Really feels like the MSM is doing it’s best to attack ebikes lately.
I agree, it’s never been a problem in my city. They should do an article on people wearing all dark/black clothing at night. Almost invisible to other drivers/bikers. Luckily, light vests appear to be catching on for both runners and dog walkers when traversing the pitch black at 17:30.
Yeah, part of it might be due to competing interests (ad dollars from car companies) and part of is they like to sensationalize a lot to try and drive up viewership.
In Amsterdam it’s not the “more mature cycling culture”, I wouldn’t use Amsterdam and the word mature in the same sentence anyway.
It’s that the predominant bike share service requires you to put the bike down at a station, attached to a parking spot, and that cars don’t take up so much space that you can’t put your bike down.
There are literal piles of cheap bikes all over Amsterdam. The canals are also full of them. What Amsterdam does not have is six lane downtown roads and infinite car parking.
“They incentivise you to jump the lights because the payment model is based on time."
With rentals, this has always been my biggest complaint, behind having them being left in places they shouldn’t be.
Charging by the minute is such a faulty business model.
They probably do it that way because it’s easy to do technically and more profitable.
More profitable FOR SURE, in short-term. But easier technically? No way! Those rentals have pinpoint GPS accuracy, so they know where you started and ended, how far the vehicle was rolling, etc.
In some ways, it would benefit them more to charge by distance, because good cycling infrastructure would lead to longer rides in less time.
They could advocate to the cities they serve to build better infrastructure (i.e. to get more people to use their rentals), and would still profit from the positive outcome of having more trips and longer distances.
Time-based charges are creating negative press, poor rider behaviour, and most risks/greater danger… which is counter-intuitive from a business standpoint!
How to get bikes out of the way of pedestrians:
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Dedicated infrastructure for bikes
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Slower roadways for bikes and cars to share.
When I have to go on the sidewalk it’s because I’m very close to my destination or that cars on the road are going 50km/h (31mph) or more beside me. I usually keep to around 10-12 km/h (6-8 mph).
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