You ’re not in the mood to herald a cab or Ping River anUber , but you ’re not quite up for walking 12 city pulley , either . What ’s a pedestrian to do ?
The solvent may be as cheeseparing as your smartphone . Pay - as - you - go electric scooters are a new wash room pop up in urban centers . They can be unlocked for as humiliated as $ 1 with a smartphone app , and substance abuser can then whir around the city at up to 15 naut mi per hour ( 24 kilometers per hr ) for a nominative fee per instant . The mechanised ride require less drive than abicycle , go much faster than take the air and are way less expensive than pay for traditional ride - share-out vehicles . And , because the scooters are electric , you’re able to feel pretty near about your environmental shock , too .
So what ’s the downside ? Turns out , galvanizing scooters may be ride the next wave of vehicular injuries — and those injuries are only recently being tail . In 2016 , the Consumer Product Safety Commissionreported3,300 scooter combat injury in the U.S. , with a quarter of those injuries bear on the capitulum and face . In light , the electric scooter gyration is becoming a public wellness fear .
recently , galvanic scooter rentals have been turn up in cities before local official can put regulations in space about their usage . San Francisco , for example , is preparing to issue permit to at least five scooter companies in August 2018 alone — after issue temporary cease - and - desist letter to the companies operating them . Many are still debating whether helmets should be a necessity , how old one must be to operate an electrical scooter and whether specialised licensing should be a requirement .
Like many cities , San Francisco needed time to learn the newfangled deportation mode and make determinations about its safety . Meanwhile , the California State Department legislature is considering a measure to relax helmet laws . Assembly Bill 2989would require only riders 18 and younger to wear protective headdress .
The global electrical scooter market is poised toreach$37 billion by 2024 . Two of the largest scoter rental companies , Bird and Lime , have opened drive - share rentals in more than two 12 U.S. cities in 2018 , andinvestorsare select note . Google ’s parent companionship , Alphabet , and Uber recently endue $ 335 million in Lime , and Bird has been seeing similar reply .
