meep_launcher ,

I live in Chicago.

I'm not gonna say there's no reason to have a car, but I see no reason for the average Chicagoan to own a car.

The CTA is actually pretty reliable overall
The streets are comparatively bikeable
The Divvy System (bike share) is well layer out.

Make America Multimodal Again.
This. Shit. Works.

boonhet ,

I've honestly been considering giving up my car for an electric scooter for the summer - my wife will keep her car, so we can still go to places with the family, but I don't need a car for my work commute. At the same time, I'm too lazy to wake up early enough to walk.

Helps that I live in a medium sized European town. Escooters and bikes are very viable - and you can rent them for a low fee too, from multiple providers (I do wish they didn't each require their own app, but of course they do).

soggy_kitty ,

Yeah households don't really need two cars, drop it down to one.

unexposedhazard ,

E-bikes are probably around 100 times more economical than e-cars so it makes sense that they are much more impactful simply because so many more people can afford them.

cron ,

The raw electricity usage is ~25 times lower for E-Bikes. And that is not counting in the 2 ton weight difference with all this steel, battery cells, electronics etc.

5714 ,

The lower weight and size also has significant external benefits, because roads need less maintenance and don't need to be as big (that means less taxes for the owning classes in the back).

Enkers ,

I'd imagine it's quite a bit fewer tire micro-plastics too.

pl_woah ,

we talking about the "fourth power law" (damage to roadway is weight to the power of 4)?

Toine ,

100 is a bit much, a good ebike can cost several thousands. IMHO the main driver for adoption is the availability of dedicated infrastructure. I can afford an EV but chose to use a bike because the infrastructure is excellent where I live and it allows me to avoid traffic and congestion.

unexposedhazard ,

Maybe its a bit much but as i said in the other reply, you need:

  • a parking space
  • insurance
  • maintainance
  • eventually very costly battery replacement

All of these are either not necessaey or muuuch cheaper for bikes. These are also recurring costs that together could pay for a whole new e bike every few months.

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