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by macroexpanse 2990 days ago
No, you can't. The bike has to be "electric pedal assist" to be street legal. That means it requires more attention and physical effort from the rider than a throttled vehicle. The engines aren't very powerful and the speeds are capped at 20 mph or below.

You're right that Seattle should've taken the time to actually repeal the helmet law. Your comparison of riding helmetless while cycling compared to a motor cycle is a bit much though don't you think? Seat belt laws have much stronger evidence in their favor. Helmet laws are not a panacea for cycling safety and could actually be harmful to both cyclists and to the general population.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2016/06/02/why-helmets-arent-the...

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/11/10/more-evidence-that-he...

This anti VC angle you're taking is bizarre. How does increased access to transportation not benefit the public?
1 comments
mulmen 2990 days ago
I’m not anti-VC but if you have followed the development of bike share in Seattle it seems to be more about making businesses work than about making transit work. My problem also has to do with the selective enforcement of the helmet law to enrich investors.

I don’t mind if investors make money. I mind when they circumvent our laws and endanger the public to do so.

I also admit to some ignorance about e-bikes which has now been cleared up by you and sibling commenters.

My comparison to motorcycle helmet laws and seat belt laws was just to reinforce that if we are going to selectively enforce the bicycle helmet law we should just repeal it because it’s clearly not as important as motorcycle helmets or car seat belts.

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macroexpanse 2990 days ago
Point taken. There should not be a double standard. City legislators need to have the spine to change the law.

I have been following the story of bike share in Seattle. It's a shame that Pronto and Motivate lost the contract.

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mulmen 2990 days ago
Did you catch the part where the city council member that wanted to bail out Pronto was an investor in Pronto? Fun times.
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macroexpanse 2990 days ago
Indeed. Bike share schemes don't need to be publicly funded if run properly. Citi Bike has been a huge success in NYC without taking a dime from taxpayers. Perhaps an ebike system would have been more economically viable in a hilly city like Seattle.
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mulmen 2990 days ago
LimeBike is rolling them out so we will see!
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