Earlier quoted context omitted.
Given that tires produce a lot of particulate matter, even EV's contribute to pollution significantly.
Wouldn’t that mean bicycles contribute to air pollution?
Yes, but so do humans walking. The proportions matter.
Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
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Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#442Cars in cities, let alone designing cities around cars, is one of the greatest tragedies of modern life.
It is, though the problem predates the cars. At the time cars were seen as a huge win over the vast piles of horse poop. Cities do need to be reconsidered for more public transit and more opportunities to walk, but other issues (delivery, emergency, disability, etc) have to figure in.
Emergency response times go down in almost any case where car use is restricted. In the Netherlands emergency vehicles take bike lane shortcuts because people on bikes can move out of the way more easily. In New York, congestion pricing reduced the response times of emergency services.
Disability needs an annotations for only specific disabilities that don't inhibit driving. Which is a small subset of disabilities.
Delivery of most things can be done with small cars/trucks.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#443Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t know about tires, but for brakes we already know how to make lower dust brakes - use drum brakes instead of disc brakes. The friction material is enclosed on drum brakes so much less of it just flies away.
There's also EVs that generally do most of their braking on the regenerative whatsit, which causes no wear on the brake pads. A lot of it can be prevented by education / driving style, and improving road designs to allow for smooth driving.
If you look at what cars of this type are produced and who drives them, it quickly becomes clear where the road is heading.
Huge off-road vehicles, albeit with electric drive, are missing the mark.
These things are advertised with sporty performance, comfort and so on.
In my opinion, energy is being thrown out the window to satisfy the ego of the buyer.
These people are buying themselves a clear conscience.
Even if the cars are electric, where can they be charged?
Not everyone lives in the houses you see in the advertisements.
Not everyone can just go into debt for something like this.
I drive an economical petrol car with 200k kilometers on the clock.
I don't need to produce anything new or use any rare earths or energy.
Even with electric cars, the plastic for the door panels has to be made from crude oil.
The cost of installing all the electronics is also high.
I drive this car until I can't drive any more, I mostly use public transport, but sometimes I have to use the car for the weekly shop.
I'm also staying in the city because I'm getting older and I'm dependent on doctors and markets, at the moment I work outside the city, like many others, and people just need a car to park here.
Not everyone has the same life as others.
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Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#444Since then, many city have enforced the same kind of rule where polluting car are banned from center of town. 2 week ago, deputies were discussing the global ban of 'car free town center' because it doesn't really work and it exclude part of the society... https://www.lefigaro.fr/automobile/zfe-50-deputes-defendent-...
Which part does it exclude? Elderly who are unfit to drive, anyone below driving age or who can't afford a car or license? People with disabilities, like blind people, people with motor issues, people with disabilities that can't afford a modified car? All these people have to dodge cars to get to places.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#445Honestly, kind of amazing to see a big city actually pull it off. So many places talk about reducing car dependence and improving air quality, but Paris really committed - and the data speaks for itself. Of course, the pushback from drivers was inevitable (it always is), but it's hard to argue with 55% less PM2.5 and cleaner skies over the Eiffel Tower. That's not just good urban policy - that's public health in action.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#446Worth noting that 50-60% of passenger cars in France are diesel, but Paris have been gradually banning older higher emission diesels (Crit’air 3, 4, 5) from Paris. Banning cars outright also works, of course, but I suspect a lot of the reduction can be attributed to getting particularly bad diesel cars out vs. the limited areas where cars are entirely restricted.
Makes me wonder how much of this kind of progress other cities could get just from phasing out the dirtiest vehicles without going straight to car-free zones
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#447Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seeing as we’re talking Paris, there are plenty of Twizys around. Not light light, but a third the weight of even a new Renault 5 EV. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Twizy
Mm. Now that I see it in real life I don't know how I feel about it. It doesn't feel safe when I see a Twizy, but when I see these cars in my mind I see them on Swedish bicycle roads. The whole thing would probably require a total transformation of city travel.
The basic ones (and things like the Citroën Ami) are more A-traktor than bicycle – there’s an A-traktor registered Ami in the next village along from me – but that’s typically a software limit. The Twizy could be bought in an 80km/h variant, and there are “remaps” that will take that version up to 110km/h.[1] I’ve seen them doing near that on riksvägar here.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#448"Ban all the cars" does have noticeable effects. I wonder if something less all / none might have nearly the same effects with far less drawbacks otherwise. E.G. What if only emissions testing certified low emission vehicles were allowed? What if only electric? How about requiring quiet utility trucks for garbage / freight / etc? For cities that large / dense, adding in Caves of Steel like people-mover belts might be…
The most effective changes probably come from stacking a bunch of smaller, less dramatic policies that add up over time: cleaner vehicles, better public transit, quieter freight solutions, smarter zoning, etc
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#449Earlier quoted context omitted.
If EVs don’t emit tailpipe emissions then 100% of their emissions will be those things. They’re also heavier and so have more tire wear. It seems not unintuitive to me that their emissions might push the boundaries of strict modern emissions standards. For taxing cars, you’re still leaving so much car infrastructure out there. It swallows the world. Six months ago for the first time ever I got a job where I could bik…
Cycling to work is nice. But if you are young, sitting all day in a warm office. Think of blue collar workers that are hungry, exhausted and also people getting older. Its fucking annoying to wait for the bus that does not show up, the stupid beeps whenever the doors open and the slow movement in general. Lucky i am at home in half an hour, laws now require you to commute to work in up to 1.5hrs if you cant afford a…
If you like repairing the vintage Vespa, great project and that sounds fun. That’s worth a lot!
But I will curse at the stink of the exhaust from the crappy old motor when you ride by. Try an e-bike (you can get one built more locally surely), or an e-Vespa (or hell, make that your project to convert the vintage Vespa into a silent sleeper Vespa with crazy performance!). Electric is so, so much more fun.
Worrying about that small amount of “critical minerals” needed for a bike/Vespa is a conspiracy to distract you from the fact that oil is also extracted and has negative externalities, we just live with those already.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#450Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lighter cars, really, that's it. Make vehicles that match the transportation case in question instead of palaces on wheels that carry battery sized for solving some once in a year use case. And/or make them go slower.
Huh, imagine EVs that have removable add-on batteries that you'd only plug in for the longer trips.. Like the Thinkpads with the "bigger battery" humps: https://sm.pcmag.com/t/pcmag_ap/photo/l/lenovo-thi/lenovo-th...
NIO does battery swaps in minutes, in China and Europe. I believe you can also perhaps get different ranges but if not, would be great to swap between a 50kwh pack for normal use and say 100+kwh for your road trip.
Then again battery charging/weight tech is getting pretty good pretty fast.