I like my e-bike a lot, but cleaning the gears and keeping them calibrated can be a PITA. The wheel hub motor is nice because my chain just keeps on giving even after 2300 miles, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an internal gear hub combined with a a wheel hub electric motor.
While you’re not wrong about how humanity isn’t serious about cutting energy use, the lights in taller buildings like I assume these were could equate to much much less energy used when opposed to one or two story buildings surrounded by parking lots that require employees to drive to them.