Last Updated on July 28, 2021 by Nikole
You may have noticed that, for quite some time, there have been scooters on the side of the road ready for people to rent. Unfortunately this isn’t the case due to Covid.
They are no longer out for rent because there aren’t enough people to maintain them and keep them sanitized. There were also cases where people kept getting hurt after wrecking them. See our disclaimer, as we are not responsible for any injuries that may occur while scootering.
This is why Clark (my husband) and I bought our very own electric scooters. We actually get asked allot why we bought them. Below I will go over why they are awesome to have! You never know, you may come to find you enjoy them too!
I have made a list of why electric scooters have been enjoyable for us, and why they can be for you! Also I will give you some of the downsides to riding, and possible solutions for those downsides.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are ‘affiliate links’. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.
Why Ride Electric Scooters?
Super Fun
Honestly, this is the main reason we decided to purchase an electric scooter, they are just so dang fun! We started riding Bird and Lime scooters at Virginia beach, and we were amazed at the speed and the thrill it gave us. I mean who doesn’t love effortlessly zooming around while site seeing and shopping.
It became harder and harder to find the scooters because of new scootering laws and the pandemic, so we bought our own to haul with us on our adventures.
Less Gas
Okay, realistically it doesn’t save a whole lot on gas, but that’s just another excuse for us to ride them. Whenever we visit a big downtown area or city we pack them up so we don’t have the hassle of missing turns in the car or sitting in traffic.
Beat that Downtown traffic
This makes me so happy when people are sitting in their cars waiting to turn or trying to get around a wreck. We just zoom on by to our next destination.
It’s also convenient to have an electric scooter if you can’t find a parking spot near by and have to park half way across town.
Don’t Have to walk as Much
If you have ever toured the museums in DC you know there’s a lot of walking involved and it’s nearly impossible to find a parking spot. We parked about a mile away from everything because it was so crowded.
The next day we found some rental scooters and visited the rest of the museums from our hotel instead of taking the car out. ( We were able to see more the next day than we did the first day because we had an easier commute.)
It’s also convenient when you have a parking garage across the street, and you have a scooter you can take back and forth. (I’m thinking I may just be lazy).
Easier than a Bike
We used to take our bikes to the beach and pedal along the side walk. Well we got hot and tired really quick, and I feel like we weren’t able to do as much as we liked. With a scooter, you are just standing and pushing the throttle.
Fast
Most basic electric scooters will take you up to 15mph. I feel like that’s pretty fast for a scooter.
We went on a greenway in North Carolina just to test out the speed compared to a bike. I rode the bike and Clark rode the scooter and vise versa… neither of us could keep up with the scooter while riding the bike.
Easy to Store
Most scooters are able to fold over, unfortunately our Bird scooters don’t. But with the right tool all we have to do is unscrew a small screw and the top and bottom can be taken apart from each other. We can easily fit them into the trunk of my civic or in the bed of his truck.
Downside
There are a few downsides to consider, But I feel like the positives outweigh the negatives.
Battery usage
The biggest downside to an electric scooter is the battery life. We have Bird scooters and they seem to last around 28 miles….. But you can find some that may last up to 40 miles.
When in DC we were able to use the Lime scooters most of the day starting around 8 A.M. and they became sluggish when we headed back to the hotel around 6 P.M.
Fast
This can be a positive and a negative. Though electric scooters are fun the faster they go, it can be dangerous next to roads and crossing intersections. For example, when we rented Lime scooters in DC, cars seemed to pop out of nowhere and Clark almost got hit by one when crossing the road.
Please use caution when riding electric scooters! Wear a helmet, and always watch out for cars and other people.
Hills and Breaks
I find going down steep hills with the electric scooters to be a bit sketchy. I feel as if I’m going to flip the scooter. I’ve learned to put all of my weight on the back of the scooter when traveling down hills, and this seems to do the trick most of the time
Our scooters have breaks on the handle bars and the traditional one that you find on the back tire you can stomp on, but I still feel like it’s going to flip over if I’m going too fast.
Laws
A few years back Bird scooters were a huge thing, but they dumped their scooters into towns without asking the Government for permission. They are generally looked down upon, and in many states there are laws against riding them in certain areas.
For example, in DC it was illegal to ride them around the side walks that surrounded the Lincoln Memorial, (But there were still people doing it). So it’s really just a matter of whether you want to risk a ticket, and researching some laws before you go out scootering.
Conclusion
Electric scooters are extremely convenient when exploring cities, but we mainly do it for the pure joy of it. I hope you can find rental scooters out there, and if you can’t I hope you can find some great deals when looking at purchasing one. Let me know if there are still areas that will rent them out, I would love to know.
