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With a big enough increase in bike paths, this calculation may differ: going slow enough to be allowed on a bike path, while still being able to split lanes whe

With a big enough increase in bike paths, this calculation may differ: going slow enough to be allowed on a bike path, while still being able to split lanes when needed, could be a huge advantage. Additionally, if you live somewhere that is space constrained (like a small apartment without parking) an electric bike is significantly easier to find space for. It basically boils down to: do you have the storage space for a small car, and just want faster highway and street commutes? A scooter makes sense. Do you have to bring it up an elevator or want to use rail trails? E-bike all the way.

mc32 10y ago
I think you hit it. It depends on _how_ we adapt to these modes. In some places around the world bikes _and_ scooters, electric or otherwise, have access to the same separated lane. In many of these places, scooter parking is pervasive and is allowed to park on sidewalks, etc., so it depends on how we acculturate to these modes of transportation, for sure. For exercise, traditional bikes win out.
r00fus 10y ago
As a car commuter who's seen a lot of accidents, quite a few are (probably newbie) motorcyclists who don't know how to split lanes (3 of the 6 I've seen in the past 4 years). Also, sharing the road with cars means breathing their exhaust. Count me in for the e-bike takeover.
- ygra 10y ago
  The bike path I'm using to commute every day is shared with scooters. I'd rather take car exhaust, to be honest (although I'm not suicidal enough to take up with cars going 100 km/h on the road next to it). Every time I'm overtaken by a scooter I'm coughing the next minute or so while having to slow down to about 10 km/h. On the other hand, people are probably much more likely to switch from a scooter to an e-bike than from a car, simply because the convenience factor is very similar. And winter is coming right now, which luckily takes scooters away too, for some reason :)

mc32 10y ago

I think you hit it. It depends on _how_ we adapt to these modes. In some places around the world bikes _and_ scooters, electric or otherwise, have access to the same separated lane. In many of these places, scooter parking is pervasive and is allowed to park on sidewalks, etc., so it depends on how we acculturate to these modes of transportation, for sure. For exercise, traditional bikes win out.

r00fus 10y ago

As a car commuter who's seen a lot of accidents, quite a few are (probably newbie) motorcyclists who don't know how to split lanes (3 of the 6 I've seen in the past 4 years). Also, sharing the road with cars means breathing their exhaust. Count me in for the e-bike takeover.

ygra 10y ago
The bike path I'm using to commute every day is shared with scooters. I'd rather take car exhaust, to be honest (although I'm not suicidal enough to take up with cars going 100 km/h on the road next to it). Every time I'm overtaken by a scooter I'm coughing the next minute or so while having to slow down to about 10 km/h. On the other hand, people are probably much more likely to switch from a scooter to an e-bike than from a car, simply because the convenience factor is very similar. And winter is coming right now, which luckily takes scooters away too, for some reason :)