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Brookline to be flooded with scooters - and you know a lot of them will wind up in Boston

By adamg on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:13am

NBC Boston reports Brookline has given two companies approval to load up the town with battery-powered rental scooters starting April 1. Brookline, of course, is shaped like a paramecium surrounded by a Boston-sized amoeba, so now the question is what happens when the gizmos wind up left on streets in Boston - where they're still technically banned as city officials try to figure out how to regulate the things.

Neighborhoods: 
Brookline


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Comments

By Tony on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:21am.

Can't wait for these scooters to infiltrate Boston -- I have all the apps (Bird, Jump (Uber), Lyft, Lime) downloaded and setup. I'll ride the scooters into the sunset before Boston can pick them up.

But on a more serious note, Boston should take some pointers from San Antonio, TX, which has clearly painted scooter zones on each downtown street. They also have restricted zones (around the Alamo, for example), which prevent users from parking/locking scooters where they shouldn't be.

By hux on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 5:24pm.

"clearly painted scooter zones on each downtown street"

We still can't get pedestrian and bike safety right, nevermind scooters.

By capecoddah on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:26am.

city officials try to figure out how to regulate the things.

According to the leftist playbook, as seen in issues like teen pregnancy and dope shooters, Boston should.....

give out free helmets to all citizens.

By anon on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:36am.

maybe a helmet could have done you some good

By Republican on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 2:58pm.

Fresh. That should show him.

By anon on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:55am.

Wut?

By anon on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:57am.

Scientific and investigative findings pointing toward effective policy interventions, with data to verify efficacy.

Sorry if that's a foreign language to you.

By Will LaTulippe on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 11:55am.

1) Teens (expletive)

2) People do drugs

Respond to incentives and allocate public funds to mitigating the consequences of both. And remember: This is your friendly neighborhood Libertarian-leaner talking.

By OriginallyFromDotParker on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 1:35am.

Buuuut...could you clarify how distributing helmets reduces teen pregnancy and intravenous drug use?

By anon on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 8:29am.

Teen pregnancies have dropped to the lowest levels in decades and continue to decline the results of which are directly linked to free access to birth control and sex education. So yeah, take that libtards I guess?

By OriginallyFromDotParker on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 6:30pm.

is related to the distribution of helmets for scooters?

By lbb on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:27am.

now the question is what happens when the gizmos wind up left on streets in Boston

Probably something like this.

(like just about everything to do with the so-called "gig economy", this strikes me as a damn hard dollar, but not at all implausible)

By anon on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 2:01pm.

They load up an extra scooter or two on their own scooter presumably to charge them.

Which, really, huge savings for the company - no wages or benefits to give, no company vehicles to use and maintain, and no use of company electricity to charge their public obstacles.

I hate them so, so much.

By deepfreeze on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:42am.

Well, they are GPS-tracked, so I wonder if one could just use that info to cut the power when it crosses the town line?

By GoSoxGo on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 10:14am.

line that would lock the wheels when the scooter attempts to cross, like they do with shopping carts at the edge of parking lots... Oh wait, that could end badly for the scooter operator.

Or they could get the TLF to guard the border.

In all seriousness, they could probably hire someone to track down wayward scooters and bring them back to Brookline.

By ScottB on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 12:36pm.

But they could instruct the scooter to gradually slow to a stop and then refuse to operate until it has been moved back within the geofence. There's also the option of fining users who repeatedly take the scooters outside the town limits.

By surprisefries on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 3:45pm.

but the wheel locking up would be way more fun

By OriginallyFromDotParker on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 6:32pm.

to hurl these stupid scooters back into Brookline city limits with the fury of a thousands suns.

It's about time to monetize my Aggy Dorchester Temper, haha

By Gary C on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 12:57pm.

If someone wants to pass through Boston from one point in Brookline to another, that should be OK. They just shouldn't leave it in Kenmore Square when they are done.

By Finkle on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 10:21am.

Just here for the usual comments about how unsafe these things are but cars are fine.

By bostnkid on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 12:09pm.

ghost scooters will be everywhere.

rip Mr Butch

By adamg on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 2:55pm.

We're talking little Razor-like things you have to stand on with batteries, not the ones that look like baby motorcycles.

By OriginallyFromDotParker on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 1:35am.

I remember the good ol' days when leaving something on the ground after you used it once signified that you didn't value that something.

And, whoooo...perhaps another post for another day but the City of Boston is long overdue in proclaiming it "Mr. Butch Day" and designating Commonwealth Ave and Harvard Avenue "Mr. Butch Square."

https://thecheesetapefactory.bandcamp.com/album/the-mr-butch-show

By Jeff F on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 2:43pm.

Seems like a revenue generator for Boston. Send crews around to pick up the abandoned property each night. Lock them in impound. Charge the companies a few bucks each to get them back.

Even if the whole process is gauged to be only revenue-neutral, wouldn't it still be a win for the populaces of both cities?

By anon on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 2:03pm.

The scooter companies used the same dumping-without-permit tactics that they used in the Boston area - it generates interest and demand, and gets consumers hooked, thereby making it more difficult for the city to issue a blanket ban (which there was for a hot second), and instead forces them into negotiations for permits.

One of the companies failed to submit required documentation by the deadline, so the city rounded up all the scooters and deposited them in impound. It was really satisfying to see them loaded up, knowing how expensive and difficult it is to get anything out of impound here.

They're back though. As usual, the little cat and mouse game plays out, a little extra money is paid, and documentation is magically "in order" again.

I doubt that, the additional income notwithstanding, Boston would want to put the energy and resources into constantly finding and impounding scooters. And I'm positive the scooter purveyors would negotiate their way to a "workaround".

By Republican on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 3:02pm.

Will these end up being thrown into the harbor and vandalized by angry Bostonians who don’t like change? Like the lime bikes. Can’t wait for the 311 reports of a whicked smart Bostonian who can’t figure out how to walk around a parked scooted without filing a complaint.

By anon on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 4:02pm.

are not old time Bostonians who grew up and live in the city. Neither are the anti-automobile extremist.

By Scratchie on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 4:13pm.

Can’t wait for the 311 reports of a whicked smart Bostonian who can’t figure out how to walk around a parked scooted

Or some "weak" person in a wheelchair?

By Deepfreeze on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 8:02pm.

The Charles is more easily accessed from Brookline.

By anon on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 4:29pm.

These are going to make great space savers! Too heavy to easily move out of the way when i want to save a space when i go away for a few days.

By OriginallyFromDotParker on Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:22pm.

Scooter space saver wars in Brookline would be VERY on-brand for Brookline aka "The Less Hot Version of Boston."

By ElizaLeila on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 9:10am.

I don't think Brookline has overnight on-street parking ...

By OriginallyFromDotParker on Sat, 03/16/2019 - 12:24pm.

Even tough because those turkeys are running Brookline apparently.

By Ron Newman on Fri, 03/15/2019 - 8:01am.

The entire south side of Commonwealth Ave, from almost Packard's Corner to St. Mary's Street, is in Brookline.