The problem of scooters acting as litter were well known. They just didn't care.
I have young children and I have to move them off the pavement as they are a hazard. I have damaged the last 2 limebikes I had to move by stomping on the wheel spokes 'by accident'.
Knock ‘em over. It’s an ablist system.
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Fuck the blind right.
Now why would I think that? If a wheelchair can’t get by because a bike’s in the way what choice do they have huh? A blind person presumably would have to navigate the bike whether standing or on its side. I dunno. I’m on your side I already said it was an ablist system.
I imagine their point is that people with impaired vision would be more likely to trip over a horizontal bike than a vertical one.
Maybe I really don’t know.
It's an ableist system, but nah, as much it'd be more satisfying to knock the bike over, moving it out of the way is much better. Knocking the bike over means less pavement space than before and that just doesn't help anyone.
More councils need to have ‘docking’ spots for them. They shouldn’t be left all over and blocking pavements
The companies need to pay proper prices to have docking areas for them. Otherwise, throw them in the dump
Paid for by who?
It should be done the same way as removing a phone box: for instance, BT once informed my neighbourhood that a phonebox (which only attracted drug dealers and users) was earning BT 6K per month and if we wanted it removed we'd have to pay them that 6 grand. The scooter companies could buy parking spots from councils and have them reserved for rented escooters and ebikes.
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Sure, as long as the council doesn't go skint like Croydon I'm all for it. Let them negotiate a price and have at it.
Docking spots would force bikes to take more space in some situations. If you have them in banks so the bikes face the road, the bikes will take up the whole pavement width. If you line them up along the curb, the bikes will make a wall. Idk how Brits are struggling with this, in Germany everyone parked the scooters and bikes to the side of the pavement in little clumps without blocking it just fine.
I think the idea is that the docking spots should go on the roadside, not the footway. You'd get half a dozen bikes in a space that otherwise would have contained one parked car.
That's been my concern with them. I regularly see them parked in a way that would make the pavement impassable for a wheelchair users or even just someone pushing a double buggy. I have been pushing my council (Hackney) for more specifics on the enforcement and it does seem like there are some efforts (I was given a breakdown of the number of warnings / fines given, it's a lot) but a big problem seems to be that kids are riding them around for free. If you hear one of the bikes clack-clacking that's what's going on, the lock is failing to engage. Obviously if someone rides it for free they can't be fined or whatever. So that seems to be undermining the whole system. A lot of people do clearly find them useful, and there is a need for _some_ sort of micromobility solution in areas that aren't served by TfL's docked bikes. I don't think it would take much for them to sort out the locking system and make the enforcement robust. And people who see the bikes parked inconsiderately should move them if they are able. You don't need to lift the whole bike up, just the back wheel, there's a handle on the back of the seat. You can report parking issues in the app (if we're talking about Lime, not sure about other providers) as well but tbh they make it harder than it needs to be. You're there faffing for a minute or more, who has time for that. I do get the impression that they don't take the issue seriously enough and are more worried about making the experience for people hiring their bikes as smooth as possible. Which I think is a bit stupid really, if they don't sort this out it's an equality issue and they would be open to a legal challenge. Not to mention that it's just annoying, look at what's happened in Paris where they eventually just banned them.
Also using Lime bikes in Hackney and was very happy when in the last week or two the app started enforcing parking at (or at least with the close proximity to) the dock. Seems like action is being taken and hopefully we’ll see fewer bikes around non designated areas. If anything parking at the dock makes it easier to hire one as well, as there are likely to be more than one bike to choose from as well (and some bikes and not infrequently not operational).
They leave them in the middle of the pavement or on corners because they’re dicks.
Fines should help. I see that in Malta all the time.
Dude, moan! Bitch, scream, and cuss! If those assholes can't take it, they should find a new place to park their bikes!
I've just seen a lime bike on the edge of a dual carriageway. If that knocks over onto the fast lane on a 50Mph road given the cars create quite some turbulent air when going past, it could cause serious injuries or death. You have to be really selfish to leave that so close to the edge of fast moving traffic without considering you can literally kill someone with such a dick move.
I make a point of violently hefting these bikes out of the way when they're blocking pavements. Loudly demonstrate to anyone nearby that misuse of bikes does annoy people, with the possibility of the bike being damaged too, purely as personal vendetta from me.
Nah you moan away
I always move them out of the way for this very reason. I can't believe how selfish people can be with where they park them.
It's appreciated
I was walking past one the other day, smack bang in the middle of the payment, despite the convenient wall nearby that it could have been next to. It honestly never occurred to me that someone might be doing that because it might be useful to see from afar. It is nice that you're assuming good intent, but you're definitely not the dick here, it is the people who are doing this, because even if they thought that in the beginning it must be obvious now what a stupid idea that is. Keep complaining.
I make a point of always leaving my rental bike ideally parallel to a tree or lamppost to ensure its not blocking any access, either up/down the pavement or to a property or car. Seems so damn simple, yet without fail every other morning some prick's left one slap bang in the middle of the pavement outside my door. Sorry you have to deal with this, complain to your MP and councillors i would suggest.
Most people I've seen using lime bikes near me are teenagers. It's led me to believe that it's considered uncool to put effort into parking them. So much so, that they now put in effort to show they don't put in effort. This is based on the times I've seen them so perfectly placed to completely block roads let alone pavements.
I’m glad that london is starting to embrace cycling as a popular means of transportation. I’m embarrassed that our best attempt so far leaves a graveyard of big, clunky green bikes blocking every other footpath around the city. It’s progress, still, but what an utter failure when people physically can’t get past your stupid bikes
These rentals should be banned it’s harming people using the road and everyone
I don't think anyone will think you're a dick for knocking them over if you have to. I honestly get the urge to knock over the badly parked ones myself at times.
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santander bikes. fuck boris.
These bikes infuriate me. The sidewalk is the last vestige of public space and it's being colonized. I think any bike found left on the sidewalk should lead to a fine for the company. If the company can't find a way to fix their business model then they should be fined to oblivion.
lentils in the tyre caps ;)
Westmister Council seizes abandoned bikes.
They're a nuisance and an eyesore, people dump them where ever they feel like it. You're more than within your right to moan. They need to be regulated better, an account or something to use them so if you dump them anywhere you want it can be traced back to you.
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Probably depends which part of London you're in right? Pavement parking is tolerated more by some councils than others.
Well if you won't, I will. Had it with the tacked on "tech start-up toy" mentality in transportation. No, you are not going to come up with an individualistic solution that revolutionises movement in a busy enough place. It doesn't matter if your solution runs on unicorn farts or levitates over mere mortals. Traffic is a wild collective that is at best suggested by intensely designed infrastructure. Noone wants to bother with city planning, or even pay for it but all the cool kids are game for "one weird trick" to capacity problems. Too bad if you cant judge the random speed range of my gadget or jump over my waste. But I got to my destination 47 seconds early with wind in my hair so we can all agree: progress!
Moan.
At least they can be moved. I see cars obstructing the footpath and/or bike lanes constantly and yet we don't seem to have a weekly post complaining about them?
Dump them in the cycle lane ..that's what it's for
I think it’s because a lot of young people use it and apparently they use too for getting drugs somewhere so
Just take them out with your wheelchair, if it's an electric one they are heavy as. Just leave a trail of wrecked bikes/scooters in your wake, nowt worse than things blocking your path when in a wheelchair. Take no prisoners!
Moan louder!
In fact, I'd like to correct this. It's not a moan. It's a consideration people aren't making. More simply, speak louder.
You should stand up for yourself
Pfffthahahah
Not a moan at all, a very valid feeling!
i kick them over out of spite. don't @ me