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Or bicycles, which offer the personal freedom of an automobile but not the catastrophic environmental impact.
by CalRobert 7y ago
Or bicycles, which offer the personal freedom of an automobile but not the catastrophic environmental impact.
- Yetanfou 7y agoPlus the additional health benefits which come with the job of conveying self plus bike from a to b as well as the cognitive benefits of mens sana in corpore sano [1] Bikes won't carry everything but they go a long way in solving day to day commuting problems. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_sana_in_corpore_sano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_sana_in_corpore_sano
- sunstone 7y agoYes, particularly e-bikes. That's why the Netherlands now buys more e-bikes per year than they do traditional bikes despite that e-bikes cost about twice as much.
- derekp7 7y agoWe just need to get past the mindset that e-bikes are cheating. This is one of the big impediments for anyone that I've talked to about e-bikes, they say they would feel embarrassed riding them (since the main purpose of a bicycle that many people see is as a form of exercise, not transportation). The answer to that, of course, is e-bikes aren't cheating, but driving a car is.
- i_am_proteus 7y agoThis is only true for some lifestyles. Elderly people with limited mobility, freezing climates, and rural, spread-out areas are examples of reasons cycling might not be appropriate. As someone who cycles to work year-round, I'd love to see more bicycles and infrastructure, but I don't think bicycles are a panacea.
- vinni2 7y agoYou’re right but bicycles + public transport could go a long way in most of the cases you mention. The other problem is also the city planning most of which were made assuming ownership of cars. I don’t own a car all my commuting happens on a bike. I live in a city with not so good public transport so when needed I just rent a car for the weekend or so.
- sfifs 7y agoProbably yes for single adults in their 20s and 30s without any small kids or elderly parents to take care of who live in a small (possibly European) city with low enough population density that it allows bicycles on public transport. Doesn't describe most of the world unfortunately.
- CalRobert 7y agoThe trick is to move to Europe. Plenty of families in bakfiets, or older folks cycling.
- CalRobert 7y agoAlso you need high population density, not low.
- vinni2 7y agoI know families with 3 kids who don’t own a car. But of course they live walking distance to supermarket, kids school and the parents commute by bike. In case Of emergencies they don’t hesitate to take a taxi. From their point of view yearly taxi costs are lower than car ownership costs. But of course the city you live in must support bike paths etc.