<b>Electric Bicycles in China</b> Let me highlight a couple of sentences from...

Julian Bond - 2012-04-02 07:15:56+0000 - Updated: 2012-04-02 07:15:56+0000

Electric Bicycles in China Let me highlight a couple of sentences from the article. In China, electric bicycles are leaving cars in the dust. Last year, Chinese bought 21 million e-bikes, compared with 9.4 million autos. While China now has about 25 million cars on the road, it has four times as many e-bikes.

On the Streets of China, Electric Bikes Are Swarming

Julian Bond - 2012-04-02 07:18:06+0000

Says Frank Jamerson, a former GM engineer turned electric-vehicle analyst: "What's happening in China is sort of a clue to what the future will be."

Matt Joyce - 2012-04-02 12:21:11+0000

A chap at work has one of these, and I see him charging his bike battery at his desk. One could make the argument that he's travelling to work, so they can pay, or that the amount is trivial. Nobody pays my public transport fair for me, and 21million * $trivial is probably non-trivial.
Perhaps we will also see a shift towards electricity as an entitlement, or unit of barter, or theft, or communal solar charging.

Julian Bond - 2012-04-02 12:50:26+0000

+Matt Joyce Cheap, clean, plentiful, non-polluting electricity would be a game changer. I think we need to use language (like zero emissions at point of use) that recognises that the energy has to come from somewhere. Meanwhile we're ok with charging a laptop in a cafe, why not an e-bike battery?

Jas Strong - 2012-04-02 18:31:36+0000

I have an e-bike! I even have a trailer for it. We do all our household shopping using it (since we don't have a car). It's the most convenient way to get around San Francisco by far.