We just came back at the beginning of the month from a five week long boat trip where we used our E-Scooters as ground transportation everywhere we went. The scooters were well received everywhere, generated lots of questions and performed admirably. We visited: Fernandina Beach, FL, Savannah, GA, Hilton Head, SC, Beaufort, SC and Jekyll Island, GA and saw no other electric vehicles.
We had a wonderful experience at a mall in Hilton Head where the security officers saw us entering the mall, flagged us down and asked if we would like a secure place to park. One of the officers commented he had two almost identical scooters in his garage but had never used them. He bought them as a lark, drove them a time or two around the neighborhood and there they sat. The security office also had a new unused Segway in it. They didn't like it.
There is a huge flea market, absolutely huge, in Daytona, FL. A couple of vendors there sell e-scooters and a few bikes but despite being in Daytona frequently I have never seen one. About ten days ago my wife and I, while in the car, spotted eight or ten brightly colored e-scooters, apparently for sale in Flagler Beach, FL, just down the road from us. We didn't have time to stop but I rode my bike down there the next day (got plenty of range with the new LiPO4's) and the area they were in was empty and I haven't seen them return.
Scooters, at least the kind we have that look like a mini Vespa, lack the range to make them very practical, at least with stock batteries. Being very careful we got one 9 mile run while at Hilton Head and my wife's was dead by the time we got back to the boat. With stock batteries I believe 8 miles is the maximum safe distance for an average weight individual. I get a little more as know how to conserve power but my wife doesn't and really doesn't want to learn. Plus, and this is a big plus, they fail to meet the definition of an ebike and would be hazardous on most roadways. We try hard to stay on sidewalks whenever possible.
What I do see are lots of regular bicycles with "beach bikes" outnumbering the rest by 90%. All ages, both sexes, all over the place but no ebikes and certainly no e-scooters. In my neighborhood there are a couple of electric Schwinn scooters that children ride, one gas stand up scooter and lots of bicycles but I live on an island, in a gated community and we have a small population percentage of children. No adults on anything resembling a scooter. Harley's, cars and bicycles but no ebikes or scooters.
Perhaps they're out there and I just keep missing them. That is certainly possible but my daughter rides her bike with all three of her children quite a bit and she's never seen any but mine.
However marketing would undoubtedly make a difference. Resort areas are allegedly blessed with ebike/e-scooter rentals but these are areas where they can be serviced and don't require much range. If I invested 100K in stock, rented a storefront, got licensing and insurance, hired a mechanic/helper, I would plan at least 50K more in advertising and not be too surprised if I lost the whole thing. A storefront with demo rides however may be just what our local market needs instead of either internet sales or someone selling out of a flea market or garage. Problem is that folks who want exercise will ride their regular bike and those that don't tend to climb into their car. Getting them to enjoy and want to keep the EVGrin is the real challenge.
I would love to be proven wrong.
Mike
I've logged thousands of miles in my day on conventional tourers and mountain bikes, and a more laid back approach looks really inviting. Then I started shopping them 
I know that I've already broached this subject, and I'll repost what's been suggested, minus TD's Uma Thurman comment :wink: , and we'll take it from there.
I kid.
