In what could not have been more time, a group of local California newspapers published an editorial on Christmas Eve calling for an end to a $2,000 voucher program aimed at helping low-income Californians afford electric commuting bikes.
The editor was assigned to the Southern California News Group, a group of California newspapers owned by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
In it, the authors aired a number of complaints about the program, which recently closed its first round of applications aimed at providing about 1,500 bike vouchers worth between US $1,750 to $2,000 each. Vouchers can be used to reduce the price of electric bikes and related gear such as safety devices, locks, etc.
The first complaint in the op-ed is that the total number of vouchers provided in the first round was small compared to the large size of California's e-bike market. However, instead of proposing a budget increase to help more Californians gain transportation freedom, as we recently called for, the plan is taking the opposite position of proposing that the program be canceled.
Next, the authors lament the increase in accidents involving electric bicycles and electric motorcycles in recent years, suggesting that this should be weighed against the benefits of helping more Californians afford such vehicles.
However, the argument seems to ignore the fact that most such accidents are not caused by cyclists, but rather those riders are actually the victims. The real road safety hazard is traffic, ie cars and trucks.
In addition, many studies have shown that in accidents caused by e-bike riders, such as when an e-bike rider crashes into another cyclist or pedestrian, injuries are on average much easier and more easily diagnosed than in car-related accidents.
If the goal was to protect Californians, instead of holding tight to their pearls, maybe the planners should be calling for reduced car and truck usage, not reduced bike vouchers.
The op-ed goes on to bemoan the number of children riding e-bikes in California, although it acknowledges that children are not eligible for vouchers as part of California's e-bike incentive program.
Electrek's Take
California's e-bike system is far from complete. We even discussed its many shortcomings last week. But the essence of this program is to do something good—to use public tax money for the benefit of the public. The solution should be to improve the system, not remove it. And the pure truth is that the majority of people who do not support this program are those who do not directly benefit from it, or fail to see that they will benefit indirectly.
Electric bicycles are one of the most cost-effective ways to provide transportation independence to underserved and low-income groups. But it is more than that. And they are the best way to get people out of cars and reduce traffic for everyone. Even ignoring the long-term environmental effects related to mitigating the effects of climate change, e-bikes are uniquely able to make a significant impact on air quality today by helping to eliminate sources of exhaust emissions from vehicle emissions throughout their lifetime. and in keeping waste/recycling. When someone rides an e-bike instead of taking a car, taxi, or bus, everyone's lungs benefit.
Of course, California's system is not perfect. But if a media group owned by a rich hedge fund and giving out successful readers doesn't like it, then maybe it's doing something useful for people who really need it. That's the kind of world I want to live in, at least as long as it's livable.
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