this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2024
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This would be much more efficient if it had other transportation as well.
Like non-electric cars, trains, subways, etc.
It's not too hard to get their efficiency as well.
NEXT DAY EDIT: Should've looked, there's actually a handy chart showing the energy efficiencies of a whole bunch of vehicles and modes of transport just straight up on Wikipedia. This article. Comparing the km/MJ column, we can see:
Walking 4.55
Velomobile with enclosed recumbent: 12.35 (there wasnt a figure for just regular biking)
Solar car: 14.93
Tesla Model 3: 1.76
General Motors EV1: 1.21
All combustion engines are below 1, but here's a few:
VW Passat: 0.33 Cadillac CTS-V: 0.17 Renault Clio: 0.42
There's a whole bunch of other stats though so I suggest checking the table
END EDIT
Also biking and walking are not necessarily even viable for certain commutes such as any over about 4 miles/ whatever that is in kilometers say 8, and anytime I need to carry heavy luggage / groceries. Or anytime anybody with mobility issues needs to travel.
It's all very well insane if we wanted to buy an e-bike and get rid of their car but that's not really practical.
The break-even distance in urban areas, where it takes the same amount of time to bike, is typically more like 7 miles. That's about half of commutes. Not a 100% replacement for everybody, but big enough to make a meaningful difference.
<7km is too far to bike?
Oh man. Well, I agree on the other things you said, but... 6.4 km isn't that much. It's a fair bit, yeah, but not that much. With an e-bike, it's not really even a thing. I chose to use the healthcare in the next city over (I live on the border of two cities) and I have about ~7km whenever I go there. 10-15 min with an ebike. With a regular one it'd be a chore, but it wouldn't take much longer, 20-25 minutes maybe with a loose pace.
But yeah biking definitely can't replace everything. I mean, cargo bikes exist, but still.
With mobility issues, we now have a lot of mobility "scooters" that go about 25km/h per the EU regulations. Like a super buffed up wheelchair. with a sort of chassis. Small enough to fit in the back of a taxi-van that has a disabled lift, but still quick enough to use in a similar way as a bike.
Still tho. I want my cheap rental ecars.
Bikes don't have to replace everything to make a big difference. Something like "use them as the default choice for shorter distances" makes a big difference.
Oh definitely.
I would like to one day see one of those horrible American cities that you can't even traverse on foot / bike, but I don't want to step a foot in the US, with the whole fucked up corruption, military-industrial complex, and the whole budding protofascism.