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November 2020 I ordered a Swytch e-bike kit and fitted it to my bike. It replaced the car for many things (weekly grocery shops, city centre trips). I moved to

November 2020 I ordered a Swytch e-bike kit and fitted it to my bike. It replaced the car for many things (weekly grocery shops, city centre trips). I moved to London last year and this turned out to be a fortune timing. My car, a Honda Civic 2007 diesel, is not ULEZ compliant and I will have to pay £12.50/day to drive it from August 2023 due to the low emission zone expansion. I plan to sell it in July. Guess what? I've been using my Swytch e-bike happily here in London to get around the suburbs. There are even some Amsterdam style bike lanes to get further into the city. Pros when I get rid of the car: * no insurance, tax, ULEZ charge, fuel, trip to fuel station, servicing charges, worries about people scratching it... * Uber for when I really need a car (eg. I have a group with me) * able to take short-cuts and bypass unpleasant town centers/sometimes * feeling of getting fresh air and exercise * helping a cleaner environment for next generation Cons: * weather has a big factor when riding and planning trips, all you really need though is gloves, a waterproof jacket - maybe waterproof over-trousers for when there is heavy rain. * cold weather waters my eyes and hits me in the face * have to unlock & lock the bike and carry a D-lock I doubt I will ever own a car after August 2023.

chroma 4y ago
So the reason more people are cycling in the area is that the government made cars extremely expensive, almost certainly more than the externalities created by those cars. If they instead instituted a carbon tax and congestion pricing, I doubt your daily expenses would exceed £12.50/day.
- PickledJesus 4y ago
  London's had congestion pricing for 20 years. The ULEZ is a tax on high NO2 emissions, not carbon. It's caused a significant reduction on the externalities of bad air quality, which was the goal.

chroma 4y ago

So the reason more people are cycling in the area is that the government made cars extremely expensive, almost certainly more than the externalities created by those cars. If they instead instituted a carbon tax and congestion pricing, I doubt your daily expenses would exceed £12.50/day.

PickledJesus 4y ago
London's had congestion pricing for 20 years. The ULEZ is a tax on high NO2 emissions, not carbon. It's caused a significant reduction on the externalities of bad air quality, which was the goal.