Since e-scoots were dumped on the streets at the end of 2017, they’ve been a driving example of exactly why humans can’t have nice things.
Riders continue to scatter them all across sidewalks, parks, and lake beds, making what could be a convenient form of transportation, into potential pedestrian death zones.
Now, the Washington Post reports that the California startup Swiftmile is working on a possible solution to curb the chaos by electric scooters around the country, and it’s a fairly obvious one.
The new age of scooter-corralling
The company, has unveiled unattended, solar-powered charging stations for e-scooters, designed to serve as a locale for riders to dock between rides.
“We bring order to the chaos,” Explained the company’s founder, Colin Roche. The company is reportedly in talks with 3 major metropolitan markets with large fleets of scooters on their streets.
Roche insists these docking stations will not only increase safety, they’ll also save e-scooter companies money.
The proof is in the pudding
With charging stations, they won’t have to pay gig economy workers to take scooters home at night. “Scooter companies spend 50% of their operating costs on charging these things,” Roche said.
Roche and his team believe that 2019 is a crucial year for the future of e-scooters. “If the safety and other problems aren’t addressed, I think cities will restrict them even more, Pat Burt, a former Palo Alto mayor and current Swiftmile advisor, said.