E-bikes probably aren’t going to be a great ROI in communities like this. Half of the people are honestly likely to be too out of shape to be able to use one. That sounds quite crass, but it’s true.
It’s also not uncommon for people living in areas like this to be getting a government check every first of the month & making a singular trip to the nearest Walmart - which may be far away - & getting essentially the months worth of groceries in one trip. Whether or not that’s a good thing is not the point, people are set in their way & nothings going to change that. An ebike cannot make that trip. Automobiles are a lifeline/necessary evil for these people, & life can quickly fall apart without them, as he’s mentioned.
Hell, even riding an ebike in these areas can be quite an alienating social faux pas, & there’s enough deranged people that routinely try to run them off the road/literally run them over (news articles of this happening even front page HN every now & then)
It's crass and classist; you're clearly saying between the lines that you think poor people are fat/lazy.
It's also wrong. Bicycles are more efficient than walking...depending on who you ask, 2-5x times as efficient.
E-bikes require almost no physical fitness to ride. The cheapest ones have a 'throttle' lever; the ones with a cadence sensor just require the pedals be turning. The torque-sensing ones provide a boost to whatever you "put in" and the energy required for a bicycle without assistance to go 10mph is very, very low.
>> and classist; you're clearly saying between the lines that you think poor people are fat/lazy.
Uhh… I’m from one of the poorest parts of Appalachia & am myself disabled (and living on a corresponding income) - do not know just how you came to this conclusion from what I’ve said. Nothing was structured in a way that I’m wanting people to “read between the lines”
Where did I say anything about walking?
Please google “obesity rate”
I’m referring to Americans - not just poor people. Americans are, nearly on average, fat. I didn’t make any mention of laziness.
I am very curious whether or not you’ve ever spent any significant amount of time in a rural/impoverished/blighted part of the USA. A lot of people are too out of shape to operate a riding mower. Heart attacks spike during the beginning of winter from shoveling snow & whenever people first start to use a push lawnmower again.
You are objecting reality & I’m not sure why. Maybe you could email the group in the article to ask their opinion on whether or not I’m making this up.
Anyways, your comment is part of the reason I like to repeatedly bring things like this up on HN. For some reason a significant amount of people on here just seem to have no clue of the quality of life/lifestyles many people have & very openly try to reject the reality surrounding it. You’re never going to see much societal progress when you reject reality.
and if you’d really want to indulge in a hot take of mine - poor people tend to not be lazy. Maybe intellectually lazy if I’m trying to entertain many non-poor peoples opinions on the poor, but the impoverished typically have to work much harder in many facets of life to earn the most meager of a living. People born into the middle class & sheltered by affluence really have no clue, & seem to not care to ever get a clue.
Anecdotally, living in the Netherlands, I've seen more than a few obese individuals (350lb/160kg men) riding bikes. Granted, they are riding maybe 1km to the supermarket and not commuting, but it's certainly possible!
It’s also not uncommon for people living in areas like this to be getting a government check every first of the month & making a singular trip to the nearest Walmart - which may be far away - & getting essentially the months worth of groceries in one trip. Whether or not that’s a good thing is not the point, people are set in their way & nothings going to change that. An ebike cannot make that trip. Automobiles are a lifeline/necessary evil for these people, & life can quickly fall apart without them, as he’s mentioned.
Hell, even riding an ebike in these areas can be quite an alienating social faux pas, & there’s enough deranged people that routinely try to run them off the road/literally run them over (news articles of this happening even front page HN every now & then)