cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/16133154
Link to original Tweet: https://x.com/DavidZipper/status/1795048724021862898
If a city cannot manage their bicycle traffic, how should we ever expect them to handle car traffic?
Any problems with bicycles is a simple issue of infrastructure and priority.
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First New York Times came for the Palestinians. And I didn’t speak out because I was not a Palestinian.
Then they came for my e-bike and there was no one left to speak for me.
The NYTimes has always been the US empire’s paper of record. You won’t find a US-backed war or coup they didn’t support.
Truly a filthy rag since at least the leadup to WWII.
Listen here now I’ve played simcity and good transport is the backbone of a strong economy.
With ICE, you control the population by controlling the oil. Like rest of the world has to eat up price raise without much retaliation, what else you’re going to do, you have to work and you depend on oil. But since China is the major producer of batteries and EVs, the nations that dictate the policies are losing that control.
So US does what it does best, propagandize the masses. Mass produced solar panels are bad, EVs are unreliable, e-bikes are a menace.
The world powers will turn the world to ruins if it serves their interests.
the fuck? how do you hate on e-bikes but are okay with e-cars?
Because they’re e-diots
The companies hawking e-cars have much larger advertising accounts with NYT than those hawking e-bikes.
I love my e-bike.
I love that you ride one! Stay safe ❤️
Thank you kind person of the Internet. I will do my best.
Yet, electric trains are a better alternative to most people’s transport.
These bastards!
I haven’t read the articles because there is no link to them, but in my city there would be very valid reason for complaint about ebikes because the same sociopath tendencies that people exhibit while driving cars are moving to ebikes. These fuckers ride them like goddamned motorcycles, except whooshing right next to people on trails and sidewalks meant to be shared or in some cases, primarily used by, pedestrians.
If I were to guess the average speed of ebike riders I would say around 25 mph and you usually don’t even see any pedaling.
I’ve learned to despise them because what’s happened is that the people who don’t want to deal with car problems but are too lazy to pedal have brought car-type problems to spaces that used to only be shared with bikes.
The problem is obviously with shit actors but what can we do about it? Until there are laws enforced about speeding and riding like an asshole, nothing will change. Which in my mind won’t happen without articles or something else bringing it to the attention of people who don’t actually deal with these assholes.
No NYC is a nightmare because it’s NYC
God forbid people want to make their city better.
I wonder if anything happened at NYT in the last two years; they were quite positive about e-bikes in 2020 to 2022.
Mass transit probaby has less overhead
Compared to? Cars? Yes, absolutely.
To e-bikes? Hard to tell, but it’s easier to roll out e-bikes and repaint traffic lines then it is to install new track and e-bikes aren’t tied to a schedule.
How many charging stations will be available? At what cost? And if they are fought against by cities fully invested in.mass transit, who covers the costs to clear that up?
How many charging stations will be available? At what cost?
The fuck are those questions? You want a detailed roll out plan for a hypothetical city? No know I can’t answer that question with any useful details. It’s going to be different for every city, but as many as necessary.
And if they are fought against by cities fully invested in.mass transit
Why would a city that already has mass transit plans need a full on e-bike plan? But even with busses and trains, limited e-bikes can still be useful for people who can’t work on a schedule, the mass transit path is inconvenient, or live far enough away from the bus/train stations and want to e-bike to them.
who covers the costs to clear that up?
The fuck is this? E-bikes aren’t forever. The bikes and charging stations require maintenance and repair. If you want to discontinue them, just come up with a sunsetting plan. Who pays for them? Either the state via taxes or a private entity. Citibike is already planning e-bike rollout. Just follow that model.
Fair enough. But all of that does require a significant investment, like you said, that will vary by location. Mass transit being already deployed has an advantage over new services like ebikes mainly due to build-out times and costs. Like any new tech, adoption is dependent on ease of access and use. Many users may find ebikes preferable if they can get to one easily and cheaply, but if the lifespan is cut short that ease is negated. There was a story a couple years ago about an ebike company that folded because there was insufficient usage. Cant remember which city it happened in but it likely soured that market for any future attempts.
Media praising bikes - “Look see they work”
Media criticising bikes - “Huh, would you believe the media spin right?”
First of all, that makes sense, as if the media is saying two things that conflict with another, praise the one that is backed up by urban studies and the other IS spin
Second of all, a large section of media is paid ads in disguise.
I would recommend upping your media literacy as it helps you distinguish between spin and not spin.
I am extremely in favor of bikes over cars but this commenter actually makes a valid point. I have noticed extremely shitty riding behavior on ebikes and there is no hope of any legislation to curb that behavior until we talk about it.
In any case the tweet chose to not include any links to these articles.
Oh the media often goes both ways - in this case it appears that there are some issues that need resolving. Not everyone appreciates dodging bikes mounting the sidewalk, or doing an emergency stop when cyclists dismount the pavements without clear signaling - this is a problem for everyone but the person on the bike. Cars have their own issues, and those are widely covered.
While I very much agree every media story has “spin” (be it unwarranted cynicism or blind optimism), I am fairly certain it is the same on both sides of this issue.
Your point seems to be “all good things on bikes are backed up by studies, all bad things about bikes are big oil”, and that is quite simply the best validation of my post you could ever give. Thank you.
lol… in the Bay (Northern California), E-Bikes would be left abandoned on the side walks and parking lots. I never seen the organization that provides these e-bikes have someone or a team drive around and pick them up…
All I assume is that the e-bikes are used up until their battery is dead and they’re left abandoned right on the spot. I assume the battery has enough life in it still to be located and picked up and placed back into their charging stations.
Edit: Wait not e-bikes, e-scooters.
You could just delete your comment when you realise it isn’t actually relevant, instead of just throwing the edit on at the end.
