People here seem to love e-bikes, and honestly they’re pretty good and I love them too. But what about electric moped scooters or electric motorcycles? I remember riding on an electric moped back in China, sitting in front of my aunt who was driving, and it felt really cool, though thinking back I don’t remember either of us wearing helmets so might not have been the safest thing (then again we couldn’t go very fast on the dense Chinese city streets either, and it was seen more as “biking 2.0” because most Chinese cities have excellent bike lanes that also allow scooters as long as you ride at lower speeds). Maybe it’s just childhood bias and nostalgia but I’ve always liked the concept of electric mopeds.

I’ve also heard people in North America saying it’s a good car alternative especially in places with milder climates, because while it would be ideal to just have walkable/bikeable cities in the first place, if you have no choice but to live in a suburb and don’t want a car it can be a good compromise between not having a car but still having a vehicle capable of quickly covering the distances imposed by urban sprawl, but it’s a lot cheaper, less resource intensive, and allows you to dart around traffic. The only issue is you can’t park it at a bike parkade and have to use a parking lot, and you can’t bring it on public transit.

What do you think? Do you think electric mopeds and motorcycles have a place in a car free society?

  • McSinyx@slrpnk.net
    1·
    2 years ago

    My comment about range was on the electric motorcycles, which unlike electric bicycles, without electricity you’ll be stuck in the middle of the road. Electric motorbikes shouldn’t go in the bicycle’s lane either since they are faster and have surprisingly high acceleration. Indeed they’re still better than electric cars at mass but that’s a pretty low bar to begin with.

    BTW a nuclear family actively using two cars is ridiculous IMHO (perhaps just cultural difference?) and I suppose they have their reasons, e.g. weather or bad roads, so the solution for them should probably be a smaller car (one/two seats) instead.