Electric bikes/scooters changing how we live and work

From David Nordfors i4j

When I was in Israel a few weeks ago for DLD I saw how Tel Aviv has been taken over by electric bicycles. They are everywhere. 

The typical e-bike is a minibike that can be propelled either with pedal assist or driven like a scooter. The latter seems to be the more common riding style. 

At this time it’s a head ache, because people ride them like ordinary bicycles, both on streets and pavements - the casualties are mounting. But I am now confident that this is a new global trend - these bikes are too cheap and convenient to not spread everywhere. 

It will change the patterns of communication and organization. We will invent cheaper, more convenient ways of organizing common efforts. 

For example, super markets might get smaller and more evenly distributed, we have already today ebikes for $1600 that can take at least four large shopping bags. With all the bother we have with cars - congested traffic, finding parking, high purchase costs, service costs, complicated and invasive city planning - there must be a lot of opportunities to organize our interactions in better ways with lighter, cheaper, more adaptable and individualized “mini-communication” solutions. 

The innovation ecosystem might be building up for it - from Crunchbase news today:

Gogoro raises $300M for scooters Scooter startup Gogoro announced that it has raised $300 million in a Series C funding round backed by Singapore’s Temasek, Generation Investment Management, and other new and existing investors. Gogoro, which develops both electric scooters and battery swapping infrastructure, says it has sold over 34,000 of its “smartscooters” to date.