The electric vehicles we need now are e-bikes (2022)
E-bikes are great. I rode one to the office today, and when the weather is nice I consider my e-bike commute to be one the highlights of my day. There are a few things I disagree with in this article, though.<p>&gt; “An e-bike is a car trip replacer,” Cherry said, “but an e-cargo bike is a car replacer. An e-cargo bike offers a chance to do just about anything that most Americans need a car to do, like school runs, grocery runs, and so on.”<p>I don&#x27;t really agree with this. Cars are faster, can go further, they haul more, and they are comfortable to ride in any weather conditions. While I think that some people could make do with an e-bike instead of a car (or maybe one less car for a family), replacing a car with an e-bike would require a lot of sacrifices that I don&#x27;t see the averge American being willing to make.<p>And in my case, as someone who enjoys riding a bike and is even willing to do it in the rain, I don&#x27;t see it as replacing a car trip but rather a bus trip. For the three months of the year when it snows and it&#x27;s not safe&#x2F;possible to ride a bike to the office, I ride a bus instead (I would prefer to drive my car, but parking is too expensive&#x2F;inconvenient).<p>&gt; Even more baffling, Congress chose to make any e-bike costing over $4,000 ineligible for a credit, eliminating almost all e-cargo bikes.<p>A quick google search turns up lots of cargo e-bikes for less than $4,000. [1]<p>&gt; And even with the motor providing some of the muscle, the cyclist will receive a surprisingly good workout.<p>I wouldn&#x27;t really call it a &quot;workout&quot;. I find it to be about the same amount of exertion as walking (at a fairly leisurely pace). So definitely better than driving, and for sedentary people it might provide some meaningful benefit. But I have actually been considering switching to a regular bike for commuting just for the added exercise.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bicycling.com&#x2F;bikes-gear&#x2F;a25054215&#x2F;best-cargo-bikes&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bicycling.com&#x2F;bikes-gear&#x2F;a25054215&#x2F;best-cargo-bi...</a>