It always comes down to city planning. Cities planned around being walkable, dense, mixed, and human centric see less driving. Cities planned around maximizing private land ownership see more driving.
Also geography. I live in a hilly place, and walking/biking is tiring. Good for exercise, but not so fun for commuting
If the distance is short enough it wouldn’t matter.
If only cargo bikes like the one in the picture didn’t cost as much as a small car
They don’t where I live, though they aren’t cheap. But within reach for most people that needs one I’d say.
Removed by mod
It’s not an “ill argument”. I don’t drive a car and never have, so I don’t pay any of the costs of running a car and I won’t be paying them when I get a cargo bike either. The issue isn’t the total lifetime cost, but the initial upfront cost. I just don’t have $15,000 to spend on a bike
Removed by mod
I am eyeing off a specific style of cargo ebike.
I happened to see it in the thumbnail of the video.
It is very expensive compared to regular bikes, which I have bought many of over the years.
So I made a comment lamenting about the expensive price tag for that specific style of bike I happen to be interested in.
It wasn’t a meta commentary on cargo bikes in general. It wasn’t a complaint about total cost of ownership. It wasn’t anything other than "I want one of those, but it’s expensive.
Chill out
Removed by mod
You do know tho that “it costs like a car” is a typical anti-cargo bike argument, right?
No, I was unaware of that particular dog whistle, which explains why I got the reaction I did.
Thank you for the heads up.
They’re a little pricey I suppose, but judging by a few minutes comparing gumtree listings for hatchback cars and cargo bikes:
< 20% the cost of a hatchback in analogous condition/age/fanciness.
To be clear, I was explicitly talking about cargo bikes like the one in the video thumbnail.
It was a lamentation that the specific style of bike I want, that is featured in that video, is so expensive.
It wasn’t a meta commentary on total cost of ownership, or cargo bikes in general.
Yeah, I agree that there aren’t many budget cargo-in-front options yet (none that I could find in 5 sec of googling).
Compared to used car prices, unfortunately there are not many used cargo bikes. I think the cheapest new option would be like the unfinished project I’m riding, which is fine on small hills or if you don’t mind working hard sometimes, top assist speed 15mph (+~$500 more = moar⚡)
$3k acoustic supercargo, 440lb max load yubabikes.com/cargobikestore/supercargo/
+ $570 tiny 250W 190Wh #eBike wheel ➕ torque arm hilltopperbikes.com/product/sprinter-12-mile-24v-electric-bike-kit-copy/