DUELING COLUMN: Scooter Rentals Offer Safe, Accessible Transport

Damielys Duarte/Staff Writer

We all remember the woeful tales of our parents and their struggle to find transportation. Back in the day you had public buses, taxis and, in the case of most struggling college students, bicycles.

In this new generation, transportation has reached new commercial heights. Uber and Lyft have dominated previous taxi territory, and Lime and Bird are the latest scooter rental companies to take over the ride-sharing scene.

Like all things, some people are resistant to the change of pace taking over our busy Miami streets. But with 342 acres of property at the Modesto Maidique Campus, there’s no better place than FIU to begin the scooter rental movement.

For starters, fast and accessible transportation has never been easier. With Bird’s mobile app, for instance, you can locate the nearest scooter in your area and ride to class at 15 miles per hour. You can skate to your heart’s desire for a measly fee of 15 cents per minute; simply take a photo of the scooter to end your ride and your card will be automatically charged.

No more headaches in parking lots or fervent prayers that the bus makes it on time.

However, not everyone agrees with the idea. San Francisco has passed laws banning the scooters, and there are even social media pages dedicated to the destruction of the vehicles.

It’s simply because they are a “nuisance.” Some users park them in handicap spots or places that block pedestrian traffic. In a few cases, scooter drivers have swerved into traffic and hit people and cars.

Moral of the story? Don’t be like those people.

It’s not the scooters’ fault that certain individuals like to break the rules. Bird has a solution for this; scooters parked in an incorrect spot or area will charge a fee to the rider. This might make an irresponsible driver think twice before dumping the scooter anywhere.

As for careless riders, there’s not much we can do except implement speed limits for pedestrian walkways and educate them. We can’t bar students from utilizing an innovative and often necessary mode of transportation just because of a few reckless individuals.

Innovation has never been a smooth process, but at least we can say we were a part of it. 

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Featured photo from Wikicommons.