The federal government’s successful incentive program for zero-emissions vehicle purchases is running out of money and not slated for renewal, much to the dismay of environmental and industry groups.
e-Bikes and e-Scooters are already significantly cheaper than even the cheapest new car.
And yet people are still choosing to buy cars.
It’s not the price of a e-bike that is the problem; it’s that you can’t get an e-bike that can haul around a family of 4 and all their “stuff” to grandma’s two cities over in a reasonable amount of time.
You can haul a family of four around town on an e-bike (it’s how I do the daycare run in the morning).
Intercity transit SHOULD be easily accessible by train, but we decided we don’t do that here.
People also choose cars because of marketing, the built environment which provides them few protected spaces, societal pressures, and decision inertia.
Many multicar families could easily swap a car put with an e-bike.
And the fact that cars are the only viable way to get to grannies 2 cities over, it a terrible indicator that our infrastructure prioritizes cars/car infrastructure/car related profits, through a massive pay wallet that somewhere around 20% of the population over 16 can’t even use no matter how much cash they have, and obviously the population under 16 can’t use at all.
It isn’t a fair choice when a province makes it illegal to build safe bike lanes.
I bet a lot less people would drive year round if it was illegal to have any windows or a roof on a car. A lot less people would drive if there wasn’t a road to their destination. A lot less people would drive if we got rid of all modern safety equipment like airbags. Yet we can’t encourage people to bike by making places where it is safe to do so without signifcant risk of an SUV running you over.
I put nearly 10 000 km on my e-bike back when I commuted to work; I’m very familiar with the issues around infrastructure, and am more than supportive of infrastructure improvements for cyclists.
But that still doesn’t negate the fact that people want cars. If they wanted an e-bike they’re already significantly cheaper than a car and they could just go out and buy one. Would more people ride them if we had better infrastructure? Maybe — but that’s an infrastructure problem, and not one of having an e-bike rebate.
My bike got stolen recently. I haven’t bought another yet because there are no bike lanes to safely bike in my area and I’d otherwise use a bike for trails which i dont typically do in the winter. I have to commute along a 4 lane, 80km/h road with average speeds closer to 100km/h. There is a rough gravelly shoulder and it is a snow bank in the winter. An e bike would turn my 20 minute commte into 40, something i’d be willing to do if the ride was enjoyable and safe, which it is not.
People need somewhere to bike to justify investing in the ebike. Nobody would buy a tesla if it wasn’t allowed to drive on the road. Nobdy wants to bike next to 100+km/h traffic injaling tire particles abd listening to a subaru redlining their engine through a needlessly loud exhaust.
Exactly — which is why I think any money that could be put towards an e-bike rebate would be better spent working on infrastructure. Offering a rebate without suitable infrastructure for riding is putting the cart before the horse.
e-Bikes and e-Scooters are already significantly cheaper than even the cheapest new car.
And yet people are still choosing to buy cars.
It’s not the price of a e-bike that is the problem; it’s that you can’t get an e-bike that can haul around a family of 4 and all their “stuff” to grandma’s two cities over in a reasonable amount of time.
You can haul a family of four around town on an e-bike (it’s how I do the daycare run in the morning).
Intercity transit SHOULD be easily accessible by train, but we decided we don’t do that here.
People also choose cars because of marketing, the built environment which provides them few protected spaces, societal pressures, and decision inertia.
Many multicar families could easily swap a car put with an e-bike.
And the fact that cars are the only viable way to get to grannies 2 cities over, it a terrible indicator that our infrastructure prioritizes cars/car infrastructure/car related profits, through a massive pay wallet that somewhere around 20% of the population over 16 can’t even use no matter how much cash they have, and obviously the population under 16 can’t use at all.
It isn’t a fair choice when a province makes it illegal to build safe bike lanes.
I bet a lot less people would drive year round if it was illegal to have any windows or a roof on a car. A lot less people would drive if there wasn’t a road to their destination. A lot less people would drive if we got rid of all modern safety equipment like airbags. Yet we can’t encourage people to bike by making places where it is safe to do so without signifcant risk of an SUV running you over.
I put nearly 10 000 km on my e-bike back when I commuted to work; I’m very familiar with the issues around infrastructure, and am more than supportive of infrastructure improvements for cyclists.
But that still doesn’t negate the fact that people want cars. If they wanted an e-bike they’re already significantly cheaper than a car and they could just go out and buy one. Would more people ride them if we had better infrastructure? Maybe — but that’s an infrastructure problem, and not one of having an e-bike rebate.
My bike got stolen recently. I haven’t bought another yet because there are no bike lanes to safely bike in my area and I’d otherwise use a bike for trails which i dont typically do in the winter. I have to commute along a 4 lane, 80km/h road with average speeds closer to 100km/h. There is a rough gravelly shoulder and it is a snow bank in the winter. An e bike would turn my 20 minute commte into 40, something i’d be willing to do if the ride was enjoyable and safe, which it is not.
People need somewhere to bike to justify investing in the ebike. Nobody would buy a tesla if it wasn’t allowed to drive on the road. Nobdy wants to bike next to 100+km/h traffic injaling tire particles abd listening to a subaru redlining their engine through a needlessly loud exhaust.
Exactly — which is why I think any money that could be put towards an e-bike rebate would be better spent working on infrastructure. Offering a rebate without suitable infrastructure for riding is putting the cart before the horse.
And I’ll tell you — as a former e-bike rider^0, I’d much rather share the road with EVs than gas and diesel vehicles. EV rebates benefit cyclists and pedestrians too. California has seen a measurable drop in fine particulate matter and ozone pollution thanks to EVs. Noise pollution is also reduced. EVs running alongside good cycling infrastructure is a win for everyone.
[0] — e-biked 10km each way too and from work for about 3 years; stopped about 14 years ago because I’ve been 100% work-from-home since that time.
People know what they are getting when they buy a car, so there’s no leap of faith getting one.
That’s not true with ebikes or escooters when you’ve never used one before.
When e-mobility rebate programs come up (like in the states), the available rebates disappear faster than Taylor Swift concert tickets!