Originally Posted by
jon c.
I don't know if scooter rentals really are more popular. They're getting a ton of of press right now, but I haven't seen evidence that they're actually very popular. Indeed, a lot of the problems seem to come from supply greatly exceeding demand. From what I've read, the few places where scooters are seeing much demand it seems to be largely recreational. Time will tell whether either actually prove to be popular enough to be viable, but I suspect bikes have a better chance in the commuter market. If scooters are more than a fad, their future may be more in the leisure market.
From a totally utilitarian POV, e-scooters are the smallest electric vehicle possible. In terms of lane space and parking space, they have the smallest-possible footprint of any vehicle that can carry a human adult besides roller skates.
So if humans really want to have motorized transportation, it makes sense to have something closer to an escooter than a car, unless they want to take multi-passenger vehicles as public transit, carpooling, ride-sharing, etc. The most irrational transportation choice is to drive the largest-possible vehicle with the least number of people in it; e.g. everyone driving around in SUVs or even larger vehicles. That irrationality/waste scenario is the best possible outcome for business and growth, because more spending on larger vehicles per capita results in more steel purchased, more fuel, more paving, etc. etc.
More of everything per capita amounts to more work and spending per capita, which amounts to more economic activity, growth, and jobs. It is the terrible irrationality of the business-growth orientation, but too many people subscribe to it over the more sane values of efficiency, sustainability, and environmental impact reduction.
So escooters are the smallest-possible electric vehicle, but larger version, more like mopeds, could gain popularity instead, even covered-mopeds. Bicycles are really the most efficient sit-down vehicle, i.e. because they are human-powered and humans want to get as much speed out of their pedaling as possible, but there's no reason everyone needs to drive around in a big 4-wheeled motorized car, even if it's just a sub-compact; because even sub-compacts require a lot more pavement for driving and parking than a bicycle or scooter.