I really wanted an e-scooter to help my shorter routes here in Germany, but the legislation is quite unfriendly to it now. I need insurance and can't carry it in public transport. Maybe a folding bike would be great.
There are also E-Bike Folding bikes, though the mentioned Brompton is very expensive when buying with a motor. A Carbon Folding Bike with motor under 15kg is really worth considering
Depending where in Germany you are (Berlin for examnon-foldable ple) you can carry a regular bike in public transport (ubahn, sbahn, not bus). It is very common.
Technically yes, but the batteries on bikes are better protected, higher up, and usually of better quality than cheap scooter batteries, that are low to the ground. It's more of a statistical decision.
Boomers legislating away a method of transportation they have no use for, combined with a few people using it with little regard or civility, and rental operators so focused on competition that they're unwilling to enforce the rules.
But really, mostly it's the first of the three factors. Thank god they're avid adoptors of ebikes, making those safe for now.
In several countries in the eu (if not all) they restricted ebikes to 25kmh.
Car driverss going at 30kph get really pissed off.
I'd love an ebike for work travel but dislike playing tag with 1-tonne machines. At least on my road bike I can ride at a casual pace, with occasional mad accelerations.