The two biggest problems with electric bikes aren’t even about e-bikes
The rise of electric bicycles is leading to a critical shift in urban transportation, bringing with it the potential for cleaner cities, reduced traffic congestion, and a boost to riders’ physical and mental health. However, there are still two significant barriers preventing many from adopting this green mode of transportation. The strange thing though is that neither of the two biggest problems with e-bikes are even about e-bikes themselves.
The deadly risk of cycling on roads
Riding an e-bike is almost entirely a positive experience in and of itself – at least if you ignore outside factors. Riders get where they’re going faster, they save money, and they get healthy.
But if you ask those who are bike-curious why they haven’t made the switch from their car to a bike, the most common answer will be something to do with getting hit by a car.
And it’s not an irrational fear. While most cyclists are likely never to get hit, especially when employing safe riding tips and practices, there’s no getting around the fact that the rate of cycling injuries and deaths is increasing in the US.
There’s plenty of blame to go around for this problem. Part of it can be related to car bloat, where every year we see cars growing a little bit bigger and heavier, resulting in today’s massive SUVs and trucks. Part of it can be attributed to distracted drivers who are increasingly tied to their phones instead of looking out for other road users. But the biggest culprit of all – and the one thing that can help negate all of those other issues – is a distinct lack of widescale safe cycling infrastructure.
Every year, countless cyclists lose their lives in collisions with motor vehicles. The juxtaposition of lightweight bicycles and heavy, fast-moving vehicles, especially in areas without designated bike lanes, means that cyclists are always the losers regardless of who’s at fault in a crash.
Cities worldwide must recognize this urgent issue and invest in creating safer infrastructure for cyclists. This means constructing protected bike lanes, especially those separated from traffic by barriers or a safe distance.
But it also means more comprehensive road safety campaigns, focusing on educating drivers about sharing the road. And lastly, penalizing dangerous driving. Speed cameras are a simple and easy way to enforce the most common cause of accidents (and the largest risk that an accident leads to injury or death), speeding cars. Other methods should also be explored. There’s no reason to allow dangerous driving that threatens other road users to go unchecked.
The lurking threat of bike theft
Even if we suddenly solved the issue of dangerous car drivers killing cyclists, there’d still be one other major hurdle to promoting widespread e-bike adoption: bike theft. It’s one of the main concerns potential e-bike riders face, with rampant theft of bicycles in urban areas now increasingly focusing on electric bikes for their higher value and ability to part out the expensive components.
E-bikes are often pricier than their traditional counterparts due to their motors and battery systems, making them especially attractive targets for thieves. The anxiety of leaving a pricey investment locked in public has deterred many potential riders.
One solution to this problem lies in strengthening security infrastructure. Cities can invest in more secure bike parking stations, equipped with surveillance systems and secure locking structures. Property owners can also contribute by providing safe indoor storage spaces for residents and employees. I recently spoke with LeGrand Crewse, the CEO of California-based e-bike company SUPER73, who told me about a local project where the company partnered with high schools to help build secure locking rooms on campus to ensure students wouldn’t have to worry about an expensive bike being stolen during the day.
Focusing on locking education, especially on which locks are higher quality and how to use multiple locks in unison, can help riders feel more confident about protecting their rides. I’ve used a Foldylock Forever from Seatlylock for the last few months and found it to be one of the best, most secure locks I’ve ever tried.
Education is key, but the best and most effective option relies upon cities helping to create safer locking locations. You don’t have to go full-Amersterdam, though that’d be a good place to draw inspiration. Check out the impressive bike parking garages I saw on my last visit to The Netherlands.
A call to action
While e-bikes offer a promising solution to many urban transportation problems, their potential remains needlessly limited by theft concerns and safety issues. These are issues with solutions, and we should work to implement those solutions.
As cities look to a more sustainable future, it’s imperative to tackle these challenges head-on. Safe and secure bike parking and dedicated protected bike lanes are not luxuries; they are necessities in a world where we rely on smaller and more efficient alternatives to the cars and SUVs that have taken over our cities.
It’s time to fix these problems and reimagine our urban spaces to ensure that everyone, from e-bike riders to pedestrians, can move about safely and confidently.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Environment
Electreon and Xos to deploy wireless charging for commercial EV deliveries like UPS in Michigan
The State of Michigan has announced a new partnership with wireless EV charging specialist Electreon and Commercial EV manufacturer Xos, Inc. Together, the companies have secured funding from the state to expand wireless charging availability for commercial vehicles, including UPS trucks in Detroit.
It’s been nearly a year since the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the City of Detroit, and Electreon ($ELWS) unveiled the first wireless EV charging roadway in the United States.
Michigan installed Electreon’s wireless inductive-charging coils (seen below) on 14th Street in Detroit between Marantette and Dalzelle streets to charge EVs equipped with Electreon receivers as they drive on the road.
At the time. MDOT and Detroit officials said the road would be used to test and perfect Electreon’s wireless EV charging technology in a real-world environment before “making it available to the public in the next few years.”
While the public will not be able to take advantage of wireless charging just yet, commercial EVs are gaining access thanks to a new partnership between Electreon, Xos ($XOS), and the State of Michigan.
Michigan progresses as US wireless EV charging leader
When Michigan announced the first wireless EV charging road in the US last year, officials shared hopes that the Great Lakes State and the city of Detroit could become leaders in the innovation and and deployment of such nascent technology.
Following a press release from Electreon, the State of Michigan confirmed details of the new partnership, which now includes commercial EV developer Xos, Inc. as well. The new commercial partnership is supported by $200,000 in funding from the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform (MMFP), building off the state’s “Make it in Michigan: economic strategy, developed by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to invest in the state’s people, places and projects.
Through the partnership and coinciding state funding, Electreon will extend its wireless EV charging network and use cases in Michigan. Additionally, Electreon’s technology will be integrated into delivery step vans from Xos in order to “demonstrate wireless charging technological value and its potential to lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) in the electrification of commercial truck fleets.” Stefan Tongur, vice president of business development for Electreon, elaborated:
We’re excited to demonstrate how Electreon’s technology can optimize electric fleet usage and showcase the seamless integration of wireless charging into daily fleet operations, minimizing downtime and enabling charging across time and location. We’re proud to do this work in Michigan, a state fostering innovation and sustainable transportation solutions.
In addition to expanding wireless charging on Detroit’s first “electric roadway,” the Michigan project will enable the installation of stationary wireless charging at a UPS facility in Detroit. Xos co-founder and CEO Dakota Semler also spoke:
We are proud to partner with Electreon and support UPS to demonstrate the potential of wireless charging in commercial fleets. This innovative approach will revolutionize how we power our electric vehicles and drive fleet electrification forward.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
![Here's our first look at Jaguar's new luxury electric 4-door GT [Images]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/Jaguars-electric-GT.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
The iconic British luxury automaker is undergoing a major brand overhaul. With its official debut around the corner, Jaguar’s electric 4-door GT, the first of its new series, was spotted testing on British roads. The new images give us a closer look at what we can expect from the revamped Jag brand.
Jaguar’s new electric GT makes its first appearance
After building internal combustion-powered sports cars for over 75 years, Jaguar will become an all-electric luxury brand from 2025.
The company announced earlier this year that it will start fresh with an entirely new range of EVs. After killing off the F-Type, E-Pace, XF, and soon the F-Pace SUV, we are finally getting our first look at what the new branding will look like.
Jaguar’s new electric 4-door GT was caught testing on British roads. The camouflaged prototypes reveal a radically different look than the Jag models we are accustomed to.
You can see one of the biggest changes is the low-riding, extended silhouette, as opposed to the crossover SUV and sedan models like the F-Type and I-Pace, Jaguar’s first EV.
The front and rear bumper designs also appear much more aggressive and bold than previous models.
Jaguar’s electric GT is being put through the paces ahead of its debut. It has already completed tens of thousands of testing miles (virtual and real-world) and will soon hit public streets worldwide.
The new model will be built in Solihull, UK, where Jaguar recently ended production of its gas-powered models.
It will be the first to ride on Jaguar’s new JAE (Jaguar Electric Architecture), which will underpin its upcoming lineup of high-end luxury EVs with prices over £100,000 ($130,000). The electric GT will have a range of over 434 miles (700 km) and upwards of 575 hp, making it Jaguar’s most powerful car of all time.
Jaguar will debut its Design Vision Concept at Miami Art Week on December 2, 2024. Next Summer, it’s expected to make its official global debut ahead of deliveries in 2026.
What do you think of Jaguar’s new design based on what’s shown? Are you excited about the brand overhaul? Let us know in the comments below.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Environment
Tesla pushes end-to-end neural networks for highway driving, but only for newer vehicles
Tesla has pushed a new (Supervised) Full Self-Driving update with the promised end-to-end neural networks for highway driving.
However, it’s only for newer vehicles.
“End-to-end” is what Tesla refers to as neural net-powered AI driving the vehicle from vision to controls rather than the controls being explicitly coded. It’s already the case in all widely released versions of (Supervised) Full Self-Driving (FSD) for city driving, but not for highway driving, which uses another software stack.
Tesla originally planned to deliver it for highway driving in October, but it was only delivered to a small number of vehicles.
In its latest AI roadmap, Tesla said that it would come the first week of November instead.
Now, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of self-driving and AI, said that the latest release with end-to-end highway driving (v12.5.6.3) has been widely pushed to HW4 vehicle owners:
With the latest release (v12.5.6.3), FSD is using end-to-end neural networks for driving across highways, city streets and parking lots, and has now shipped widely for AI4 vehicles. Highway driving should be smoother, more natural and even safer than the previous explicit control stack. Check out the different driving styles to set speed and lane change preferences. Enjoy and let Tesla AI know if you have any feedback.
However, there’s no word for the millions of HW3 vehicle owners.
In fact, the only thing promised to HW3 vehicles, which Tesla now called AI3, in its last roadmap is this:
Improved v12.5.x models for AI3 city driving
As we have often reported this year, Tesla has reached the limits of the HW3 computer and now needs to optimize the code with every release despite still being far from its promise of unsupervised self-driving.
Electrek’s Take
This is annoying cause I could really use end-to-end on my HW3 car. I am on v12.5.4.2 and it has been a regression from v12.5.4.1 for me, especially on highways.
Yesterday, it almost drove me off-road when taking my highway exit, which is always a bit shaky because it is a short exit and FSD often swings itself into it. It’s a bit awkward, and my girlfriend never likes it, so I disengage FSD before taking the exit when she was with me, but this time, she wasn’t, and I had the new update.
It again swung left before going right into the exit, but this time, it went way too far, and I was in the shoulder by the time I took control.
I took this exit hundreds of times with FSD and it’s the first time it did that.
I am starting to think we won’t see much more improvements to FSD with HW3 cars and there’s no retrofit computer in sight.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway