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EVs are booming but electric bikes are really cutting emissions
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2024
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I see so many ebikes and escooters pop up is there a reason for this? Are people getting them because there's some incentive out there or is it because they're just a cheap way to commute?
To echo the OP's reply below, there are a lot of different reasons combining right now to make them popular.
One of the factors that has improved the most over the last 5 years is how much more access people have to safe and cheap optons. Buying a cheaper e-bike even just 5-6 years ago had you gambling on components and hoping your battery and charger were certified and sourced reputably. And, while you could order online, the experience wasn't always great.
Nowadays it seems like almost everything has certified chargers and batteries, and the overall build quality of cheap bikes and scooters (bikes especially) has improved as well.
Combine that with being able to order a bike or scooter online, ship it to your door in just a week or two, and get going with minimal assembly and adjustment. Boom, that's an attractive option, even before you hit incentives. E-bikes and scooters are so insanely cheap to own and operate compared to a car (even a super cheap car) so it just makes a ton of sense that people would choose them.
Hard to comment on incentives without knowing what part of the world you're in, but yeah they're much cheaper than cars, less effort to use than standard bikes, and in cities can be the fastest way to get around a lot of the time.
Let's not forget the scooters are very compact, you can easily bring one into the office, shop, bus. A bicycle needs to be locked outside, often exposed to the wearher and could be stolen. I'd say it's more of a factor than bicycle costing more effort to move around.
Bicycles also have more moving parts, needs more maintenance i assume than electric scooter that has a direct drive motor with no chain or gears.