280 million e-bikes are slashing oil demand far more than electric vehicles
arstechnica.com
E-bikes and scooters displace 4x as much demand for oil as all of the EVs in the world.
  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
    121·
    10 months ago

    This fact is why, as much as random scooters being everywhere may annoy me, I see the value in having them around.

    • HiddenLayer5@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      81·
      10 months ago

      My biggest issue with scooters is that the sidewalks on most streets in North America are way too narrow to safely use them while others are walking, and we’re seriously lacking in dedicated bike lanes. Both of which are issues with the prioritization of car infrastructure over all else as opposed to problems with scooters themselves. Since scooters cannot safely run on the road but is still too fast for exclusively pedestrian paths. Where there are dedicated bike lanes in my city, scooters share them with bikes perfectly fine.

        • HiddenLayer5@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
          3·
          10 months ago

          Yeah, unfortunately speed limits don’t mean anything and studies show that drivers pretty much always drive as fast as they think they can regardless. The issue is that North America has stroads which are highly conducive to driving fast, damn near highway speeds. If we had the narrow, potentially tile or even cobblestone local streets that European and Asian cities have it would be less of a problem because those conditions directly promote lower speeds and more attentive driving.

  • Marin_Rider@aussie.zone
    7·
    10 months ago

    I have an ebike, and I really want an electric scooter/bike once the range can be improved, currently they couldn’t get me to and from work (it’s a long commute)

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    2·
    10 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    But it’s more than that—they are actually displacing four times as much demand for oil as all the world’s electric cars at present, due to their staggering uptake in China and other nations where mopeds are a common form of transport.

    Their batteries make them heavier than a traditional car and draw heavily on the extraction of rare earth elements.

    Smaller electric options like scooters and skateboards also offer a way to overcome the last kilometer problem that plagues public transport systems.

    A study of e-scooter riders in the United Kingdom found these trips produced up to 45 percent less carbon dioxide than alternatives.

    Global oil demand is now projected to peak in 2028 at 105.7 million barrels per day—and then begin to fall, according to the International Energy Agency.

    If you live in an outer suburb or regional towns, you may find the longer range and larger capacity of an electric car is better suited.

    The original article contains 922 words, the summary contains 156 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!