• @[email protected]
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    2 years ago

    Watched a YouTube about electric vs gas scooters in Taiwan 🇹🇼. Apparently it’s like 6 scooters for every 10 people, crazy!

    But the uptake of electric scooters wasn’t as much as they thought, but a lot of complaints were around “cost”, “parking” and “weight”

    Sounds like an electric bicycle would solve all those issues over an electric scooter 🛵

    Especially for the poorer, high 2 wheel usage nations, like Vietnam or India.

    Just have to pedal a bit! 😉

  • @[email protected]
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    2 years ago

    these are feasible in cities that you wouldn’t want to drive a car in anyways. probably not so good for commuting around Boise Idaho

    • @[email protected]
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      72 years ago

      Because Boise, ID is not interested in building the necessary infrastructure for ideological reasons.

      • Ghostalmedia
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        2 years ago

        I’m going to wager this comment was posted and upvoted by people who have never been to Boise. Because that place has a good amount of people biking around. Especially around Boise state and for recreation.

        • @[email protected]
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          72 years ago

          Been to Boise many time. Take a trip to Europe and then come back and tell me what you think of Boise’s bike infrastructure.

          • Ghostalmedia
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            52 years ago

            Any American city is going to look like shit compared to Europes biking capitals.

            Compare a super blue “bike friendly” city like San Francisco to Amsterdam. It’s not even a fair contest. SF is a fucking cycling death trap in comparison to Amsterdam.

            • @[email protected]
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              42 years ago

              Sure. I’m just saying that there are a lot of opposition in many US cities to building green and more progressive infrastructure that doesn’t specifically benefit cars. Especially in red states.

              • Ghostalmedia
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                42 years ago

                True, but often times stuff like this boils down to the city planning and city budget, not the state. And a lot of major metro areas are pretty blue, even in red states.

                Oftentimes the biggest barrier is that the bones of US city planning was done with cars in mind, and trying to accommodate bikes afterwards is difficult. Which is why US cities that want bikes struggle with supporting them.

                Many old European city layouts were baked before cars were a thing.

    • @[email protected]
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      112 years ago

      We sold our car and committed around Tacoma for about 6 months before we moved to the Netherlands. It was awful in a ton of ways, but for a lot of trips it was way better. The majority of trips are under a mile, so dropping the kids off at preschool and stuff was way better on a bike. It’s actually quite a bit faster since kids love to get on the bike instead of the long fight against the car seat.

      We also did a few shopping trips. You can’t really do much more than 3 bags on a long tail bike with two kids in the back, but it worked well enough for shopping trips. People look at you like you’re crazy in the US when you’ve got things strapped all over your bike, but here it’s just completely normal. We probably would ride year round there if it wasn’t for how dangerous cars are when it rains. I have no problem biking in the wind and the rain here because I know I’m not going to be randomly murdered by some idiot in a multiton metal box.

      I’m not familiar with Boise, but I’d bet that an eBike would still be better for a lot of trips.

      • Ann Archy
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        42 years ago

        He he, yeah, riding strapped into the little kid’s seat behind mom on a bike was exciting as hell when you were little…

    • Ghostalmedia
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      222 years ago

      Boise is a college down that is VERY bike friendly. Nearly 200miles of bike lanes and trails.

    • @[email protected]
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      12 years ago

      No matter how you feel about them, when your mate shows you his new electric car you still greet him with a request for a pint of semi skimmed.

    • Ann Archy
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      22 years ago

      Proponents have been fought tooth and nail since electric vehicles were invented, and it was the public who was gaslighted- not they. Why try to change the minds of those who know they are right, when you can just change the minds of people not to listen to them…

      “You can fool some people all of the time, and all people some of the time, but you can not fool all people all of the time.”

  • WuTang
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    52 years ago

    this and how the urbanists fuck up cities, you don’t want to drive a car, for sure. be it electric. two time this week, train were delayed, adding a wopping 1h30 to my commute.

    I more than ever for renewal and common transportation but damn, dear these semi-public companies suck!

    • @[email protected]
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      132 years ago

      How are urbanists fucking up cities? By definition they are the ones trying to make them better.

      • WuTang
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        12 years ago

        I see more concrete than ever, I see more only-one way than ever which extend your traffic time and if you miss your exit or street, you are screwed and goog to do a full consuming/polluting detour to reach your destination. I don’t mind if commute were performant, not ugly or dystopian.

        I don’t see much place for grass/trees etc.

        Near my house, they destroyed an old fabric to build fucking cheap soul less apartments. They are literally building new “blocks” on landfields while there’s plenty of free apartment in the city. fucking real-estate mafia and mayor’s corruption.

        I am from old Europe and we used to have nice architecture and city organization.

  • AItoothbrush
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    252 years ago

    Oh really? Maybe not moving 2,5 tons of metal and battery isnt a good idea? Maybe bikes were always a better mode of transport? I have a feeling that this was pretty obvious.

      • @[email protected]
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        12 years ago

        A fully enclosed velomobile would probably do the job, but I don’t think it’s legal anywhere in Europe :(

    • Ann Archy
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      2 years ago

      The article talks about electric bikes, not normal ones. That’s e-bikes, or rather what I suspect that they are peddling as a newsertainment article: e-scooters.

  • YⓄ乙
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    292 years ago

    I think big cars and SUV should be banned.everyone should use a moped or a bike but 9-5s pretending to be rich will hate it.

      • @[email protected]
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        2 years ago

        SUVs have lower cargo capacity than more fuel efficient vans, and often even less than cars like old Foresters. They 100% serve no purpose, but people have been tricked in to believing this lie about cargo capacity.

        Even trucks today have lower cargo capacity than vans, while also having worse fuel efficiency.

        But lets for s second assume this lie is true. Why not require a commercial license for any vehicle built on a truck frame? Prove you need it and you could get an exception.

  • @[email protected]
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    2 years ago

    Goddamn I love my ebike. It’s still very much a bike, but it changes the equation. I can ride a nice big heavy comfortable cruising frame, pull my kid in a trailer bike, get up steep hills that would otherwise stop me, and go 4x as far before I’m tired. It is just a total game changer. I’ve rediscovered the joy of riding my bike like I haven’t known it since college. I’m older and creakier than ever but my bike enjoyment hasn’t diminished - it has increased.

    • Lenny
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      62 years ago

      Same! I live on the top of a big hill, so leaving my house on a bike was never the issue, but I always dreaded the ride home. Now I own an ebike and I regularly use it to go into town for groceries. In fact, I just added a second basket so I can buy three full bags of groceries in one trip. I find myself actually looking forward to errands now.

      • @[email protected]
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        32 years ago

        Yes! And I’m pretty lazy about exercise so having the “help me” button there keeps me from avoiding the bike.

  • @[email protected]
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    52 years ago

    Not sure what electric cars has to do with this topic. But I guess someone wanted to start a fight between car people and non car people going by the extreme cross posting.

  • @[email protected]
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    862 years ago

    This article is vastly understating the potential benefits of e-bikes. Like-for-like replacements for car trips are only the tip of the iceberg; the real benefit of e-bikes is that the more people that use them, the less car parking we need. That means we can put back all those buildings we destroyed when we razed our cities for the car.

      • @[email protected]
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        52 years ago

        We need more lanes. Just one more lane and we’ll be done with trafic, I swear!1!!one!1!1!

      • @[email protected]
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        32 years ago

        that’s kind of assumed to happen if you packed people into tighter and tighter densities

    • @[email protected]
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      232 years ago

      Don’t forget you can ride a mile or two to the train station and get around like that.

      Even if you have a bike in town and one at home. Two bikes are cheaper than 1 car and more space efficient.

      • @[email protected]
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        2 years ago

        If everyone had an ebike, getting on and off the train would be a complete pain in the ass. I guess if there were lock boxes it might be OK, but hundreds of people trying to get their bike on a train would be a nightmare

        • @[email protected]
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          122 years ago

          Many urban-suburban trains, and even some regional trains, have entire cars dedicated for bicycles, with no (or only few) seats. This is very scalable on multiple scales, when the demand is growing:

          1. Adding more bicycle cars to existing bike-friendly trains 🏩🚞🚃🚃🚃🚃🏫
          2. Adding more bike-friendly trains to existing lines 🚆🚆🚉🚊🚇🚇
          3. Building new well-placed bike-friendly stations on existing lines 🏢🏪🚵‍♂️🚵‍♀️🚈
          4. Adding more passenger railway lines to existing rail networks. 🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️
          • @[email protected]
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            22 years ago

            There are definitely scaling limits for bike on trains, 1 bike takes up the space and manoeuvre room that could fit 3 or 4 people. Bike to station, leave bike there, use (ad hoc rental) other bike at destination is clearly a lot more scalable than filling trains with bikes.

            • @[email protected]
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              2 years ago

              1 bike takes up the space and manoeuvre room that could fit 3 or 4 people.

              I’d say two bikes in a well-designed alternating rack along the wall takes up about the same space as two seats beside each other. Also, some people will stand along the bikes if their train ride is short, taking up less space than a seat. My estimate would be that 1 person + 1 bike ≈ 1,75 seats on average.

              Beside that, I think you have a valid point in that a big part of the solution is locally available micromobility options, but I don’t think bike-friendly trains wouldn’t be a part of the solution too, since people will probably still want to own bikes, scooters etc. in the future. I, at least, like owning things that make my life easier.

              • @[email protected]
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                12 years ago

                I’ve done the bike-on-train thing many times and in many countries. The issue isn’t just the space the bike needs on the train itself, it’s the space the person needs to be able to get a bike on board without blocking the path and the infrastructurerequired to get the bike right next to the train. Trains fit for many bikes need wider doors, more doors (that costs seats), alignment between platform and train becomes even more important, that the platforms are very accessible too (there is often, if you’re lucky, 1 elevator to the platform that fits 1 or 2 bikes at a time, that elevator gets jammed up and competes with wheelchairs and childstrollers and large suitcases very quickly) et cetera. Many smaller stations still have 0 elevators of ramps, only stairs. The only somewhat convenient bike on a train is the foldable bike, but even that creates the hassle described, tho less. I try to avoid taking my own bike on a train (and I think taking your own is usually too cheap compared to a person-ticket and the hassle taking the bike creates).

                Anyhow, I think 1 person + 1 bike = 1,75 seats is underestimating it a lot.

  • Ann Archy
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    2 years ago

    This reads like an advertisement. Not saying it is. But it does.

    Edit: Oh, AAP (Australian Associated Press)! Then it’s definitely an advertisement.

  • @[email protected]
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    252 years ago

    Great. All technologies that bring down CO2 emissions are needed.

    As long as people get rid of their dino juice cars, who cares.

    • @[email protected]
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      12 years ago

      Yeah, right. And make 15 tonns of co2 extra, that would not have been needed when filling up the “Dino juice” car with “techno juice” that has 0% CO2.

      But, we’ve lost the battle anyway already, so who cares.

      • @[email protected]
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        112 years ago

        Oh I see, you thinking alterative fuels to keep legacy car going. Problem is, those are biofuels and use a lot of land to grow and end up even more expensive than dino juice.

        EV running costs is way cheaper and their up front costs is coming down fast. They use slightly more CO2e to make, but way way less to run. Plus those of us lucky enough to have drives can just charge at home, which is great. There does need to better infrastructure for those without drives.

        • Ann Archy
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          2 years ago

          I also think one aspect that keeps getting omitted from the conversation are exhaust fumes.

          We know that they are toxic and a common cause of any number of cardio-vascular and other diseases, including straight up turning you into a god damned moron. Yet it’s perfectly accepted that we fill every cubic centimeter of our cities with them, and expect everyone to breathe in the noxious gasses every day of our lives.

          I don’t want to inhale your exhaust fumes, I don’t want to die faster and under greater pain just because you can’t be arsed to bike instead of driving a car.

          • @[email protected]
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            22 years ago

            I don’t think the toxic fumes are left out of the conversation. It’s horrifying round schools at drop off or pick up. In decades to come we’ll look back in amazement what was acceptable.

        • @[email protected]
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          32 years ago

          Bingo bongo. There are also tons of greenhouse gases + other pollution associated with cars that are not the gas they burn to drive. Road infrastructure is a big one.

          • @[email protected]
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            12 years ago

            Ties are a problem that we are just beginning to understand. But we can replace and keep the car.

            I mean don’t get me wrong, I’d love good public transport instead. When it’s good, people use it instead. When I go to a decent (European) city I want to ditch the car a.s.a.p as it’s just a hamper.

    • @[email protected]
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      62 years ago

      Also safety. In my area the bike lanes are just paint and some streets don’t have sidewalks.

      • KroninJ
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        12 years ago

        I know drivers are idiots but in my area bikes are supposed to ride on the streets. Could get a ticket for being in the sidewalk.

        • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️
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          22 years ago

          Same where I live, too. But I ride on the sidewalk anyway. No one has ever said anything about it in decades and I’d rather not get killed.

    • @[email protected]
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      2 years ago

      Ok but emergency vehicles, supply and delivery vehicles, care cars should not get fucked please. These are lifelines. You’re still benefiting in some way on oil and a vehicle even if you’re not the one driving it.

  • @[email protected]
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    432 years ago

    When I was younger and more invincible around 2005, I bought one of these crappy Ebay engine kits for a bicycle. One thing I noticed is that it wasn’t really any slower from home to work than a car, because I could go around traffic. An E-bike would have been great. A lot of them get around on 500 watt or 750 watt motors, which is considerably smaller than an electric car’s motor.

    I’d have one now, but it’s hard to ride one when I have to carry a kid with me most places.

    • @[email protected]
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      522 years ago

      I’d have one now, but it’s hard to ride one when I have to carry a kid with me most places.

      I got an e-bike because I needed to carry a kid (actually, two) around with me. FYI, cargo bikes are a thing:

        • @[email protected]
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          52 years ago

          Nah this is completely right though. Soon as she stops those two kids are gonna bonk heads together, the smaller one needs a bike seat at the very least, and the toddler probably needs one as well. You could still do that with a bike like this, so it doesn’t discount the point entirely, but the image itself is a pretty stupidly conceived piece of work.

        • Uranium3006
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          102 years ago

          it’s only unsafe because of all the cars. aside from that, whats’ the danger, they might fall out?

          • @[email protected]
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            52 years ago

            it’s only unsafe because of all the cars. aside from that, whats’ the danger…

            Swimming in a pool of razor blades is only unsafe because of all the razor blades. Aside from that, what’s the danger?

            …they might fall out?

            Yes

        • @[email protected]
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          32 years ago

          It will never not be funny to me how scared some people are of any transportation that’s not a car.

          • Uranium3006
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            42 years ago

            there are so many people who have both no cognitive ability to imagine something they haven’t personally experienced or is the norm and have never gotten anywhere any other way but a car.

            it’s funny to because compared to literally anything but a motorcycle cars are hella dangerous, and the deaths from all the other modes except airplanes are from getting hit by a car

        • @[email protected]
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          142 years ago

          No less safe than wheeling a kid around in a little red wagon or letting them ride their own bicycle.

          • @[email protected]
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            2 years ago

            Little Red wagons generally don’t travel at 20mph in the street with cars going even faster. That kid in the photo can barely hold herself upright. One little wiggle or unexpected turn and she’ll slip right through those bars and under an SUV.

            Seriously, you might as well just put your kid in to one of these.

    • @[email protected]
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      22 years ago

      I love my Bafang too but be careful of regulation depending on your country, an e-bike is 250W so of you put a more powerful motor you get in the moped category with different rules (helmet, back mirror, insurance…)

    • @[email protected]
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      I have both am ev and an ebike, and a 7 mile commute.

      Driving takes between 20 minutes and an hour and a half. Biking takes 45 minutes no matter what.

      Car uses about 25x more energy though and parking is around $20/day.

      I should add my son much prefers the bike.

    • paraphrand
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      2 years ago

      It’s fun how the preview image for the article has two kids being carried around. But I can understand if you don’t see that as safe in your area, etc.

          • downhomechunk
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            12 years ago

            Yes. For context, she’s 4 and very skittish. I have a burley trailer for my bike I got in the hopes that we could ride together. I only successfully got her in it once for a gentle ride around the park. She screamed in terror the entire time. She does, however, love taking public trans.