Scoot in San Francisco
Scoot Networks scooters ready for you to climb on, parked two blocks from our B&B.
OK, this will be my last blog post dealing with our recent trip to California. But this was the one I actually planned before we left.
Just days before we headed for the West Coast I happened upon an article about Scoot Networks, which is an outfit that is set up in San Francisco offering electric scooter rentals. From what the article I read had to say I expected to see a lot of these easily recognizable red scooters in the mix of traffic. I was intrigued.
Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I have an interest in electric motorcycles in general and a personal interest–as in I want one–in electric scooters. So the idea that someone is renting them, and at a very low price, definitely caught my eye. And it was right where we were headed. Cool.
I didn’t see a single Scoot (as opposed to scooters generically) on the streets. And it wasn’t until the night before we left, with time in the morning only to get to the airport, that I noticed that just two blocks from our B&B there was a charging/parking site where four Scoots sat. So I went over quickly in the morning and got that photo above.
Nevertheless, in a crowded, busy city like this, scooters are a great way to get around quickly and easily. And of course it’s all handled with an app.
The way you use Scoot is you create an account and then when you want to ride one you use your smartphone to see where near you there is one available. You then plug your phone into the Scoot and off you go. There are three levels of membership but if you plan to do it regularly the only rational option would seem to be the top-level package, Scoot Pass. For $29 a month, with two months free so a $290 cost for a year, the first 30 minutes of any ride is no additional charge. If you’re just getting around the city, that’s probably going to be most of your rides right there. Then for anything past the first 30 minutes it’s $1.50 for each additional 30 minutes between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and just $0.25 per 30 minutes from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
We’re talking cheap. Just for comparison, we took buses a lot while in the city and each time I got on a bus it cost me $2.25.
Now, these Scoots are all single-seaters, so if Judy and I had wanted to go somewhere on them she would have had to rent one, too. She doesn’t ride so that would not have worked. There’s no way she would have wanted to learn to ride a scooter in the middle of the San Francisco congestion. But imagine if you lived there and could pick one up close to home and drop it close to work. You could pay $290 a year and that would be your total cost of commuting. Plus, you’d be on a scooter, and that’s fun!
I don’t know how successful the business is. As I said, I didn’t see any of them on the street. And the scooter business seems to be funny. In places such as Key West there are lots of scooter rentals and it is absolutely the best way to get around that very congested town. And they do land-office business. On the other hand, here in Denver, ScooTours Denver rents scooters and I’m not sure how much business they manage to do. I’ve dealt with those folks in the past, and they advertise on this site, but my recent attempts to contact them have not been successful. So I don’t know; I hope they’re at least making enough to continue in business.
So no, I didn’t have the opportunity to ride one while we were out there. But maybe next time you’re out there you might want to give it a try. And now you know they exist.
Biker Quote for Today
He was so slow, there were bugs on the back of his helmet.
Tags: electric motorcycle
November 18th, 2014 at 2:18 pm
We’re still here! We are open year-round and have entered our slow period. However, we’re still the #1 Activity on TripAdvisor in Denver bit.ly/1lhRQvp and we are a 2014 Westword Best of Denver winner and our other reviews are spectacular. Our customers have a great time.
November 18th, 2014 at 2:21 pm
Thanks for this article about Scoot in San Francisco. Their model is very different from ours, as you mention. We are entertainment; they are transportation and appear to be similar to the car2go point-to-point model. With 29 employees listed on their site and $290/yr membership, they need more than 4,000 subscribers to cover just their employee costs. San Francisco has plenty of investors and a mentality that isn’t wed to quarter-after-quarter cash-flow-positive models, so they’ll probably be around for awhile.
For the commuter, it sounds unbeatable. A dollar, a dime, a nickel and a penny per workday if you can pick up near home and drop off near work. If I were a San Francisco commuter, I’d definitely sign up.
The electric scooters are 4kW (4000 watts) and accelerate nicely up to their computer-regulated 38mph top speed and handle the mild inclines of Denver very well. We have found the lower-powered 30mph electric scooters are a bit of an obstacle in traffic. I see they keep a Brammo 60mph vehicle available near SF City Hall. That would be fun.
Did you rent one? They say it isn’t for the visitor, but they don’t say you can’t sign up without a California license.
November 18th, 2014 at 2:33 pm
Correction: “The electric scooters are 4kW” should be “The electric scooters we have are 4kW”
November 20th, 2014 at 8:53 pm
No, I didn’t rent one because I couldn’t have taken Judy on it as a passenger. Plus, I didn’t see them just two blocks away until the night before we were leaving. And hey, it was good to hear from you and hear things are still going well.
November 20th, 2014 at 11:00 pm
I have my scooter but its not that good as Scoot Francisco! You have a wonderful business! Good luck!
November 22nd, 2014 at 12:56 pm
Hey Ken,
I think this is a really cool experience, and I often have had similar thoughts when visiting other countries… Seems like a great experience, but then again it can really mess up your vacation if something were to happen!
Take care,
Eric