Why your next car should be an electric cargo bike

"A couple of years ago, I helped start a bike bus in my suburban town in North Jersey. The pandemic was still raging, and we were all looking for ways to get our kids out of the house and on to their bikes so they could get a little physical activity before school. One of the things that helped me get the bike bus started was an electric cargo bike."

"At the time, my kids were too small to ride the two-and-a-half miles to our school by themselves, so the cargo bike - a first-gen Flyer L885 with a rear-hub motor and a plethora of fun accessories (now renamed the Flyer Via Pro) - was an elegant solution to this problem. Now, three years later, they can ride their own bikes, but I still find myself using my cargo bike to lead our growing bike bus pack every Friday."

"Ever since the pandemic, electric bike sales in the US have been on a rocket ship trajectory. They are the fastest growing bike category for the past several years, according to recent statistics. And while there was some concern that the e-bike boom would fade post pandemic, or that tariffs and trade wars would put a dent in them, sales have held strong. It looks increasingly likely that electric bikes are here to stay."

A bike bus was started in a North Jersey suburb during the pandemic to get kids outside and biking before school. An electric cargo bike carried small children and became a practical solution for a two-and-a-half mile school route. After three years the children can ride independently, but the cargo bike remains useful for leading the bike bus and replacing local car errands as a daily driver. E-bike sales in the US rose sharply during the pandemic and have stayed strong despite concerns about tariffs and safety. Cargo bikes are especially suited to replacing car trips.

Read at The Verge