This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Is this some universe where people forgot bikes exist? How are electric vehicles better than riding a bike?
these are feasible in cities that you wouldn't want to drive a car in anyways. probably not so good for commuting around Boise Idaho
We sold our car and committed around Tacoma for about 6 months before we moved to the Netherlands. It was awful in a ton of ways, but for a lot of trips it was way better. The majority of trips are under a mile, so dropping the kids off at preschool and stuff was way better on a bike. It's actually quite a bit faster since kids love to get on the bike instead of the long fight against the car seat.
We also did a few shopping trips. You can't really do much more than 3 bags on a long tail bike with two kids in the back, but it worked well enough for shopping trips. People look at you like you're crazy in the US when you've got things strapped all over your bike, but here it's just completely normal. We probably would ride year round there if it wasn't for how dangerous cars are when it rains. I have no problem biking in the wind and the rain here because I know I'm not going to be randomly murdered by some idiot in a multiton metal box.
I'm not familiar with Boise, but I'd bet that an eBike would still be better for a lot of trips.
Seems like a no brainer! And especially useful in dense cities where you don't want to be stuck idling in a car.
Is this because of China? Big middle class all wanting cars but the cities were designed pre-car, so bikes make more sense and cost less?
If you're not that wealthy you might be able to afford a car but not want to buy a car and an expensive e-bike. A car is useful for short distance trips in bad weather, longer trips that might not be the majority of your travelling, and transporting stuff that won't fit on a moped (or an e-bike unless you get a trailer... or bigger stuff than that.) In that case you're going to buy the one tool that covers your needs.
