Since I began covering e-biking a year ago, I have often used the term “E-Transport” instead of the more common “micromobility.:”
I do this for a reason.
While it’s true that most products for short-range travel using electric motors are e-bikes, not all are. A scooter isn’t an e-bike. Neither is a motorized wheelchair. A “Class 3” e-bike going at 28 mph, on a throttle, is an “e-moto.” I’ve seen all of these, and more, on the Atlanta Beltline.
Rivian’s ALSO unit, which I started to profile last week, is redefining the terms. A pedal by wire system means pedaling is no longer a necessity, but you can still get a benefit from it, by recharging the battery. Add regenerative braking, where slowing down also recharges the battery, then note that it uses the USB-C standard and the batteries are replaceable.
ALSO is controlled by software, not by your feet and hands. It has various driving “modes.” These let it ride like an e-bike or like an e-moto. They let it handle differently over different terrain. The same system can be used as a cargo bike or an e-truck. It just depends on the accessories.
I’ve also written here about Exo Skeletons coming out of Kickstarter mode. Strap a Hypershell, a Dnsys, or an Ascentiz around your waist and you can finally climb the big hills. Or a thief can outrun a cop after a smash-and-grab.
Think that’s not the mass market? Nike has announced Project Amplify, which puts an electric motor around your calves. E-Transport is coming to your feet.
Controlling E-Transport
My Edison sports a 500-watt motor. That’s enough to get me up to 20 mph (30 kph) on a flat road, but no faster. It’s clearly a bike.
What we’re seeing on bike paths today are motors with up to 8 kilowatts of power. They have bicycle seats and bicycle handlebars. They can be run as Class 1 e-bikes. They also go as fast as 55 mph. Want to see these on the Atlanta Beltline? They’re there.
But I’m not so naïve to think that we can ban them. Require a motorcycle license, require a helmet, let them on the streets and treat them as what they are. All this talk about “Class 1” and “Class 3” obscured it. If it goes at the speed of a motorbike, it’s a motorbike. If it goes at the speed of a bike, it’s a bike.
But what do you call the ALSO, which changes its nature depending on software? I call it E-Transport. We need new laws to make things safe.
The best rule is the Dutch rule of three paths – a sidewalk, a bike path, and the roadway. Each should have its own speed limit, and its own set of rules governing use of the path, based on one aim, safety.
Pedestrians have the right of way, always. Bikes yield to pedestrians, cars to bikes, because cars are dangerous. Trucks need to be more limited still, even if they’re just going at a bike’s speed. Where paths are shared, the most vulnerable user gets the benefit of the law.
Use common sense, as Brandon Chamberlin wrote recently at Streetsblog. (Essential reading, BTW.) That’s how we keep E-Transport from becoming a Mad Max movie.
