280M e-bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
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Re: 280M e-bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
#2We don't need a 4000 lb vehicle to move a ~200 lb person.
In order of efficiency:
(1) Walk
(2) Unicycle, roller skate, scooter (no battery, very little material)
(2) Bike
(3) Electric bike (and all forms of newfangled electric: escooters, segways)
(4) Electric motorbike or scooter
(5) Mass transit (can be public/private) transportation: Electric trains
(6) Mass transit (can be public/private) transportation: Electric buses
(7) Zipline
(8) Carpools on BEV
(9) Carpools on PHEV
(10) BEV
We can stop buying gas cars. Pollution kills 10 million EVERY year[1]. For context, the cumulative COVID deaths over 3 years are ~6.5 million. And fossil fuels are subsidized (Trillions of dollars per year). For 2022, this is $7 trillion[2]. Why are we subsidizing fuels that are proven to cause all kinds of diseases (nearly everything except STIs).
[1] Air Pollution Kills 10 Million People a Year. Why Do We Accept That as Normal?: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/opinion/environment/air-p...
[2] Why Are Governments Still Subsidizing Fossil Fuels? https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-10-16/climat...
[3] https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2023/08/24/fossil-fuel...
Re: 280M e-bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
#3I'm not really sure where in the US people live that makes them think transportation can be replaced by a bike.
I live in San Diego, the climate is great, but there is no way a person can travel any farther than their neighborhood on a bike.
The main impediment at this point is the outrageous price of EVs in the US.
In China cheap EVs are readily available, trade policies are preventing their import into the US.
Bikes, "e" or otherwise are a great way to get around the neighborhood, but most people are not able to restrict their travel to a 10 mile radius. And weather as well as traffic safety are serious mitigations of bike transport.
Re: 280M e-bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
#4"So what’s the best solution? You might think switching to an electric vehicle is the natural step. In fact, for short trips, an electric bike or moped might be better for you – and for the planet."
Also in fact, electric bikes and mopeds are electric vehicles.
Re: 280M e-bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
#5We don't need a 4000 lb vehicle to move a ~200 lb person. In order of efficiency: (1) Walk (2) Unicycle, roller skate, scooter (no battery, very little material) (2) Bike (3) Electric bike (and all forms of newfangled electric: escooters, segways) (4) Electric motorbike or scooter (5) Mass transit (can be public/private) transportation: Electric trains (6) Mass transit (can be public/private) transportation: Electric…
How are you defining efficiency here? Is walking really more efficient than cycling? I would put walking as the least efficient manual powered methods mentioned.
Aside: I used to unicycle to work, and I have to say that it was both fantastic and much faster than walking while on a 27.5" wheel.
Re: 280M e-bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
#6I'm not really sure where in the US people live that makes them think transportation can be replaced by a bike. I live in San Diego, the climate is great, but there is no way a person can travel any farther than their neighborhood on a bike. The main impediment at this point is the outrageous price of EVs in the US. In China cheap EVs are readily available, trade policies are preventing their import into the US. Bike…
You are forgetting about the other coast. A 10 mile Radius will get you almost anywhere you want to go in a NE metro
Re: 280M e-bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
#7I'm not really sure where in the US people live that makes them think transportation can be replaced by a bike. I live in San Diego, the climate is great, but there is no way a person can travel any farther than their neighborhood on a bike. The main impediment at this point is the outrageous price of EVs in the US. In China cheap EVs are readily available, trade policies are preventing their import into the US. Bike…
To be fair, San Diego seems like it was designed specifically to be hostile to non-car travel, especially around the valleys and passes between the hills.
Downtown/GasLamp are totally viable with just an e-bike (and probably over into Coronado), bus as soon as you have to leave that area, I'd agree, non-viable.
I haven't worked or lived in any other city quite that brutally bad for bikes though?
Re: 280M e-bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
#8Eliminating the daily commute for those who have jobs where in person presence isn't essential beats all other forms of transportation. But activists, cities, and greenwash companies have all shown their true face, each for their own reasons of self-interest.
Re: 280M e-bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
#9We don't need a 4000 lb vehicle to move a ~200 lb person. In order of efficiency: (1) Walk (2) Unicycle, roller skate, scooter (no battery, very little material) (2) Bike (3) Electric bike (and all forms of newfangled electric: escooters, segways) (4) Electric motorbike or scooter (5) Mass transit (can be public/private) transportation: Electric trains (6) Mass transit (can be public/private) transportation: Electric…
How are you defining efficiency here? Is walking really more efficient than cycling? I would put walking as the least efficient manual powered methods mentioned. Aside: I used to unicycle to work, and I have to say that it was both fantastic and much faster than walking while on a 27.5" wheel.
Yup, IIRC in terms of kJ/km cycling is ~4x more efficient than walking (on flat surface). I guess they must be talking about the energy used in production, etc.
Re: 280M e-bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
#10We don't need a 4000 lb vehicle to move a ~200 lb person. In order of efficiency: (1) Walk (2) Unicycle, roller skate, scooter (no battery, very little material) (2) Bike (3) Electric bike (and all forms of newfangled electric: escooters, segways) (4) Electric motorbike or scooter (5) Mass transit (can be public/private) transportation: Electric trains (6) Mass transit (can be public/private) transportation: Electric…
How are you defining efficiency here? Is walking really more efficient than cycling? I would put walking as the least efficient manual powered methods mentioned. Aside: I used to unicycle to work, and I have to say that it was both fantastic and much faster than walking while on a 27.5" wheel.
Bicycles are like 98% in terms of distance/effort so even when you factor in the manufacture/materials it seems like it's pretty hard to improve on.
When you account for calorie transport it's possible the e-bike comes out on top, especially if charged from a local renewable electricity source.