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> there are a large group of people dependent on their driver's license Are there "no licence cars" in Belgium and the US ? Basically a moped motor and a seat

> there are a large group of people dependent on their driver's license Are there "no licence cars" in Belgium and the US ? Basically a moped motor and a seat inside a box. 45kmh and no highway, but a bit more confortable and fast than a ebike for rural environment.

Avicebron 6mo ago
Not really, the cross section of people who lose their license/insurance and those that could use something like an ebike reliably for their commute is practically zilch. The US is really big and a lot of people have rural 30+ minute commutes where it snows ~6 months out of the year.
- aziaziazi 6mo ago
  Oh I was’t clear: I’m not talking about an ebike but a very small and underpowered car like this one https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35210572 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35210572 There’re somewhat popular here for those that doesn’t have a licence and offer some of the advantage but are less dangerous to others.
- andrepd 6mo ago
  > The US is really big and a lot of people have rural 30+ minute commutes The size of the country in which a commute is contained is immaterial to the length of that commute. What you mean is not "the US is big" but "things are really far apart in the US". Which they are, but precisely because of car-centric (car-only, actually) design.
  - retired 6mo ago
    Things being far apart in the US predates cars. Rail made that possible.
    - jeromegv 6mo ago
      Rails encouraged density around the train stations. Rail is not responsible for the car sprawling type of communities which are mostly a 20th century phenomenon.
tmtvl 6mo ago
Those do exist in Belgium, but (joke starts here) that's because Belgium is enormous, far too large to get proper public transport going (joke ends). I am seeing more and more cargo e-bikes (e-cargo bikes?), which I find a positive change, though it does differ from place to place (Antwerp's fairly okay for bikes, same for Leuven, Brussels was pretty bad last time I was there).

Avicebron 6mo ago

Not really, the cross section of people who lose their license/insurance and those that could use something like an ebike reliably for their commute is practically zilch. The US is really big and a lot of people have rural 30+ minute commutes where it snows ~6 months out of the year.

aziaziazi 6mo ago
Oh I was’t clear: I’m not talking about an ebike but a very small and underpowered car like this one https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35210572 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35210572 There’re somewhat popular here for those that doesn’t have a licence and offer some of the advantage but are less dangerous to others.
andrepd 6mo ago
> The US is really big and a lot of people have rural 30+ minute commutes The size of the country in which a commute is contained is immaterial to the length of that commute. What you mean is not "the US is big" but "things are really far apart in the US". Which they are, but precisely because of car-centric (car-only, actually) design.
- retired 6mo ago
  Things being far apart in the US predates cars. Rail made that possible.
  - jeromegv 6mo ago
    Rails encouraged density around the train stations. Rail is not responsible for the car sprawling type of communities which are mostly a 20th century phenomenon.

tmtvl 6mo ago

Those do exist in Belgium, but (joke starts here) that's because Belgium is enormous, far too large to get proper public transport going (joke ends). I am seeing more and more cargo e-bikes (e-cargo bikes?), which I find a positive change, though it does differ from place to place (Antwerp's fairly okay for bikes, same for Leuven, Brussels was pretty bad last time I was there).