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I think this would be amazing for some cities. I've used a electric motorcycle/scooter to commute around San Francisco for 3 years now, and it made me fall in

by as-j 7y ago

I think this would be amazing for some cities. I've used a electric motorcycle/scooter to commute around San Francisco for 3 years now, and it made me fall in love with the city again. I've used Jump e-bikes to get around as well instead of Uber/Lyfts when I can. (I'd use them more, but their service area stop a mile from my house) Sadly I think SF is a good special case where it works well most of the year: 1. City is pretty compact. It's not exactly 7mix7mi, but not far off either. 2. Weather is pretty good most of the year. (no ice/snow/freezing rain, etc) Yes you can cycle in fog. ;) 3. Speed limit is 20mph in residential, and 30mph on busier roads, but congestion generally makes the impossible. Bike lanes are normally free. 4. Bike lanes/paths/routes are expanding throughout the city. Including nicely protected routes. 5. Parking and Gas are expensive here. I was just in Texas and filled up a car for < $20. I can't remember when I did that last. Sure it's a dream, and I wish the article would come true here. Imagine how cool it would be to have tons of bikes on the road and so many less cars/ICE zooming around? Ok, maybe I'm just not a car person. ;) There are hiccups though: 1. Carrying groceries/etc. You can't get a shopping cart full and take it home. 2. Kids...getting them to school. Cargo bikes here are an option, but they need to be a certain age and I do worry about safety. :/ 3. It does rain...and ridding in the rain sucks. Most parts of the US get it so much worse though, it feels hard to complain. 4. Commuting via bike to work does take time/effort. Carrying a change of clothes, showering, etc, etc.

ptasci67 7y ago
I largely agree with your points as an ebike commuter on the west side of LA which has similar properties (surprisingly compact, protected bike lanes, good weather, very expensive gas). I also use it regularly to carry groceries via saddle bags and find it to be much more convenient than fighting the parking lot at my local trader joes. Also, it is generally flat here so I don't find the need to shower and change clothes but then again, I bike to work in jeans and a t-shirt so maybe it would be different in a suit?
zip1234 7y ago
Cities need to remove car lanes and add protected bike lanes to really increase adoption. Most parents would not let their kids ride on the road with cars. The car always wins and cars are very dangerous. As far as the schools--they used to be smaller and more local. Now schools always seem to be built on the periphery of a town, take up a massive amount of space and are pretty much designed only for cars/busses. Cars cause cities to be built in ways that are only car-friendly. Hopefully e-bikes provide a revolution in that regard to make other forms of transit equally viable.
fulafel 7y ago
I think your 1 & 2 aren't worries really: most cities are small, and experience shows that weather isn't really an object (central/northern europe has the bicycling capitals). People are much less finicky about outdoors activities in non-optimal weather in places that don't have californian weather :) We don't necessarily need an one-size-fits-all solution to fix traffic emissions, it's fine if people in different cities end up doing different things.

by as-j 7y ago

ptasci67 7y ago

I largely agree with your points as an ebike commuter on the west side of LA which has similar properties (surprisingly compact, protected bike lanes, good weather, very expensive gas). I also use it regularly to carry groceries via saddle bags and find it to be much more convenient than fighting the parking lot at my local trader joes. Also, it is generally flat here so I don't find the need to shower and change clothes but then again, I bike to work in jeans and a t-shirt so maybe it would be different in a suit?

zip1234 7y ago

Cities need to remove car lanes and add protected bike lanes to really increase adoption. Most parents would not let their kids ride on the road with cars. The car always wins and cars are very dangerous. As far as the schools--they used to be smaller and more local. Now schools always seem to be built on the periphery of a town, take up a massive amount of space and are pretty much designed only for cars/busses. Cars cause cities to be built in ways that are only car-friendly. Hopefully e-bikes provide a revolution in that regard to make other forms of transit equally viable.

fulafel 7y ago

I think your 1 & 2 aren't worries really: most cities are small, and experience shows that weather isn't really an object (central/northern europe has the bicycling capitals). People are much less finicky about outdoors activities in non-optimal weather in places that don't have californian weather :) We don't necessarily need an one-size-fits-all solution to fix traffic emissions, it's fine if people in different cities end up doing different things.