It’s time for scooters to come to Dayton

Your new scooter?

Every major city I’ve been to lately, has them. Even minor college towns like Oxford. Electric scooters are everywhere. To pay by the minute, as you slalom through town. Companies like Bird, Lime and of course the granddaddy of four letter transportation company names, UBER are all in the scooter rental biz.
But, here’s the thing, you can buy one of these and unlike a bike, throw it on a carry strap and take it into your office, a restaurant- and keep it handy. As the person who introduced Dayton to B-cycle and bike sharing, I’ve been keenly watching these scooters challenge bike sharing- with their dockless distribution and lower cost model.

When you combine a scooter with the new Free RTA Flyer downtown shuttle- you can easily reach fringes outside the B-Cycle loop- for that “last mile” functionality.

My big question is why wouldn’t you buy your own? I’ve been thinking about one of these for a while, and just saw this deal on Amazon for the SWAGTRON City Commuter Electric Scooter, 18mph on 8.5“ Run Flat Cushioned Tires, Cruise Control, Phone Mount, APP Controlled, Foldable, Portable – Swagger 5 Elite Official Ride of The Chicago Cubs

Not sure why I think I want the scooter of the Cubs… but, here’s the thing, it’s on sale for $271. Buy one for you- buy one for your kids. And, voila- reduced carbon commutes to the grocery store, a run to Ben & Jerry’s, or just a quick way to get from A to B. With our bikeways- some of you might actually be able to commute on one. Just make sure to always wear a helmet- and consider getting a safety vest to be seen, since they haven’t over run Dayton yet. As a motorcyclist- I also highly recommend gloves anytime you are on 2 wheels- just because if you do go down, scraped skin on the palms really sucks (first hand experience long ago).

The reviews of this scooter are generally good. I’m pretty sure most of them are made in the same factory in China, and just rebranded. If you want to look at the Swagtron site- the scooter is $350 with a $50 off coupon, so Amazon has that price beat.

You want folding- to make it easy to store. It has an app that’s of questionable functionality.  Some allow you to lock your scooter- this one doesn’t. The scooter has a headlamp- which is absolutely critical.

If you do buy it- and kill yourself, I’m already writing this disclaimer- use at your own risk. Since you’ll be on Dayton’s bleeding edge of users, the risk increases until drivers get used to them. And, as a motorcycle rider- I can tell you drivers with cell phones still haven’t figured out motorcycles or bicycles yet, so be safe.

These are a lot of fun though, just like they were when you were a kid. Only thing is- this supposedly supports up to 330 lbs!

Happy scooting Dayton!

 

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