New venture rents out battery-powered cargo bikes

With a Dodge Charger racing through the city streets or some SUV tearing up a desert environment.

I may have written a grumpy comment this morning but doesn't change the fact these bikes are obnoxious and overly large on Boston sidewalks. And that's coming from a person who uses micromobility to get all around Boston and to do errands.

The point is not where the bike is stored when not in use, it's where the bike is stored when it's at the store or out and about town.

The instructional video on the website makes it clear people are supposed to use the provided chain the secure the bike at stores. Problem is:

1) The bikes do not articulate in the middle, which means they cannot be made shorter.

2) Many Boston bike racks, where they exist, have bikes jut perpendicularly into the sidewalk. Using one of those racks with this bike completely would completely block the sidewalk.

3) Other sidewalk-parallel racks could sort of work. But this thing starts to be as long as a compact car, likely obstructing other bike racks, or obstructing the curb.

More points against:

4) These things are POWERFUL - the hydraulic brakes clearly visible in the specs makes it obvious, if the fact that it's a giant cargo-hauling bike didn't also make it obvious. An unlicensed person cruising around in one of these things should get just as much scrutiny as all the food delivery mopeds that everyone loves to hate.

5) If a person wants to have a cargo bike, fine. Own one. Take responsibility for it. But having a rentable one that lets any yahoo say "oh well" when they park poorly or cause damage / injury due to their inability to pilot it is another matter entirely. Boston sidewalks aren't Chicago sidewalks or DC sidewalks. Every inch of obstruction makes a huge difference.

And yes, it's entirely appropriate to judge these kinds of devices more harshly when they are made publicly rentable, because the likelihood of seeing bad behavior with them skyrockets when it's just renters using them opposed to owners. And the shear likelihood that people renting them are also going to have inadequate safety equipment or carry passengers unsafely also skyrockets.

If a person think people should be able to rent these bikes. Then fine. Just accept that such a person needs to also not complain about food delivery mopeds on sidewalks and other overly powerful motorized vehicles operated by amateurs in pedestrian zones.

Not responding to arguments about cars /SUVs because that's just Trump-style "wuddaboutism" that is irrelevant to this conversation and the original comment.

It is motor vehicles and gasoline which are heavily subsidized by our property taxes, which also fund the roads. More people riding bikes means less wear and tear on the roadways, which means less money spent repairing them. Also, means there are fewer motor vehicles for you to compete with at rush hour.

The current stable situation that results in tension between cars and bikes may the best fit.

I don’t know what those things are that pols need to apply their will to to better segregate bikes from cars specifically the requirement to temporarily obstruct the bike lane. I’m sure there are some ideas that city planners have in mind. I’m not much bothered by minor inconveniences when biking. What do bike lanes need to to function better? (That’s a question, not bitchiness. I reread that line and it looked like I hade a tone. No tone intended. ) Maybe something dynamic and adaptable in realtime. Definitely the twain between road users must never meet energetically. No one should be maimed or killed on city streets.

Loading zones need to be close enough to be safe and humane for the deliverymen and women carrying the staples of our lives. Vulnerable populations: the elderly, injured and less abled and handicapped people, pregnant women, people dropping off kids all need to pull over at their destination and block the bike lane and not park blocks away. It’s not great, but it’s essential.

What’s going to be prohibitively costly is almost entirely redesigning cities to function and make everybody happy all the time.

Fair. (Probability pervades everything.) Passenger trucks are scary as a pedestrian. We are lowering street speeds to less frequently lethal velocities in non-highway environments. right hook is problematic.

If the company and munis can’t corral these rickshaws at both ends of the journey then there will be much inconvenience and possible injury. I hope it all works out, but I feel like this is all a stunt. Ok, stunt may be unfair and certainly pessimistic. I didn’t do homework on this and I don’t know the elements of their “success vision.” Even if it doesn’t work we’ll all learn something for a future success.