By Alexander "Sandie" Pendleton
It's simple. The cost of just about everything about owning a car has risen, tailpipe emissions are a leading cause of global warming, and sedentary car-centric lifestyles are a leading cause of many significant health problems. How to fight back? For some families in Shorewood, the answer is “one less car, one more cargo bike.”
What’s a Cargo Bike?
Cargo bikes come in various shapes and sizes, but the three most popular are box bikes, box trikes, and longtail bikes.
There’s much to be said for all three types of cargo bikes, but we’ll talk here primarily about box bikes and box trikes.
Are Box Bikes Easy to Ride?
Box bikes look odd to many Americans. Those who have never ridden one, might believe they are somehow difficult, or even unstable. But they are actually easy to ride and highly stable. Just about everybody who tries one, picks up the knack of it right away. Some prefer box trikes over box bikes, believing box bikes to be more stable when not moving—but modern box bikes have large, easily-deployed double-legged kickstands, which makes them as stable as box trikes, when the double-legged kickstand is deployed. Many find a box bike more manueverable when in motion, than a box trike.
e-Bikes Make It Even Easier
While the gearing on box bikes traditionally made them easy to pedal, the recent rise of electric cargo box bikes has made them usable by just about anyone. You can put hundreds of pounds in the bin of an e-box bike, and almost-effortlessly go up any hill in Shorewood.
How Affordable is a Cargo Bike, Compared to a Car?
Average new car prices reached a record high in the U.S. last year. According to Kelly Blue Book, the average new electric vehicle costs $65,041, the average “luxury” gas-powered vehicle costs $67,050, and the average non-luxury gas-powered vehicle costs $44,584.
Once a family buys a new car, then come the costs to fuel, insure and maintain that car. According to AAA, those costs also reached a record high last year: $10,728 per year (or $894 per month).
In contrast, non-electric cargo bikes start at about $1200 (longtails) or $2100 (box bikes). Electric cargo bikes start at $2000 (e-longtails) or $8,000 (e-box bikes). Yes, there are maintenance, charging (and if you choose) insurance costs related to owning an e-cargo bike, but those are a small fraction of the (on average) $10,728 in annual fuel, insurance and maintenance costs associated with a car. Depending on where you live, you also would need to consider whether you are incurring costs to park a car (and whether you are paying for car parking as a portion of the rent or mortgage payment you are making).
Are Cargo Bikes Good for the Environment?
Using a cargo bike for transportation, even part-time, instead of a car is one thing an individual can do to help reduce global warming, and improve the environment. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, gas-powered vehicles on U.S. roads "release about 1.4 billion tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere each year—mostly in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2)—contributing to global climate change.” Amazingly, each gallon of gasoline a Shorewood resident burns “creates 20 pounds of GHG . . . [t]hat's roughly 5 to 9 tons of GHG each year for a typical vehicle.” A whitepaper published by the Portland State University found that cars in the Portland area emit about 55 times as much CO2 per person mile, compared to e-bikes (rates vary city to city, depending on how electricity is generated in the area).
Think about the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing a car, and getting that new car to your local dealership. Now think about the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing a cargo bike, and getting that cargo bike to your local bike shop. Think about the carbon footprint associated with producing gasoline, and transporting that gasoline every few days to your local gas station. Think about the emissions associated with operating a car, compared to operating a cargo bike or e-bike. Think about the noise pollution in your community created by cars (or motorcycles), compared to that created by bikes (or e-bikes).
One other benefit of cargo bikes to Shorewood is cargo bike owners are more likely to buy their groceries and do other shopping in Shorewood, which is good for local businesses, both large and small.
Cargo Bikes in Europe
Cargo Bikes are very popular in Europe, especially in the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. “I visited the Netherlands and Belgium recently and I saw countless families using box bikes to transport their kids—and lots of other stuff—everywhere I went,” says Shorewood resident Dan Boehm. Given how densely populated Shorewood is, commercial cargo bikes could be a solution to all of those double-parked delivery vehicles in Shorewood. “It would be great if companies like Amazon, UPS and FedEx were to instead use commercial cargo bikes to make deliveries in Shorewood, like delivery services are doing in Europe (in the Netherlands and London), and in North American (in NYC, Seattle and Toronto).” (Highlighted text contains hyperlinks.)
But What If I Need to Move Something Big Someday?
But, you say "I need to own a mini-van, for those rare occasions when I have to move something big." Fortunately, you live in Shorewood, very close to affordable truck rental options. Home Depot rents trucks (starting at $19 for the first 75 minutes), as does nearby U-Haul on Capitol Drive (in a variety of sizes and price points). Think about it. According to StreetsBlog USA, the average car in the U.S. is only used about an hour a day, which means that second (highly expensive) car you might buy may be sitting unused more than 95% of the time you own it. Is that a good investment of your family's limited resources?
Shorewood Families Using Cargo Bikes
The Seegers in Shorewood bought their box trike over five years ago. According to Hanna Seegers, “We love it and have used it extensively to get around Shorewood with our three children. The front box design lets me see what they’re doing , and it gives my kids a great view of the world around them, much better than from the back seat of a car or minivan.” “And its unusual design really gets noticed by drivers, which is a good thing.”
“We absolutely loved our longtail cargo bike the seven years we had it, and once our daughter outgrew it, we sold it to another Shorewood family,” said Shorewood resident Katie Gnau. One nice thing about a cargo bike is “it certainly held its value much better than any car we’ve ever owned.” “We used it frequently to get to schools, parks and the store, and even featured it in one of our family Holiday videos.”
For an excellent short video on the many benefits of box bikes--including a demonstration of the much better view of the world that kids have in a box bike compared to a car--see Jason Slaugther's YouTube video by clicking on the following link "The Car-Replacement Bicycle: the Bakfiet." This is something of an aside, but I cannot recommend enough Jason's educational-and-highly-entertaining YouTube Series "Not Just Bikes", for those interested in learning about how we might together make our community more healthy, pleasant and prosperous.
Tax Credits for e-Bikes?
Not currently. But there is an effort in congress to create a $1500 tax credit for e-bike purchases. After being originally introduced in 2021, in March of this year a bill authorizing such a tax credit was re-introduced in the House.
Other Lower-Cost Bike Kid/Cargo Transport Options
There are of course families in Shorewood who like to bike, but who may hesitate at the upfront costs of a dedicated cargo bike, and would prefer a less costly kid-hauling and/or stuff-hauling option. For many families, that option is buying a bike trailer (such as a Burley Bee). Bike trailers can haul two kids plus a few bags of groceries (or no kids and easily a week’s worth of groceries). The cost of a new bike trailer runs from about $200 to $400 (depending on the brand and options), and used trailers can often be found for less on such sites as eBay. (Bike parking at Metro Market is faster and more convenient than car parking, and you get some exercise in the process.) Those who don’t have small kids to haul around, may want to consider adding panniers to their bike, as those can each carry a full bag’s worth of groceries. A set of panniers (with rack) starts at about $70 (and goes up from there, depending on the features and size you want). One of the advantages of a bike trailer over a dedicated cargo bike is that a bike trailer tends to take up less space in a garage, and a bike trailer (which are lighter in weight than a cargo bike) can be easily hung out of the way in the garage rafters, or easily folded-up for storage.
Conclusion
So, is a cargo bike right for your family? It ultimately depends on your individual circumstances, age and number of kids, and needs. But for those looking to save money, reduce their carbon footprint, lead an active lifestyle, and model a green/healthy lifestyle for their kids, a cargo bike may be worth considering as a viable alternative to a traditional car.
