BY JESSICA PARKS
This reporter is scooting
through Brooklyn!
Having used a motorized
scooter only once before (with
somewhat unsuccessful results),
I was skeptical about my
ability to handle Unagi Scooters’
new electric two-wheeler —
but my overly-demanding editor
pushed me to give it a shot.
The company launched a
subscription service in the Five
Boroughs in March, allowing
New Yorkers to get a scooter for
$49 per month, which they keep
in their possession throughout
the duration of their rental.
Unagi graciously provided
me with a scooter to test out for
a month, and I’ve been cruising
through Brooklyn ever since.
The fun began when my
E500 dual-motor scooter arrived
in a large package in the
mail, which was easy enough to
unbox. Setup was also a breeze,
taking just minutes to get the
two-wheeler in driving shape.
Riding a Unagi scooter
Soon enough, I was cruising
COURIER L 24 IFE, APRIL 23-29, 2021
through the streets of my
Greenwood Heights neighborhood,
taking on hills without
breaking a sweat.
With 1,000W of max power,
the scooter goes up to 20 miles
per hour, and features three
modes — beginner, intermediate,
and advanced — that allows
riders to limit speeds below
that, if you’re looking for a
calmer trip.
A light-up LED display atop
the handlebars shows your
speed, as well as battery life
— which comes in around 15.5
miles per full charge, and takes
about 4-5 hours to max out.
The dual motors threw me
for a loop the fi rst time I twisted
the throttle, as I was pleasantly
surprised by how quick the vehicle’s
acceleration got me going.
Braking was a breeze, as
the provided handlebar brake
brought me to a quick stop, and
the regenerative brake system
also slows riders, while feeding
power back into the battery,
even without pressing
anything. The company’s website
boasts a 13-foot braking distance
on dry roads, and I was
able to come to a complete stop
long before even that.
LED headlights and taillights
kept the road lit up as the
sun went down, and the 7.5 inch
tires made me feel sturdy and
secure while riding — at least,
most of the time. I did make the
mistake of attempting to ride
over a cracked sidewalk, which
is a staple of New York City’s infrastructure,
and fell onto the
pavement, bloodying my knee
and burnishing a few bruises
across my body. Thankfully,
I was wearing a helmet, and
avoided more serious injury,
although the experience did
shake my confi dence a bit.
Nevertheless, in the sacred
name of journalism, I continued
to test out my trial scooter,
and regained my faith in the
two-wheeler’s ability to safely
get me around the borough
(provided I rode in bike lanes
and over smooth pavement).
Over the month of using the
scooter, I got a palpable sense of
freedom that I didn’t have before,
as it fi lled transportation
gaps that had otherwise been
unattainable, even the ones I
didn’t know I had — like the
two-second ride to the corner
store. The walk from Greenwood
Heights to Prospect Park
is slightly too long for comfort,
and transit-starved neighborhoods
like Red Hook are nearly
inaccessible by public transportation,
but my Unagi scooter
zipped my right to my destination,
without the per-ride
charges of Uber, or the hassle of
fi nding car parking.
Living with Unagi
A major selling point of Unagi’s
subscription service is that,
unlike other per-month ride
shares, you can actually keep
your scooter with you, and ride
the same one on every trip.
I often used CitiBikes to
get around, but there’s never
a guarantee that the bike you
chose will be in tip-top shape,
and you’re required to dock it
at specifi c locations, which are
not everywhere in Brooklyn.
Unagi, however, allows you
to fold your scooter with just one
click, and take it wherever you
want. At three feet in length,
and just over 1.4 feet in width,
the scooter is small enough to
take with you to a restaurant,
or bring onto the subway.
And at 26.5 pounds, I’m able
to lug the two-wheeler up the
stairs to my apartment, albeit
not as comfortably as I’d like.
Once inside, however, the vehicle
doesn’t take up too much
space, and if I leave it in the
charger, I always know I’ll be
ready to scoot around the next
morning.
ROLL WITH IT: Brooklyn Paper
reporter Jessica Parks tested out
Unagi Scooters for a one-month
trial. Photo by Caroline Ourso
Straight scooter!
We test drive Brooklyn’s newest subscription service
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