Are electric scooters about to take over your city?

They're kind of dorky. They also might be the future of commuting.

A woman riding an electric scooter.
(Image credit: Gavin Rodgers/Alamy Stock Photo)

Scooters are often viewed as the transportation of childhood, ridden in circles around cul de sacs on sticky summer afternoons. But these days, plenty of adults are starting to take them out for a spin, too.

Scooter sharing is beginning to gain momentum in major metropolitan areas as an alternative and innovative commuting option. Last month, Conde Nast Traveler declared scooter shares the "unlikely trend that'll reshape the way we travel." "I have seen the future of urbanism and it's a scooter," a soothsaying CityLab headline announced in March.

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