421–430 of 545 posts
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You have to add "redesigned cities" to that list. Electric vehicles are almost as much a patch for ICE cities as they are a replacement for internal combustion.
"Simple" things like good bike lanes and traffic calming enable cities to redesign gradually, and of course this is largely already happening (perhaps too slowly) in many cities.
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It's been entertaining to read the discussions (below) about how to make this practical. So far, it looks like the only way to make this work is to a) live in a city, or rebuild your suburbia into a city, and b) construct your entire life around riding that bike - choose a job with a tolerant boss, spend extra hours every day showering and changing clothes after biking, etc. I'd rather drive an air-conditioned car, s…
Instead of constructing your life around a bike you construct it around a car. You can't commute to work any other way, if it breaks down you are bound to mostly Uber as a backup strategy to get anywhere. Except those car-centric environments you live and work in are a more effective gate to keep the poor out than the grandest gated community. Almost no where else on the planet is the idea of a city being a tiny urba…
I don't, actually - it's that a car is far more useful than a bike. I drive 25 minutes to work; I haul (5 bike-ride-loads of) groceries several miles to my house; I visit friends anywhere from 1-5 hours away; I casually drive into the city and back. Even if I felt like riding 10 miles each way, rain or shine, or using public transit, it takes so much less time to drive my car, and I have to either find multiple clever solutions to each of the other activities I use the car for, or just go without.
My car gives me freedom from limitations; bicycle dependency only adds to them. To use a bike instead of a car, I have to fundamentally adjust my life, in every way for the worse.
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What if workplaces add chargers as a benefit? I've seen several do it near me. People then just plug their car in at work.
> Any solution that requires a certain behavior is unnecessarily coupling that behavior to transferring energy into transportation. Remember when we coupled health insurance to employment? (Also, what if I want to retire next month, but I still drive an EV? Now I'm stuck spending hours of my retirement waiting for my car to charge somewhere? First world problem, I know...) These ideas are OK for a few people. But the…
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>Lifts are the disruptive technology. They make energetically efficient cities possible and cheap. Are lifts really as efficient as escalators? An escalator is constantly moving (unless it's malfunctioning), so there is no wait to continue moving. An elevator on the other hand is not. Maybe it depends on the number of floors? I can see an elevator being faster going from ground to floor 40 rather than zig zagging flo…
> Are lifts really as efficient as escalators? I wouldn't be surprised. > An escalator is constantly moving (unless it's malfunctioning), so there is no wait to continue moving. That wastes energy but makes it time efficient for users (in terms of latency). OTOH, escalators are slow compared to most lifts/elevators, which means total trip time efficiency isn't good unless you are only going a floor or two or are comp…
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And yet, public transportation is not the same. Americans love their cars because we are a very independent people who appreciate the ability to go where we want, when we want. An EV could at least conceivably be a replacement, though that will be difficult until they can charge in a time comparable to that of a gas station fueling and go as long or longer. I don't want to have to plan around some schedule set by a c…
Public transportation takes a lot of time. It doesn't necessarily lead to an efficient workforce. The hour of commute time saved by driving could probably be translated into percentage points of GNP for a country.
I own a condo with a garage, yet I can't put in a charge station. I need to convince most of my neighbors to have the HOA do it. The garage is a separate shared structure and is only wired for lighting and the electric garage door. The only way they could put in EV chargers would be to trench though 30 feet of asphalt from the electrical vault (assuming that vault has sufficient capacity), then wire up the garage. I'…
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> I live in a 100 year old apartment Keeping in mind '100 years old' sounds dramatic but is now as recent as 1919, which doesn't sound that old when you write it out! That's about a fifth of the housing stock in the UK I believe. Obviously, almost none of these houses have garages. I wonder if local governments could install plugs under little hatches like they use for stop cocks all the way down residential roads. h…
London is putting charging points in street lamps: https://www.electrive.com/2018/08/21/char-gy-new-player-on-l...
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I think when he says "show up looking presentable", it may be that he needs to be in suits or business casual, preferably unwrinkled. Also, I am exceptionally disinclined to bike through below-zero weather, snow tires or no (referring to the hypothetical canadian). Let alone Texas summers, which regularly hit 105 this time of year. I don't care if there are showers or not, it's just darn unpleasant to be outside this…
I cycled to work for years in the Netherlands (down to -5C in winter) and Australia (frequenctly 35C+ in summer). The secret in both cases is: (i) keep appropriate clothes at the office; (ii) wear suitable cycling gear (as the Dutch say, there's no such thing as unsuitable weather, only unsuitable clothing); (iii) find a way to shower at work; (iv) be good humored when weather or other mishaps occur...
And speaking of burns, I burn really easily. I've tried the super-oily disgusting stuff and every thing; more than 30mins of direct noon-day sun and I usually burn. I am not getting skin cancer, thank you very much.
(i) This part is very defensible, depending on company culture.
(ii) I don't know what this would be for cold, but I assume you can layer. Heat, you can only remove so much.
(iii) "Find a way" is not a great defense.
(iv) Easier said than done, and similar to iii in that they both boil down to an over-all sentiment of "deal with it".
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Laundry. That just might be the perfect example. What a huge division of experience between the wealthy and the less wealthy. Most homeowners have laundry in their home. Starting and switching loads is a few minutes, and the rest of their time is still free. Many high-end apartments have laundry within a short walk from each residence. It's largely the same experience. But then those with less ability to afford "nice…
> Laundry. That just might be the perfect example. What a huge division of experience between the wealthy and the less wealthy. While a bit off-topic: I never understood why a lack of washing machines in flats is such a huge issue in some countries. In Germany, most flats come with a connector for your own washing machine, those that don't have on inside the flat often have them in the basement, where every party liv…
Some buildings are five stories without an elevator, yet the residents at the top still have washing machines. Unlike Germany, it usually comes as part of the apartment when you rent it.
Thinking about it now, I don't even think I've ever seen a laundromat in my city...