This is a scooter.
This is also a scooter.
Revel wants you to call these things “mopeds.”
But “moped” is a 1950s portmanteau of “motorized” and “pedal.” These are mopeds.
Do you see any pedals on the “mopeds” Revel hopes you’ll rent? No, no you don’t. What Revel offers is an electric version of a classic…scooter.
The closest thing you’ll find to a moped among shareable vehicles around DC right now is an electric bike. These are known as “electric bikes.”
This is a man named Scooter.
This is a puppet named Scooter.
This motorized one-wheeled device is called an “electric unicycle.” It is not called a scooter.
This motorized two-wheeled device is called a “hoverboard.” It does not hover, but it is not called a scooter.
But almost everything else is a scooter.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
