I know there is a government shutdown going on right now, but I never want to give up the opportunity to promote the dawah of the e-bike. Outside of my political work, creating e-bike infrastructure is one of the most missions of mine.
Many Americans praise the bike infrastructure found in Europe, but that simply will not work due to American exceptionalism. American cities and suburbs are simply too sprawled out and we are so car centric to the point that we need speed that can at least match cars. However, if American cities start taking infrastructure seriously rather than complaining about a “war on cars” or associating ebikes with teenage demons on Surrons (which are technically mopeds or motorcycles) then we could get bike infrastructure that rivals Europe in a different way.
Also, as someone who does not own a car and does everything on an e-bike, including Costco trips, the amount of money that I have saved by not owning a car is insane. My commute is 14 miles a day one way which takes about 45 minutes to cover and in addition to saving money, I also get an intense workout every day and have an excuse to carb up.
The article mentions that the cost can be expensive, but you can get a good ebike between 1300 to 2500 and insurance is 120 a year, but I pay 600 a year as I got the maximum policy regarding medical and property damage.
morydotedu on
As someone who rides an ebike, the problem isn’t cities taking them seriously, the problem for me is the same as my problem with mass transit and most of my urban complaints: a complete lack of law enforcement.
Ebikes aren’t welcome on the sidewalks. This makes sense, they can go up to 20 miles an hour in my state. But they are even *less* welcome on the road. Cars will drive aggressively when I’m on an ebike, I’ve had multiple people yell at me to get off the road and onto the sidewalk, and even though with a little effort I can push my bike up to 25 or 30 (the speed of many small streets), cars are still want to zoom around very close to me to get in front, even when I’m going the speed limit (or above!).
Bike lanes are no solution either. Cars use them as passing lanes, as right turn lanes, and as parking spots without ever getting a ticket. Even lanes protected by bollards will have some cars jackknifed into the lane with their hazard lights on while the driver picks up an order at a restaurant or waits for a rider.
And in the best case scenario where cars are completely blocked from using the bike lane, non-ebikes and walkers will use the bike lane and yell at an ebike for the crime of going 20 mph down a bike lane, and demand again I get into the road.
The solution should simply be enforcement. Enforce the law against parking in bike lanes, ticket and tow those cars, and they’ll be free and easy for bikes to use. Enforce the law against aggressive driving, ticket cars that speed and drive dangerously to get around a bike, and the cars will calm down and ebikes can use the roads.
But until those things happen, I can’t in good conscious encourage my friends to drop their cars for ebikes. I know I’m taking my life in my hands on the streets, and while I’m ok with that danger personally I’d be worried of my friends who haven’t ridden all their lives doing so. They’ll expect cars to obey the law and then get hit by a car turning right from the left-hand lane while they’re going straight, because they don’t know to watch out for crazy moves like that while they’re on a bike.
The worst part is how instead of enforcing existing laws, the city is hellbent on adding *new* laws to not enforce. There’s a push to ban right-on-red because it’s dangerous. But we can’t even ban *left on red* so what’s the point?
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*”As more electric vehicles hit the road, the temptation is to invest heavily in the infrastructure — roads, highways, parking lots — that will preserve the status quo of prioritizing cars over people. Meanwhile, the e-bike market* [*is skyrocketing*](https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/us-e-bike-market-report) *— and,* [*according to some studies*](https://www.bicycling.com/news/a39838840/ebikes-are-outpacing-electric-car-sales-in-the-us/)*, outpacing electric cars — providing an even more environmentally friendly travel option. The question now is: Do officials double down on* [*deadly*](https://umbc.edu/stories/why-us-cities-are-becoming-more-dangerous-for-cyclists-and-pedestrians/) *car-centric urban design, or do they rethink cities to encourage people to ditch four wheels for two?*”
I know there is a government shutdown going on right now, but I never want to give up the opportunity to promote the dawah of the e-bike. Outside of my political work, creating e-bike infrastructure is one of the most missions of mine.
Many Americans praise the bike infrastructure found in Europe, but that simply will not work due to American exceptionalism. American cities and suburbs are simply too sprawled out and we are so car centric to the point that we need speed that can at least match cars. However, if American cities start taking infrastructure seriously rather than complaining about a “war on cars” or associating ebikes with teenage demons on Surrons (which are technically mopeds or motorcycles) then we could get bike infrastructure that rivals Europe in a different way.
Also, as someone who does not own a car and does everything on an e-bike, including Costco trips, the amount of money that I have saved by not owning a car is insane. My commute is 14 miles a day one way which takes about 45 minutes to cover and in addition to saving money, I also get an intense workout every day and have an excuse to carb up.
The article mentions that the cost can be expensive, but you can get a good ebike between 1300 to 2500 and insurance is 120 a year, but I pay 600 a year as I got the maximum policy regarding medical and property damage.
As someone who rides an ebike, the problem isn’t cities taking them seriously, the problem for me is the same as my problem with mass transit and most of my urban complaints: a complete lack of law enforcement.
Ebikes aren’t welcome on the sidewalks. This makes sense, they can go up to 20 miles an hour in my state. But they are even *less* welcome on the road. Cars will drive aggressively when I’m on an ebike, I’ve had multiple people yell at me to get off the road and onto the sidewalk, and even though with a little effort I can push my bike up to 25 or 30 (the speed of many small streets), cars are still want to zoom around very close to me to get in front, even when I’m going the speed limit (or above!).
Bike lanes are no solution either. Cars use them as passing lanes, as right turn lanes, and as parking spots without ever getting a ticket. Even lanes protected by bollards will have some cars jackknifed into the lane with their hazard lights on while the driver picks up an order at a restaurant or waits for a rider.
And in the best case scenario where cars are completely blocked from using the bike lane, non-ebikes and walkers will use the bike lane and yell at an ebike for the crime of going 20 mph down a bike lane, and demand again I get into the road.
The solution should simply be enforcement. Enforce the law against parking in bike lanes, ticket and tow those cars, and they’ll be free and easy for bikes to use. Enforce the law against aggressive driving, ticket cars that speed and drive dangerously to get around a bike, and the cars will calm down and ebikes can use the roads.
But until those things happen, I can’t in good conscious encourage my friends to drop their cars for ebikes. I know I’m taking my life in my hands on the streets, and while I’m ok with that danger personally I’d be worried of my friends who haven’t ridden all their lives doing so. They’ll expect cars to obey the law and then get hit by a car turning right from the left-hand lane while they’re going straight, because they don’t know to watch out for crazy moves like that while they’re on a bike.
The worst part is how instead of enforcing existing laws, the city is hellbent on adding *new* laws to not enforce. There’s a push to ban right-on-red because it’s dangerous. But we can’t even ban *left on red* so what’s the point?