micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!
"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
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It's a little sad that we need to actually say this, but:
Don't be an asshole or you will be permanently banned.
Respectful debate is totally OK, criticizing a product is fine, but being verbally abusive will not be tolerated.
Focus on discussing the idea, not attacking the person.
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I'm torn on that idea.
E-bikes don't need to go faster, but they do need to accelerate quickly out of intersections. That keeps them safe, higher speeds do not.
The problem with e-bikes is that it gives people super-human powers, so getting to 50 km/h is "free", while trying to do that on a regular bike for any given amount of time takes years of training.
I'm of the opinion that we should punish the rider, not the vehicle, when it comes to e-mobility devices.
But we know that a few riders behaving badly ruins it for everyone. This is why e-scooter programs have been cancelled or banned, and why e-bike laws are coming down hard all over the place.
We can ban this, and cap speeds, and all that... but someone who wants to ride like a jackass will find a way to do it!
How can we punish them without creating more barriers for everyone else?
So do cars and bikes, and it's not like we licence cars with any degree of scrutiny either.
The problem is that we as a society don't punish antisocial behaviour enough. Reckless driving should get your vehicle impounded, regardless of it being a push bike, an ebike or a car. And police should be out there looking for it to the point that if you do something stupid, you can expect to be caught.
Agreed.
Also agreed.
For sure.
This is why I don't agree with banning them outright.
But there are too few resources to enforce bad behaviour, and while we can deploy tools like speed cameras, red light cameras, and automated ticketing, how would we do the same for ebikes?
Licensing would unfairly punish the wrong people.
Where I live, asshats on gas powered bikes tear through our trails. And then someone might complain about the "ebike" and we all become targets.
It's a challenge to find balance. I think law makers ban things when they don't have others options immediately available to them, especially with fast-moving (no pun intended) technology.