Yesterday, my brother told me he'd spent over $100 to fill his gas tank.
On one hand, I sympathise with him. For one thing, he is my brother. (This is what age does: I didn't say, "in spite of the fact that he's my brother." LOL) For another, he lives in an area that's more car-centric than my hometown of New York. Even if that weren't the case, he'd rely on his car because medical conditions constrain his physical activity, at least somewhat.
On the other hand, I remind myself that petrol prices are only now surpassing levels I saw when I first set foot (actually, bike tires) in Europe, back in 1980. I could get into a rant about how playing nice with Saudi Arabia and giving tax breaks to oil companies wouldn't have continued to keep down the price at the pump forever, but it would be just that--a rant. Others with far more expertise in national and global politics and energy markets can explain it better, or at least in more depth, than I ever could, even if I were to hijack the focus of this blog (really, it exists).
But what my brother told me is nonetheless relevant and can perhaps be best illustrated by something I've just come across. In Electrek, Micah Toll points out that at the current average cost of gasoline in the US--around 5 dollars a gallon (around a euro a liter)--it would take only five fills of an F-150 truck's tank to buy an entry-level electric bike. Or, it would take someone fueling an evil SUV six times, while a sober, sedate sedan would need to be topped off seven to eight times to buy a basic e-bike like Ancheers being sold on Amazon--and driven by many delivery workers here in New York.
Photo from Electrek
The old adage "your mileage may vary" applies in more ways than one. If you live here in New York or in California, where gasoline averages more than $6 a gallon, it would take even fewer fills to equal the cost of an ebike.
Of course, a regular bicycle, especially a used one, can be had for less, even as we enter a third year of COVID pandemic-induced shortages. I don't know whether the gas-bike equation I've described will persuade many people would persuade to give up driving, even for short local trips. But it's certainly food, or fuel, for thought. So is this: Once gas is burned, it's gone. A bike, however, can last for years, or even decades.
