Kids find independence from their parents without the costs of driving, though safety risks remain
Teens are taking to suburban streets across the U.S. while skipping a classic rite of passage: driving a car.
Instead, their families are spending as much as $3,000 on electric bicycles, the battery-powered vehicles that offer the convenience of traditional bikes without the sweat or strain that comes with unassisted pedaling.
WSJ paywall, but the summary is sufficient food for thought: in some ways, the ebike is now enabling what the automobile was meant to enable in the 1950s: suburban mobility, freedom, the open road, independence, all that jazz. But the ebike brings its own advantages, such as parking nearly anywhere, going off-road or off-trail, transit as a range extender, and riding alongside friends. Motorcyclists will be familiar with these advantages, but the ebike really brings them to the fore with an even lower cost of ownership.
Obviously, there are still a few drawbacks, such as weather exposure and speed. But quite frankly, local trips in town don’t need much more than 20-30 mph (32-48 kph) and Phoenix AZ is an anomaly unto itself.
But what I think is most uplifting is that teens of this generation will grow up with the holy trifecta: the formal or online education to build or fix their way out of problems with their bike, access to 3d printers (eg at libraries) to realize modifications, and a platform that is growing more ubiquitous by the year. This is the setup for a virtuous cycle.
Optimistically, I can see ebikes becoming a part of the teenage American identity in the 2020s, an expressive product of their time. Not by force of poverty or necessity, but because of want for meaningful experiences and a general dislike for the drudgery that is driving an automobile and the associated traffic.
I will admit that today’s ebikes still have not converged toward adequate standards, such that maintaining an ebike still involves a mix of standard bike tools plus proprietary ebike tools such as for batteries and motors. But it’s reasonable to expect market forces to whittle down the variants, in the same way cars settled upon gasoline/petrol as standard (versus diesel, kerosene, alcohol) and left-hand drive (outside the former British Empire).
What an exciting future to look toward to.
Diesel isn’t standard? Is this an american thing I’m to european to understand ?
When I said “standard”, I probably should have said “prevalent” or “most common”. Although in the USA, it’s far-and-away gasoline that’s reliably available at every fuel station, with diesel being an accommodation along highways and truck routes, but not reliably available within cities.
In the USA, diesel passenger cars are uncommon enough that there are zero diesel hybrid cars for sale here. It didn’t even occur to me – as a Californian – that such hybrids existed, whereas they do in Europe and other markets.
My understanding is that petrol is still the #1 fuel source for cars in Europe, but diesel is much closer behind in #2. Is that the case?
Thank you, you answered in great detail what I asked in a kinda mean way. You are correct, in Germany, there are roughly 30% diesel cars on the roads, and you can get diesel at every gas station. But the numbers are declining, because of diesel bans on some inner city roads and the Volkswagen Group and Mercedes emission scandal.
Out of curiosity, how is a diesel ban for city roads enforced? Does that mean automobiles that burn diesel aren’t permitted into the inner city, rather than just banning the sale of diesel within the city?
I’m not sure how an analogous ban would be enforced here in America, for lack of an automated means to identify diesel cars, as well as a lack of bollards or checkpoints into downtown (ie inner city) areas, and a lack of general enforcement enthusiasm for “equipment” violations.
Do the German authorities only enforce it when stopping a car for other, separate violations?
It’s the former. In many cities cars are required to have a badge in their windshield signifying / signaling (?) how polluting (is that a word?) their car is. From red (really old and bad) to green. This applies to both gasoline and diesel cars and e.g. really dirty diesel cars (euro 1 and 2 norm) are completely forbidden (red badge).
Then additionally some cities have streets banning diesel cars completly or requiring some very strict exhaust norm (euro 6? Euro 7; I don’t know).
How is this enforced. E.g. by checking parking cars for their badge or by selectively stopping cars (and be it for other violations, yes). There obviously are some fines. That’s it I think and it mostly works (I guess, not living in a city myself).
Ah, I see. So those old diesel vehicles are essentially wearing a scarlet letter haha
Well said.