ELECTRIC SCOOTERS.

• Author: Boehm, Eric
• Position: TRANSPORTATION - Brief article

Commuting in Washington, D.C., requires careful calculus. Take Metro? It's cheap, but there are constant delays and crowded trains. Uber? It's reliable but more expensive, and traffic sucks. Walking is free but leaves you drenched in sweat during the heavy, humid summer.

Enter the electric scooter. These zippy little guys--owned by companies with names like Bird and Lime that are backed by private venture capital--popped up in urban areas this year to offer a new solution for short city commutes. You download an app, enter credit card info, and with the snap of a QR code you can rent any scooter for $1 (plus a few pennies per minute). My three-mile commute to Reason's office takes less than 20 minutes by scooter, a time public transportation can't match, and at a lower price than Uber.

There are trade-offs: Busy roads can...