this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2024

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Electric Vehicles

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Electric Vehicles are a key part of our tomorrow and how we get there. If we can get all the fossil fuel vehicles off our roads, out of our seas and out of our skies, we'll have a much better environment. This community is where we discuss the various different vehicles and news stories regarding electric transportation.

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The world’s 280 million electric bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars (theconversation.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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We hop in the car to get groceries or drop kids at school. But while the car is convenient, these short trips add up in terms of emissions, pollution and petrol cost.

Close to half (44%) of all Australian commuter trips are by car – and under 10km. Of Perth’s 4.2 million daily car trips, 2.8 million are for distances of less than 2km.

This is common in wealthier countries. In the United States, a staggering 60% of all car trips cover less than 10km.

So what’s the best solution? You might think switching to an electric vehicle is the natural step. In fact, for short trips, an electric bike or moped might be better for you – and for the planet. That’s because these forms of transport – collectively known as electric micromobility – are cheaper to buy and run.

But it’s more than that – they are actually displacing four times as much demand for oil as all the world’s electric cars at present, due to their staggering uptake in China and other nations where mopeds are a common form of transport.

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[+] [email protected] -14 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

If you have a car anyway they are not cheaper. You need tires more often along with chains and casettes as they wear out fast. A car that you use for many things is cheaper for those trips too.

i wish it wasn't but having an ebike that I use more than my truck that is my conclusion

Of course there areelarge fitness benifits and you are not spending that much more so still worth it. Just that unless you can get rid of a car they are not cheaper.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I have a car and an electric bike. The bike cost $1400 and we've had it for 3 months. In that 3 months my car has cost me $512 in insurance, ~$300 in fuel, $70 in maintenance (oil change and air filters), and $890 for new tie rods. Ignoring the repair cost, my car has cost me almost $900 in normal expenses, aka almost as much as the bike. And I'm due for a new clutch, which will probably cost me as much as the bike in parts and labor. By February my normal expenses for the car will eclipse the price of a brand new e-bike

My wife rides the bike to work 5 days a week, 8 miles round trip. The maintenance costs have been $6 for a bottle of chain lube and a combined 30 minutes to clean the chain a few times.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Most of those car cost are the same if you leave it sitting in the garrage.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You do realize how that's worse right? In the same time that car is draining my wallet by doing literally nothing, the bike could be sitting there as well costing me, at most, the price of a new set of tires and tubes. Over a long enough period, the car will get even more expensive as seals, tires, and hoses dry rot, the battery drains, the gas goes bad, and the other fluids degrade. Worst case scenario on the bike you might need to replace a battery on an e-bike if left for long enough. For my bike that would run me about $150. That wouldn't even scratch the surface of a worst case scenario for getting a dormant car up and running again.

If I could ditch my car for an e-bike I would in a heartbeat but my commute is too long

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The point is if you are keeping the car anyway. If you can get rid of a car that saves a ton of money, but if you can't get rid of it you are not saving.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You're still saving a lot of money on gas. And as long as its still somewhat frequently driven it also wears out much slower reducing the maintenance costs.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The amount of wear you save is minimal since ebikes have a much smaller range. (the battery dies so for longer trips an acoustic bike is can do longer trips but the speed limits it for daily trips even more) at the savings a ebike gives for range you are doing maintenance pased on times - uv , water, and ozone mean you have to replace a lot of things anyway. Oil still only lasts a year, tires 7 Years...

remember again this is about a vehicle you keep. get rid of it and you save a lot. I used to have a car and a truck but the car wasn't used enough anymore so I got rid of it saving a lot (i lived in a place with good transit then - I got the ebike when we moved to a place without). however the bike can't completely replace the truck so I keep it thus not saving money.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Using your car somewhat regularly means that it usually lasts longer since parts don't break down because they aren't usesd. Using an E-Bike for all the short trips you would usually do with your car saves you a lot of money from gasoline, since short trips are less efficient with a car, so you still save money.

[–] cubism_pitta 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Fuel costs certainly offset that FAST

I think most people wouldn't wear out a cassette nearly as quickly as you imagine (besides, overhauling a drive train (new chain, new cassette, new chainrings) can be done with decent parts for $50-70)

I have 3,000 miles on my chainring and about 2,000 miles on my chain and cog these components are still good and probably have another 2,000 miles available easily

Tires do wear out and I spend about $200 a year on those (I could spend 80 if I got cheaper tires)... but I spend between $600-800 every two years for tires on my EV

I've been pretty into riding my bike around my city and working on bikes for the last few years. Most bicycle repairs start at $20 and top out at $100 where as most repair jobs on cars start at $300-500

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

I just replaced my chainring after about 1600 miles and a year and the tire is about to be replaced. Most of my chain trouples are from a few emergency stops to avoid a car and so I ended up starting in high gear - it should have lasted longer. 80 gallons of fuel costs about 240 and at that little use time is why you do most other maintenance so we can ignore those costs - they are much higher but you would pay them anyway.

the key to the above is you keep the car and so are paying the costs just keeping it even when you don't use it. if you drive more per mile costs add up but you quickly get out of ebike range.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

[...] truck [...]

of all vehicles you could choose from, why do you own a truck? Do you move large quantities of cargo that often you require such an otherwise cumbersome car?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

A couple times per year I do. And it turns out you cannot rent a truck - truck shaped cars no problem, but to use it as I do isn't allowed by the contract.

I drive it about once a month, mostly things that a car would do but having a car and a truck is even more expensive. I've regularly asked if I could use somthing else but there are some things I can't figure out and so the truck ends up staying for now.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

I drive a rented vehicle daily, for work reasons, and that damned Ranger is put through the grinder as any other vehicle. It was rented with that specific purpose in mind and there is no objection to its use.