Re:Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100
by disordinary on Thursday January 09, 2020 @02:43PM
(#22004797)
In Wellington, New Zealand Uber (Jump) replaced their entire scooter fleet a few weeks ago after just six months of operation, their main competitor (Flamingo) will probably have to do the same as their scooters now look worn and tired vs the Jump ones. Lime has been booted out of a couple of markets locally as they had safety issues, all those scooters are probably in a land fill somewhere.
> In terms of any environmental benefit, I highly suspect more gasoline is being consumed to collect and distribute scooters than the offset of a few last mile transports.
The report I read stated that if longevity could be extended (which is already being worked on, per above), scooters would be net-negative CO2 wise. However right now, they are net-positive. You are correct that moving the scooters around incurs a carbon hit, but also power generation is dirty, as is producing a scooter that only last for a few months.