Thread by @dahvnyc, Polly Trottenberg testifying on Revel/moped-share: "There's no escaping the fact that moped [...]

David J. Meyer 😷

dahvnyc

Polly Trottenberg testifying on Revel/moped-share: "There's no escaping the fact that moped share is in a different risk category than bike share."

Revel: 1.38 fatalities per million trips
vs. CitiBike: .02 fatalities per million trips

The # of crashes per 10k trips has declined 50% since Revel closed shop & reopened. And the number of first-time riders in crashes is down.

Still, in most crashes, "the rider lost control of the Revel scooter rather than collided with another vehicle," DOT's Will Carry says.

As one former Revel employee told me in July: “They’re cheap. They’re plastic. The wheels are very small in circumference. It’s a bouncy ride. In the rain we would get a lot of accidents.” https://nypost.com/2020/07/29/ex-revel-employee-rips-companys-cheap-scooters-amid-shutdown/

‘I did not trust them’: Ex-Revel employee rips company’s ‘cheap’ scooters

“As a rider with experience, I did not trust them,” said the ex-employee, a motorcycle hobbyist who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

https://nypost.com/2020/07/29/ex-revel-employee-rips-companys-cheap-scooters-amid-shutdown/

Ydanis Rodriguez says "there should be" tech that makes it so the moped won't move if the person isn't wearing a helmet.

Antonio Reynoso says Revel is a “model company” and warns against “over-regulation.” Says he’s opposed to city council legislation that requires regs; wants DOT to take lead on that.

Reynoso notes that there are no sensors for cars the require you wear a seatbelt. Says “we should be asking NYPD” to enforce helmet laws. Says it’s a double standard.

“These companies are doing everything right and we’re having a hearing to over-regulate them as opposed to vehicles.”

CM Andrew Cohen says "we just don't have the infrastructure" for mopeds. Doesn't think mopeds should be "integrated" into car traffic. "If we offered people a safe viable way, maybe not in automobile traffic, they wouldn't" break the laws.

Trottenberg: "I don't really see any evidence that they're being in the roadway has been the issue. As we've seen, in a lot of the crashes, it's been operator-error - the operator hasn't collided with the vehicle."

Cohen, a council member for going on 7 years, tells Trottenberg there needs to be "more master planning here."

You can follow @dahvnyc.

Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: