The History of Electric Scooters

Many might believe that electric scooters are a recent invention. But there were scooters on the streets long before Limes, Birds, and Razors…

TAUR
Lotus Fruit
Published in
6 min readJun 27, 2020

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Four 20th Century postmen stand on their Autopeds, the electric scooters of their time.
Photography by Topical Press Agency

The electric scooter has become synonymous with the word ‘rental’. In cities across the world, rental scooters litter pavements as people hop on and off these disposable machines. In an effort to fix this, Taur is developing the ultimate electric scooter for ownership — a scooter that’s portable while being built for safe riding. And while that might seem groundbreaking, history shows there has always been public appetite for affordable, roadworthy, power-assisted scooters. It’s a history that’s longer than many would think; so while Taur might be looking to the future of scooters, here we delve into their past.

The first electric scooter

When was the electric scooter invented? The answer may surprise you. Although the scooter seemed ever-present in the 1990s, it turns out that was merely a revival. The first electric scooter, known as the Autoped, hit shops in 1915 New York; just three years after the Titanic sank, in the city she never reached.

Much like today, Autopeds found consumers before legislators had a chance to implement regulation — in 1915, traffic…

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TAUR
Lotus Fruit

The electric scooter built for life in the city — available for pre-order at taur.com