1 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: Santa Monica is your typical California beach town. It's seaside 2 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: boardwalks are lined with palm trees, fringed by milky sand, 3 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:17,439 Speaker 1: always packed with people. If you wander along the beach path, 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: you end up at the world famous pier, which has 5 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: started shows like Baywatch and movies like Forrest Gump. The 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: pier is full of food stands, fishermen, tourists and street performers, 7 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 1: guys like Davey Peterson. I'm a street performer on the 8 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 1: Santa Monica Pier in California. I sing and dance. I 9 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:44,480 Speaker 1: do hip hop, pop rock and Latin musy. Baby, how 10 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: was I? That's so? Davey's got this dramatic act. He's 11 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: out there shirtless and oiled up and a gladiator style 12 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: skirt and a mask of zoro hat, dancing, kicking and 13 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: singing like he's in a karaoke bar. He's been dancing 14 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:06,399 Speaker 1: on the pier for years now and says a new 15 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: crowd has encroached on his turf lately, people writing electric scooters. 16 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: I was performing for a group of people, maybe several dozen, 17 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: when I was hit from behind by a bird scooter. 18 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: Santa Monica became ground zero for the electric scooter sharing 19 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: boom last September when a startup called Bird began spreading 20 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: the vehicles all around town. And as I was lying 21 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 1: there on the deck, I looked up and I saw 22 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: a young man with a scruffy beard looking down at 23 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: me from a Bird scooter. And he looked down at 24 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: me and he said, what the f dude, and then 25 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: he took off. So it was a hit and run. 26 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: It was only the next morning the davy realized how 27 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: badly he'd been hurt. So I went to the emergency 28 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: room at u C l A, where I found out 29 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: that had a broken arm and that my right bicep 30 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: had actually been severed from my lower arm. I had 31 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: to have my biceps surgically reattached to my lower arm, 32 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: and that's a major surgery that takes at least a 33 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: year and a half to two years to completely recover from. Hi. 34 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: I'm Joshua brusting in for Bradstone and Olivia Cavill, and 35 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: this week on Decrypted, we're exploring the unintended consequences of 36 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: a sudden rise of scooterter sharing services scoota. Startups like Bird, Lime, Scutin, 37 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 1: Spin have arrived in over a hundred cities around the world. 38 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: While some people think scooters could usher in a whole 39 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: new era of urban transport, others view them as a danger. 40 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,919 Speaker 1: Patients with scuota related injuries have been streaming into emergency departments, 41 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: with everything from gravel rash to concussions. These injuries are 42 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: obviously unintended, and although some might argue they were foreseeable 43 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: with scooters, the question now becomes are these things as 44 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: safe they should be and who bears responsibility for the 45 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: accents that do happen stay with us. Starting late last year, 46 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: scooters appeared virtually overnight in dozens of cities around the US. 47 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: Many people love jumping on a scooter and cruising to 48 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: their next destination, or just scruising around for as little 49 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: as a couple of bucks. Then they could leave the 50 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: scooter wherever they liked, ready for the next rider to 51 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: pick up. Here was a service that was an immediate 52 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: hit with consumers. It was also one that should have 53 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: appealed to city officials in search of ways to reduce 54 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: car use, or at least that's what the invistas who 55 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: poured hundreds of millions of dollars into them saw the 56 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: first two scooter sharing companies, Bird and Lime, said they 57 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: were shocked by the unexpected and instantaneous public enthusiasm for 58 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: their product. They were also taken aback by how polarizing 59 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: they became. Scooter companies have drawn criticism as law breakers 60 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: because they often failed to run their plans by city officials. 61 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: People who didn't use the scooters saw them as an 62 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: eyesore in a nuisance, and within months, sensational stories about 63 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: grizzly scooter injuries were hitting the headlines. Safety issues were 64 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,919 Speaker 1: driving a major backlash from city governments in Santa Monica 65 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 1: and elsewhere. Officials rushed to set up permit programs and 66 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: begin quizzing applicants about their plans for public safety. Scooter 67 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: companies have always said they're doing their best. They've suggested 68 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: people wear helmets and even given away helmets for free, 69 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: but their biggest message on safety is that scooters aren't 70 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:47,840 Speaker 1: actually the problem carsa and reshaping the streets to make 71 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: them safer as a job for the city governments themselves. 72 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,039 Speaker 1: Hundreds of scooter injuries have been reported in the United States. 73 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,080 Speaker 1: Getting a total headcount is nearly impossible, though, because no 74 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 1: one's compiling firm statistics. I've heard stories about elderly pedestrians 75 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: being knocked unconscious on footpaths, teenagers with severe facial burns, 76 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: writers with no helmet flying head first over handlebars, and 77 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,480 Speaker 1: in some cases, even death. This morning, we are waiting 78 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: to learn the identity of a twenty one year old 79 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:21,000 Speaker 1: killed in a crash in Cleveland over the weekend. Yeah, 80 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: she was hit downtown writing an electric scooter. A man 81 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: riding an electric scooter is dead after being hit by 82 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: an Suvly is a sad first for Dallas. A writer 83 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: of the new electric scooters died after falling. It happened 84 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: over the weekend. I spoke to a physician in Atlanta 85 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: who recently treated a patient with a traumatic brain injury 86 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: who was unconscious for days after an accident. Another doctor 87 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: said that more than a hundred patients have wound up 88 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: in one emergency department in Los Angeles from scooter related injuries, 89 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: with some learning and intensive care for weeks. Wally Gurabi, 90 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: an emergency room doctor at one of u c l 91 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: A's medical centers in Santa Monica, told me the most 92 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: common scooter injuries are usually to the face. Just think 93 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 1: about you know your face, landing on the asphalt, danting 94 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: your face and tattooing your face with all sorts of uh, 95 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:15,719 Speaker 1: you know, lacerations that will take a plastic surgeon to 96 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: work for hours and try to clean your face and 97 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: get the dirt off your face so you don't tattoo 98 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: for the rest of your life, he said. He says 99 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: a lot of orthopedic injuries that happen when people stretch 100 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 1: out their arms while trying to break their fall. You 101 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: start by breaking your wrist as one, then transmit the 102 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,360 Speaker 1: force to the elbow and then transmitting all the way 103 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 1: to the shoulder along the ribs, breaking the ribs, the 104 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: ribs sponsoring your lung. After we started looking into scooter injuries, 105 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,360 Speaker 1: people came out of the woodwork willing to share their 106 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: personal stories. We heard from Daria Kent in California, Victor 107 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 1: San Andreas and New York and pay to Flex and 108 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: Los Angeles. I took the scooter out of the car 109 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 1: and I was scooling down the hill going home and 110 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: the breaks launch on their own. As about that time, 111 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: my scooter power kicked in, took off at full speed 112 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: and I fell off the scooter and he had a 113 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: big smile on his face just went to kind of 114 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: a look of terror, and then he just smashed right 115 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: into the front of my bike. I don't remember anything 116 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: up to the point where I was flying in the air. Unfortunately, 117 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: my helmet didn't protect my chin and it was severely bruised, swollen, numb, 118 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: and purple for several weeks. I think the only thing 119 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: keeping my teeth from shattering where my invisiligned braces. I 120 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: gotta had a concussion because I hit my face and 121 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: my right to nail came off. And I am now 122 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: in six weeks of painful physical therapy so I'll be 123 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: able to bend my leg as I'm learning to be 124 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: able to walk again, and my left hand I have 125 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 1: berminent damage my small finger. Um. I cannot make a 126 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 1: fifth anymore. He landed on his forehead, and he was 127 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: laying on the pavement, um with his forehead bleeding and 128 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 1: and initially in a really unresponsive state, his eyes rolling 129 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: around a bed and um and just not really moving 130 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: his body, um um, just looking to be in a 131 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: state of shock. It's pretty gruesome, but it's important to 132 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: put these anecdotes into perspective. People have taken well over 133 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: twenty million rides on Lime and Bird in less than 134 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 1: a year. For context, in more than one thousand cyclists 135 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: were killed in the United States, and there were almost 136 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,200 Speaker 1: four hundred and seventy thousand cycling related injuries, according to 137 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:56,360 Speaker 1: the Centers for Diseased Control and Prevention. Interestingly, doctors told 138 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: me that you're actually more prone to accidents riding a 139 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: scooter than a bike. When you're peddling on a bike, 140 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 1: your entire body is engaged, you're paying more attention to 141 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: your speed and other hazards on the road. But on 142 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: a scooter you kind of lulled into a sense of complacency, 143 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,480 Speaker 1: just relaxing, cruising along, pushing a button to accelerate. Then 144 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: when you do hit something or knocked off the scooter, 145 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 1: you fall unprepared, unengaged, and more often than not, unprotected 146 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: because most people don't use helmets. When I've been on 147 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: a scooter, I didn't have one around. But actually not 148 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:31,680 Speaker 1: wearing a helmet is by far the biggest safety issue, 149 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 1: according to pretty much all the doctors I spoke to. 150 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: You know, we can fix broken bones in the arm 151 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: and shoulder, and we can stitch you clean you up. Wow. 152 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: You know if you beat in your head, there's always 153 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: some damage that you're not going to be able to 154 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: that that will be ferment. All scooter writers in California 155 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: have been required to wear a helmet by law, but 156 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 1: Bird recently convinced the state to change the rules. Governor 157 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: Jerry Brown signed the bill last month that allows adults 158 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 1: to cruise California streets on scooters without a helmet, just 159 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: like the cannon bikes. It takes effect on January one. Okay, 160 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: so scooters aren't as safe as they should be. I 161 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:21,200 Speaker 1: think that's actually something that pretty much everyone agrees on. 162 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:23,679 Speaker 1: The scooter companies say that a big part of the 163 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 1: answer is for cities to create protected lanes and do 164 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 1: other things to slow cars down. Bird didn't make anyone 165 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 1: available for an interview, but they did send a statement 166 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 1: in which a company spokesperson said, as Bird partners with cities, 167 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 1: we are putting safety front and center of what we do. 168 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,760 Speaker 1: But Taylor Bennett, director of public Affairs at Lime, so 169 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 1: the responsibility laid both with private companies and city officials, 170 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:48,559 Speaker 1: and so there's an onus on us, and there's a 171 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,680 Speaker 1: notice on cities to really make sure that we're putting 172 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: safety first, and we are looking at our roadways in 173 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: a way that considers these new mobility options. Urbanists have 174 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:03,840 Speaker 1: been talking about this for decades. American cities are fundamentally 175 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: built for cars, so for now, scooter writers in many 176 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 1: cases have to choose between sharing the road with cars, 177 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 1: which is dangerous, or sharing the sidewalk with pedestrians, which 178 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: is both dangerous and illegal. The scooter companies have been 179 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: careful to limit their own legal responsibility. Both Bird and 180 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: Lime have clauses and their user agreements steering riders into 181 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: binding arbitration. They also have clauses prohibiting class actions, but 182 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:32,560 Speaker 1: the strength of those agreements is already being challenged by 183 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: personal injury lawyers like Katherine Leara, who was based in 184 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: Santa Monica. When I saw these scooters out on the 185 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,559 Speaker 1: street in front of our house, I immediately thought, Wow, 186 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: these are dangerous and someone's going to be injured. Soon 187 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: after that, Catherine put a page up on her website 188 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:51,439 Speaker 1: calling for scooter victims to get in touch, and she 189 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: said the response was swift. The phone started ringing and 190 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: they haven't stopped since then. Catherine says she's now receiving 191 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: a call a day from a fresh scoot of a dim. 192 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: She blames the companies, which she says is putting profit 193 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: over public safety. Earlier this month, Catherine filed a lawsuit 194 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 1: against burden Lyme on behalf of nine people who have 195 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: been injured by scooters, one of them as Our Street 196 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: performer Davy Peterson. Catherine said she plans to file at 197 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: least a dozen more personal injury claims and coming months. 198 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: I fully placed the blame on the scooter companies for 199 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:28,440 Speaker 1: the injuries that are happening. They dumped these scooters on 200 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: the cities without first consulting with the cities and making 201 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 1: sure the proper rules and regulations were in place um 202 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:40,920 Speaker 1: and so the cities were blindsided by these and had 203 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:45,640 Speaker 1: to scramble to educate the public about the rules that 204 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 1: apply and come up with new rules that apply. And so, 205 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,559 Speaker 1: had they worked with the cities before they dropped these scooters, 206 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,800 Speaker 1: I think a lot of these injuries would have been avoided. 207 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: Cities are catching up to the scooter craze by launching 208 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,680 Speaker 1: silet programs. In August, Santa Monica launched a pilot that 209 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: allows two thousand scooters from four companies, Bird, Lime, Lift 210 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:12,960 Speaker 1: and Jump. Portland Oregon also has a pilot program underway, 211 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: and so does l A. To name just a few, 212 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,080 Speaker 1: scooter companies say they're writers will be safer as more 213 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,600 Speaker 1: scooters hit the streets and drivers get used to seeing 214 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 1: them in the road. They also say education campaigns and 215 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: better scooters will also improve safety. Taylor from Lime told 216 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:32,040 Speaker 1: me the company has just released its third generation scooter, 217 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: trying to make them safer with every upgrade. Lime's latest 218 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: model comes with bigger tires which are more durable to potholes, 219 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: breaks on the back wheels not just the front, a 220 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: sturdier frame, and jewel suspension. And Taylor also said they 221 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: always advise riders to wear helmets. Our stances, you should 222 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: always be wearing helmets. We just ordered a quarter million 223 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:56,080 Speaker 1: helmets and going to give those out at the local level, 224 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: making sure folks have access to free helmets. Taylor told 225 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: me that he knows helmets don't look cool and that 226 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: they're kind of awkward to carry, so the company is 227 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: investigating collapsible helmets as a future option. The scooter companies 228 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:13,000 Speaker 1: are also calling on local officials to make city infrastructure 229 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,319 Speaker 1: more scooter friendly. They want protected bike lanes and designated 230 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: parking to protect both riders and pedestrians. I asked Taylor 231 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,320 Speaker 1: whether the company knew putting these scooters on the streets 232 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 1: would inevitably result in some accidents. Yeah. I think when 233 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: you roll out a new technology, there's going to be 234 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: um some positives and some and some things that require 235 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 1: some fixing and tweaking. And you know, this is brand new, 236 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: like as quickly as it unfolded. It's it's our job 237 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 1: to help address those and and that's you know, with 238 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 1: our new scooter and all of the safety products, and 239 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: that will continue to evolve and be enhanced. So I 240 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: used to ride a push scooter to school when I 241 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: was a little kid, but I have never been on 242 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 1: an electric scooter. I know that you recently went to 243 00:14:57,560 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: San Francisco. Yeah. I think one of the things that 244 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: you'll immediately notice from being on one is that that 245 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 1: memory of being a kid and being on a scooter, 246 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:06,880 Speaker 1: and it's a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, 247 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: I'm an adult man and I'm riding on a scooter. 248 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 1: It felt a little bit silly, but it's kind of fun. 249 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:16,360 Speaker 1: Put me in like the moment, were you on the sidewalk, 250 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: were you on the road, how are you riding it? Yeah, 251 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: so when I was there, I had read up on 252 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: scooters with a a little bit and knew that you were 253 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 1: not supposed to be on the sidewalk. So I grabbed 254 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: the scooter. I went straight into the street and I 255 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: took off. There was a bike lane on the street 256 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 1: I was in, so that was fine. It starts off 257 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: really quick. I was a little bit surprised by that. 258 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: And then it took me like a half a block 259 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 1: or a block, and then I felt like I was 260 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 1: cruising around pretty comfortably. Then I cut onto a street 261 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: that didn't have a bike line and it was pretty narrow, 262 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: and then I got nervous. The cars seemed very close 263 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 1: and you really feel exposed. Yeah. One of the things 264 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 1: I'd be afraid of it was someone opening up a 265 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,440 Speaker 1: car door and just knocking me out. Yeah. Absolutely. Um 266 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,040 Speaker 1: And for me, like, I had a backpack on, so 267 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: that was fine. But I think people who are carrying 268 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: things might have trouble. Yeah. I feel like i'd struggle 269 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: because I usually carry a handbag to work, and I 270 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: was thinking if I was going to ride one on 271 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 1: that kind of mile distance that I walk from the 272 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: subway stop to the office, I don't know where i'd 273 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: put my bag. Yeah, my my three year and a 274 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 1: half year old daughter actually commutes to school on a scooter. 275 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 1: It's not an electric scooter, but and she carries a bunny, obviously, 276 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: and so we tie the bunny's arms around the handlebars, 277 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: and that works for her. Maybe that would work for 278 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,240 Speaker 1: your bags. It's so cute. So we have scooters in 279 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: over a hundred cities around the world, and for most 280 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 1: of the people I talked to, they believe that scooters 281 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 1: are here to stay and that they're going to be 282 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: a permanent fixture in our cities. Do you do you 283 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: actually think that they're going to change the way we move? Yeah, 284 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 1: you know, I do think that there is some something 285 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: to this argument. In San Francisco, where I wrote on them, 286 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: there's this this distance about half a mile too, maybe 287 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: two miles. It's too long to walk, you don't want 288 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,120 Speaker 1: to get in a car, Trains not going to take 289 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 1: you there, And having these scooters all over the place, 290 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: at least downtown, you could just jump on one and 291 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: ride there in five minutes or whatever. It felt good 292 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 1: like this was actually a practical way to get around 293 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:14,720 Speaker 1: in a dense city center. So let me ask you, 294 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: likes someone who hasn't been on a scooter and has 295 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,679 Speaker 1: just spent a while kind of really delving into how 296 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,920 Speaker 1: dangerous these things are, do you think that the fear 297 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,120 Speaker 1: of injury might keep you off of them. I think 298 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 1: it was definitely a bad idea for me to talk 299 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: to doctors about traumatic brain injuries where patients were unconscious 300 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 1: for days before I even jumped on board a scooter. 301 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:36,879 Speaker 1: I like the idea of them. I think that they 302 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,160 Speaker 1: would be really fun to ride, but I'm also an 303 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: overly cautious person, so I feel like, after all these interviews, 304 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: I'm definitely not going to get on board. So one 305 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: less rider, one least writer, for sure. So let's get 306 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 1: back to another scooter skeptic. David Peterson, the street performer 307 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 1: who got hit on the Santa Monica Pier. He had 308 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: a few ideas for measures his city should consider, and 309 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: I think that the scooters should be required to have 310 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,280 Speaker 1: license plates. When I was lying there on the deck 311 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 1: looking up at the person who hit me, there was 312 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:15,720 Speaker 1: no way to identify him once they took off. The 313 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: scooters should also have to make a little noise, like 314 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:20,200 Speaker 1: a hum or something, so you can hear them coming. 315 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,400 Speaker 1: Davy's right that pedestrians will have to learn to look 316 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,879 Speaker 1: out for scooters as they zip by, but ultimately the 317 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: decision to jump on board comes down to the writer. 318 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,239 Speaker 1: If people don't feel safe on scooters, that could be 319 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,240 Speaker 1: a big problem for the companies, no matter who is 320 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:39,160 Speaker 1: technically to blame. Would I get on any scooter again, 321 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:43,320 Speaker 1: or even suggest somebody else did, No way, not on 322 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:54,400 Speaker 1: a bet. I think I'll stick to skydiving. And that's 323 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,119 Speaker 1: it for this week's scripted Thanks for listening. Have you 324 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: been in a scooter accident? We want to hear your story. 325 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,400 Speaker 1: You can email us at decrypted at Bloomberg dot net 326 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 1: or I'm on Twitter at lib Carbo and I'm at 327 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:09,920 Speaker 1: Joshua Breustin. If you're a fan of the show, please 328 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:11,880 Speaker 1: take a moment to rate and review us. It helps 329 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 1: new listeners find the show. This episode was produced by 330 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:19,960 Speaker 1: Peter Gadkari and Magnus Hendrickson. Our story editor was Anne Vandermy. 331 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:24,560 Speaker 1: Thanks also to Brad Stone, Aki Ito, Emily Busso, and 332 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: Liz Smith. Francisco Levi is head of Bloomberg Podcasts. We'll 333 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:32,960 Speaker 1: see you next week.