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Two-wheeled electric vehicles have benefited from improvements in battery technology:
As car companies make strides toward expanding the reach of electric cars in the U.S., the same is happening in the world of two wheels. Outside the U.S., motorcycles, mopeds and scooters are vital, affordable forms of transportation that alleviate congestion. They also run on fossil fuels, and many of the smaller motors are more polluting than regular cars.
In the U.S., these smaller vehicles largely have been leisure devices. But as battery technology improves and cities get denser, some startups are seeking to produce cheaper and greener mopeds, scooters and motorized bikes. When John McChesney reported on e-bikes for NPR in 2008, they were pretty much a new thing in the U.S. Electric bikes have a long history but re-emerged after the turn of the century.
Meanwhile, dockless bikesharing programs, popular in China, have made their way to the U.S. The bicycles are located using GPS, unlocked using smartphones, and parked almost anywhere. Entrants such as LimeBike, Mobike, Spin, and Ofo are competing against existing bikeshare initiatives and public-private partnerships that use fixed docks. Dockless bicycles have made their way across the nation, sparking skepticism, 911 calls, and thefts.
Cycling gadgets: the invisible trackers and dockless bikes shaping 2018
Dockless bike-sharing startup LimeBike is working on creating virtual parking spots
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 30 2017, @02:36PM (1 child)
We've got dockless bikes here in Seattle and they've rapidly become a nuisance. Idiots leave them wherever they feel like, often times blocking the sidewalk. Vandals have been tossing them off bridges or into our waterways. People ride them without helmets since the companies don't provide them with the bike.
The whole thing is idiotic. People who want to ride bikes have some rather affordable options for purchasing one. There's numerous used bike shops here that sell decent bikes for relatively little money.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday December 30 2017, @06:12PM
People do that with "normal" docked bikeshare bicycles, although some will bring their own helmet. That point is not unique to "dockless".
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