We visited Nijmegen, the oldest city in the Netherlands, to ride with avid cargo bike advocate Jos Sluijsmans. Sluijsmans is an organizer of the Internationa...
At what point a cargo bike becomes a small electric vehicle? Is the problem that most vans/vehicles arent electric atm? Is the problem that people dont exercise while moving around the city? Is it the size?
What problem cargo bikes solve? Do we need large electric cargo bikes taking over bike lanes? We just need smaller electric cars, something like a modified golfcart. Whether that thing has pedals or not is kinda irrelevant.
Even in this video, they had a small bike accident which could have been avoided if they were using a 4 wheel vehicle. 4 wheels and protection from the elements are pretty cool features imo.
As good as it is compared to giant vehicles, even a Kei van is significantly heavier and bigger than a cargo bike that you should still be able to lift (at least unloaded). Also, more expensive because it’s more material.
And yes, being able to use leg power (for health and vehicle power) is a significantly good thing particularly when you’re sinking a large portion of your time/life into travel.
That and I’d say some of the idea is that you don’t need a car to deliver a pizza, and that many trips need less vehicle than is currently used. If you take a bike for 1 trip and a van for something that needs it, that’s still a win.
(Though yeah, I can see both the appeal of and problem with bulky commercial bikes in bike lanes, though hours or other restrictions might help)
At what point a cargo bike becomes a small electric vehicle? Is the problem that most vans/vehicles arent electric atm? Is the problem that people dont exercise while moving around the city? Is it the size?
What problem cargo bikes solve? Do we need large electric cargo bikes taking over bike lanes? We just need smaller electric cars, something like a modified golfcart. Whether that thing has pedals or not is kinda irrelevant.
Even in this video, they had a small bike accident which could have been avoided if they were using a 4 wheel vehicle. 4 wheels and protection from the elements are pretty cool features imo.
As good as it is compared to giant vehicles, even a Kei van is significantly heavier and bigger than a cargo bike that you should still be able to lift (at least unloaded). Also, more expensive because it’s more material.
And yes, being able to use leg power (for health and vehicle power) is a significantly good thing particularly when you’re sinking a large portion of your time/life into travel.
That and I’d say some of the idea is that you don’t need a car to deliver a pizza, and that many trips need less vehicle than is currently used. If you take a bike for 1 trip and a van for something that needs it, that’s still a win.
(Though yeah, I can see both the appeal of and problem with bulky commercial bikes in bike lanes, though hours or other restrictions might help)