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The amount of green washing over e-bike, scooters, cars etc is insane. The batteries are horrible. I look at e bikes the same way I look at electric skateboards. Biking keeps you in shape, and in my case I love jumping off curbs and going as fast as possible, it actually makes the commute to work fun.
Derisible statement. If these things replace a fraction of automobile trips, the net benefit is incalculable.
Once again, if we want to seriously deal with climate change and the environmental damage wrought by automobiles and the infrastructure built for them, we should be shooting e-bikes of a cannon.
I think if they tried to promote using normal bikes it would be better overall. Like let's admit there is way too many over weight people, normal bikes last for ever, like I literally was cruising around on a 1987 bmx today. I saw NYC is thinking about banning the resell of ebikes and there has been 200 fires from them/scooters this year alone.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/14/new-york-e-bike-batteries-fires-delivery-workers
The city I live in has been reducing parking places, removing lanes of roads for bike lanes and there is a dirt cheap bike rental thing here that alot of students and visiters use. Also car sharing is taking off lots of my mates use it for when you really need a car for whatever. When there is a peak of pollution certain cars/trucks etc are not allowed to be used.
Remember where the electricity is coming from to charge those batteries as well.
Normal bikes are often difficult to ride, and in cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, etc., they can be nearly impossible with all the hills, unless you are in excellent shape, and even then you're arriving at your destination in a sweaty mess. Most people don't want to do this, and the alternative is A) nearly non-existent public transit, B) private automobiles. The purpose of cycling for many riders is just to get from point-a to point-b. And who cares if they lose weight or not? That's not my problem and the issue is absolutely immaterial to the subject.
What you describe happening in New York is a regulatory problem, not a problem with electric bikes. Most electric bikes don't catch fire, but the cheap conversion kits and $500 Alibaba e-bikes are an issue which regulators should address.
Of course the power comes from power plants, but it's still a tiny fraction of the energy required to power an car, so who cares? The fact is that there is absolutely no downside to electric bikes when weighed against the alternative of more automobiles, period.