Why more parents are riding cargo bikes, skipping the minivan

"If you live in any major city or suburb in the U.S., you may have noticed more and more parents hauling their kids around on bulky cargo bicycles. Some families are ditching their second car, forgoing a minivan, or going car-free altogether. Cargo bikes have been around for more than a century and they're popular elsewhere on the globe. But until a few years ago, they were all but forgotten in North America. Now they're making a comeback."

""I'm a very lazy person," Almagor says. She thought she'd give the bike a try, and probably return it. "But by the third day I was like, 'Oh, this is actually going to change my life,'" says Almagor, who lives in Washington, D.C. Now she rides her three kids to school every day, even when it's pouring rain or hot and muggy. "It's such a better start to my day, that now there's truly not weather that I would rather drive in," Almagor says."

Cargo bicycles have surged in major U.S. cities and suburbs as families increasingly ditch second cars, forgo minivans, or go car-free. Better bicycle infrastructure and easier-to-ride designs have expanded accessibility beyond athletic cyclists. Modern cargo bikes are purpose-built for children with comfortable seats, rain canopies, and electric-assist motors that ease hill climbing and prevent arriving sweaty. Many parents who were not previously cyclists now ride children to school daily in varied weather. Retailers and shop owners note a visible increase in cargo bikes at school racks and on neighborhood routes, and some riders have transitioned into the cargo-bike industry.

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