BBC journalist corrects cargo bike critics, points out it "replaced my car" and saved "£1,000 in fuel"

grOg wrote:

Horses for courses but for most people, a cargo bike will not do the same job as a car; I have a bike set up for commuting and another with 2 sturdy baskets for local shopping, yet neither replace my need for a motor vehicle; I have a multi-purpose van that can seat 5 adults which I use regularly to carry goods; a cargo bike would not carry enough, go as far, or carry enough people.

In the case of our family, a cargo bike has replaced the need (or potential need) for a second car.  Yes, there are things a car can do that the cargo bike can't.  But there are plenty of things both can do, and there are times that family demands mean we need to be doing two of those things at the same time and in different places.

A cargo bike can replace a vast majority (I would say 80%) of car trips from school journeys, to work commute, to grocery shops.

It won't ever be the solution for intercity trip or carrying 5 people or goods across a country, but what is the proportion of car trips that go into those categories?

Who uses a cargo bike for commuting? and if a school is within cycling distance, walking is a better and safer option. I would never use my van for intercity trips or travel across the country; that's what trains, planes and buses are for; my point was intracity use of a motor vehicle.

grOg wrote:

 if a school is within cycling distance, walking is a better and safer option

Mrs H teaches in a school that is within cycling distance, about 12 km away, it takes her 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic, traffic lights, headwinds et cetera. She already leaves home at 6:30 am, I'm not sure that suggesting to her that it would be a better and safer option to leave at 4:30 am and walk it is going to be very well received. You don't half talk some old nonsense.

Even smaller cyclable distances are not easily walkable, since cycling is about four times as fast, but why would a trOll resort to actual maths and facts?

grOg wrote:

Who uses a cargo bike for commuting? and if a school is within cycling distance, walking is a better and safer option. I would never use my van for intercity trips or travel across the country; that's what trains, planes and buses are for; my point was intracity use of a motor vehicle.

What's wrong with commuting on a cargo bike? If you look at cycle traffic in enlightened European countries, there's usually lots of parents with some kids (or pets) carried in some kind of cargo type bike.

You'd be better off asking why people commute in SUVs

5 mile cycle ride that would take 1.5 hours to walk and on NSL roads with no footway. Yeah sounds much safer and practical.

Why do you continue to write about a country you have no idea about ?

Well we should consider if that applies to us. They said "walking is better and safer" - do *you* know Australian law? Perhaps it's now legal to hunt cyclists in Australia and it's thus more dangerous?

Does sound a bit like "something something poncey journos with 7k to spaff on a bike which can cost 100 pounds or so a year to run, most of us can only dream of having that cash spare after we have to spend *checks prices* 30k on a SUV plus tax, insurance, have you seen the cost of fuel..."

Pfft....
You must be a soft, car driving, Jessie!
I'm currently commuting 27 miles each way on a Larry vs Harry Lizard King for shits and giggles.
No electric assist, just plain old brawn.
Lost an epic amount of weight and still do it pretty as much as quickly as my neighbour who drives his wankpanzer a shorter route, but has to deal with all the congestion.
I'm very much an outlier, but within reason anything is possible.

How many Honda Civics are made Vs a cargo bike ?

If it were possible to sell them for half the price someone would have done it and cleaned up.

Perhaps they're calling for the government to subsidise them?  Ridiculous of course, the government doesn't subsidise people's private transport!

Top tip: always check how many pages you're getting in any book and divide that by the price - then compare that with a telephone directory* to make sure you're not being overcharged on the paper and ink!

* For younger readers - it's a bit like Siri, but you're Siri.  With paper.

chrisonabike wrote:

Top tip: always check how many pages you're getting in any book and divide that by the price - then compare that with a telephone directory* to make sure you're not being overcharged on the paper and ink!

* For younger readers - it's a bit like Siri, but you're Siri.  With paper.

To quote Brian in Family Guy when a young person asks him what a book is, "It's like the internet only made out of trees."

Especially since telephone directories came free with the line.
Boy do I miss them and the times. Imagine needing to speak to someone, and finding their number, just like that. And firms actually answering their phones, instead of making you wait in an endless hellloop...

Motdoc wrote:

But if they were half the price a lot more people would, and the world would be a better place. 

Plenty available at well under half the price of the example here on this site's sister site: https://ebiketips.road.cc/content/advice/buyers-guide/best-e-cargo-bikes...

The car industry is vastly subsidized, benefits from economy of scale and decades of engineering optimisation and the entry level vehicles such as the civic are in fact loss leaders for most car manufacturers.

Hence the odious SUVs ...

What are these euros and kilometres in your expense report? 

Wait until they discover there's more kms to a mile. She'll be claiming 1.6km for every single mile!! #Outrageous

What a liberty!!!

The Beeb's cycling mileage allowance must have improved since I claimed it in the mid-80s, 4p/mile!
Apparently I was the first person in the Eng Dept ever to claim it. Visited a tower-build 70 miles away.