mobility

Over a year ago I sold my petrol scooter because the service was expected to cost more than five hundred Swiss Francs. As a result of this I was without a scooter for a year or two. In that time I missed the convenience of having a small vehicle to take me from A to B with ease, and that I could park with ease.

Sitting Scooters Cost Too Much For Their Range

I considered getting an electric sit down scooter but when I saw the range and the price I decided that this was not a viable solution. I want a scooter that has the range to take me to Geneva and back on a single charge, to go to places like Mediamarkt, Decathlon and the centre of the city. With a 60km range I can barely accomplish that wish.

Years of Deciding Not To

For years I have been tempted by standing e-scooters but what stopped me was price. They cost 600-1200 CHF for years. At this price I considered them to be a waste of money. When I was in Spain I spotted that e-scooters had gone down in price by a considerable amount so I tested three or four scooters. I tried them in Carrefour and Décathlon and they felt fine.

I spent at least two or three days considering whether to get one while in Spain but chose not to. I decided that since they were around the same price in Switzerland I would wait until I was home. I waited longer than that.

Finally at a Reduced Price

I think I waited a further two or three months before committing to getting a scooter. What pushed me to get the scooter I got was that it was the cheapest scooter available at the time. It is currently being sold for 270 CHF but I bought it for 240 CHF. It has a range of 20km at 20km per hour and yesterday I finally got to ride it from the height of Nyon, up to the jura, and back down. In the process I think I used one or two bars of power.

Not as Lazy as I thought

The first thing that struck me as I rode the scooter is that you need to get used to it. You’re higher than on foot scooters so your centre of gravity is slightly higher than usual. This means that you need to familiarise yourself with the feel of this device.

The second thing to realise is that this is a motorised scooter. If you press the throttle and it reaches 20 km/h it will stick to that speed even if you put your foot down. You need to break for the scooter to start slowing down, unlike a human powered scooter.

This scooter has a “cruise control” as I will name it. If you press the accelerator for a few seconds at 20 km/h it will automatically throttle up or down to stick to that speed for when you’re driving at that speed for several minutes.

When you’re going uphill you feel that your primary leg is working to keep you standing upright. It’s not as lazy as I expected. I see plenty of people riding with both feet together but I ride it like a goofy snowboard. I want to be ready in case I hit something and fall.

The Use Cases

There are four use cases that I envision. The first is to go to the shops spontaneously, to get food. With the car I feel that I can go once, or twice per week, not more. With the e-scooter I could go daily. It’s just 2km anyway.

The second use case is to go to Geneva. I can take the scooter to Nyon, catch the train to Geneva, or Lausanne, do what I need to do, and then do the reverse trip.

The third use case is to have it in the car for when I go somewhere. With the scooter I can park where it’s free to park and then go into towns.

The fourth is recycling. The recycling centre for my area is bad to get into with a car due to the narrow roads. With a scooter I could go there and back with two or three days of recycling, without being part of the problem. By using the scooter I have plenty of space on that narrow road, and I can recycle within ten minutes every few days, rather than once per month as I do at the moment.

It has Lights but No Indicators

One of the most serious issues I see, at the moment, is that it lacks indicators. This means that you really need to keep looking behind you, and checking that you’re safe before manoeuvering. I wanted to go left at a roundabout so I went to the left, after checking behind me. I went extra early, as I saw a motorbike. I did the manoeuvre and tried, as far as possible, to stick to agricultural roads rather than main roads.

Situational Awareness

I feel that it’s very important to have good situational awareness at all times on the e-scooter. It’s important to know where cars are and how fast they’re approaching. It’s important to look at the road surface to avoid any holes that could catapult you forwards if you’re not careful.

Eco and Drive

It has two modes, eco, and drive. If you’re on flat terrain then eco mode will work well but as soon as you’re on a steep climb you need to shift to drive mode. I found that it was either going to be too slow or unable to do one steep climb. Luckily I could stop to change mode, before continuing on.

Balance

I see the same two or three people on their scooters on a regular basis and they’re so comfortable they can take both hands off of the steering column to do things. I am not that confident yet so I barely take my hands off of the handle bars. I want to get used to driving the scooter before I indicate that I want to go right or left, if cars are behind me. There is a learning curve, which we have to be attentive to.

And Finally

Although I loved the idea of getting an electric sitting scooter the lack of range and high price makes them uninteresting. The electric standing scooter has a theoretical range of 20km but after yesterday’s test I expect the range to be greater than that. The point of the electric scooter is that it can be used alongside trains and buses. You take the scooter to a train station, take the train, and then use the scooter on the other side. It shortens the commute time.

It could provide me with an interesting new way of getting around when the weather co-operates.