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WHEN THE BAD GUYS
COME TO TOWN |
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It's always kind of fun to watch the good guys/bad guys go at
it. And we've got a ripsnorter going at it right here on the streets and
sidewalks of San Francisco.
The good guys are represented by none other than Ford Motor
Co., which remarkably wants you to get out of your car and rent one of
their Ford GoBikes. They have responsibly contracted with the
city and placed "docks" in many neighborhoods, especially the
downtown area, where customers can grab a bike (for a fee) and return it
to the same or another dock at their leisure. Everybody wins.
Then, last month, whooping and hollering, the bad guys rode
into town. It might be hard to picture a bad guy on an electric scooter,
but give it a try. Suddenly, without warning, the streets and sidewalks of
San Francisco are the home of renegade scooter rental companies making
people reminisce about the wild, wild west.
There are no laws to regulate these rental scooters. Three
companies, Bird Rides, LimeBike and Spin, swooped in to take advantage of
our lawless city. Politicians and the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA)
are scrambling to come up with some regulations, but in the meantime it's
a free for all.
In my role as intrepid reporter, I decided to find out
firsthand what the fuss is all about. My office in San Francisco happens
to be right in the middle of this new wild scooter country, and there's
nothing more exciting than joining up with a bunch of outlaws.
"I'm going to find myself a renegade scooter," I
said to my office manager one day last week. "Wish me luck."
She reacted much like my wife would. "You're too old to be on a
scooter," she replied. "You'll look like an idiot."
It's true that these scooters, which you stand on like a
skateboard, are not particularly designed for 63 year olds, but intrepid
reporters don't worry about things like that. I just grabbed a baseball
hat, put it on backwards, and headed out the door.
I hadn't walked more than twenty steps before I ran smack
into a Bird Rides scooter parked on the sidewalk, directly in my path. It
beckoned me to take it for a ride, or at least move it out of the way.
I downloaded the Bird app on my iPhone, which took 20
seconds, entered my credit card information, and then read the simple
instructions, one of which stated that San Francisco requires scooter
riders to wear helmets.
"Huzzah!" I cried, even though no one could hear.
"San Francisco does have laws regulating scooters!"
Like the thousands of other riders who have rented these
scooters, I completely ignored the law. A helmet store was nowhere to be
found, and besides, I was already feeling like an outlaw. I was going
rogue.
Since I hadn't ridden a scooter for about 50 years, I was a
little wary. It wouldn't look good for a big, bad outlaw to topple over,
especially without a helmet. But riding was surprisingly easy, and within
moments I was cruising along at the maximum speed of 15 miles per hour.
Despite being a big, bad outlaw, I stayed off the sidewalks,
which are also illegal to ride on. I stopped at signals and didn't go the
wrong way on one-way streets. I meandered around for 39 minutes and 3. 5
miles, dodging cars and buses, and ended up in the financial district. The
cost was $6.85.
I responsibly parked the scooter on the sidewalk, out of the
path of pedestrian traffic. It had been fun, and I had survived, but now I
had to get back to my office near Fisherman's Wharf. I could have taken
the scooter, but I had seen a Jump electric bike chained to a lamppost,
and I wanted to complete my bad guy experience.
Owned by Uber, Jump actually has a nine-month trial permit
from the City, but complaints are pouring in because their bikes are also
dumped erratically on city sidewalks, causing consternation among many
pedestrians.
Using my Uber app, I unlocked the bike. 2 1/2 miles, 22
minutes and $2.17 later, I was back at my office, where I chained it up
for the next bad guy to ride.
"You survived," said my office manager. "What
did you think?"
"Given the choice, I'd rather walk and get some
exercise," I replied. "But if I ever had to get somewhere fast
and avoid the traffic gridlock, I'd rent the scooter or electric bike
again."
In other words, I'm pretty sure the bad guys are here to
stay. Now all the City has to do is regulate them and turn them into good
guys. |
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