Clive ThompsonJun 27, 2023

Denver last year offered subsidies for buying electric bikes

Their first 600 were snapped up in 10 minutes. Demand was *huge*

Denver ended up issuing over 4,700 (about 2,300 of which went to low-income residents)

Research shows it reduced car-miles driven in the city by 100K a week

My takeaway?

We should have ebike subsidies *everywhere*, and *now*. Cheaper than electric car subsidies, and arguably even more catalytic

My essay: https://clivethompson.medium.com/its-time-to-subsidize-e-bikes-900a862b8e76

"Friend" link https://clivethompson.medium.com/its-time-to-subsidize-e-bikes-900a862b8e76?sk=dea9f07c0dab4be831ee50a197360f95

Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)Jun 27, 2023
@clive I've read that insurance on ebikes is astronomical due to how easy the batteries are to steal. They're small and portable and obvs aren't protected by much of an enclosure.
Show threadChristopher Schmidt
@pixelpusher220 @clive Insurance on ebikes is not astronomical, and stealing batteries is not common in most places.
Jun 28, 2023 at 12:04pmWeb
Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)Jun 28, 2023

@crschmidt @clive

I appreciate your personal insights, I can't find the original link I read unfortunately. This is one from the Netherlands with a significant increase in thefts over a previous year. https://insideevs.com/news/632517/ebike-battery-theft-issue-netherlands/

E-Bike Battery Theft A Growing Concern In The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, e-bike battery theft has spiked by 300 percent in 2022, raising alarms surrounding the security of e-bike tech.

InsideEVs
Show threadChristopher SchmidtJun 29, 2023

@pixelpusher220 @clive Yeah, I think that this is mostly a "there are a lot more ebikes now." With more than 5M ebikes in the country, 4500 battery thefts is a rate of < 1 in 1000 on an annual basis. My town of 120k people has around 400 bike thefts/year; even if we assume one bike per person, that's a rate 4x higher.

Like with all new things, "There's a lot more of them so they increase in statistics and we can write stories" is more the vibe I get there.

Show threadChristopher SchmidtJun 29, 2023
@pixelpusher220 @clive Homeowner's insurance didn't care whether the bike is an ebike or not; they insure my stuff, and my bikes are included (even away from home). Bike-specific insurance didn't care either -- that was just priced based on the replacement value and where I live, as far as I could tell. So while the insurance claim may exist somewhere, it's not a thing that I think is universal (and possibly not even common).