The scooter-sharing apocalypse is coming

A group of Lime Bikes lay overturned on a side walk along Lemmon Avenue in Dallas, TX, Thursday, March 1, 2018. (Max Faulkner/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS)

When a cluster of brightly coloured dockless Mobike bicycles suddenly appeared on the street where Paul Strauss lives in the centre of Washington, D.C., he was tempted to go for a ride. 

He downloaded the app on his smartphone, the necessary first step to unlocking one of the bikes, then stopped short when he had to enter his credit card information.