I'm so happy to see all the family cargo bikes in my neighborhood!

[Anonymous]

I live and hybrid work-from-home by the window, next to a DCPS elementary and a couple of blocks from a charter elementary. This school year two families on my block have shifted their school commutes to electric cargo bikes, and there's about a dozen more that I see every single day. This is the beginning of a much better daily life for those kids and their parents! The 'if you build it they will come' is quick! I can't wait to see what happens when the rest of our nearby network is complete.

[Anonymous]

How do you do fellow kids?

[Anonymous]

Started riding my son to his DCPS everyday to/from school when I’m telecommuting.

It’s only a 6 minute ride, but it’s easily the favorite part of his day.

[Anonymous]

Come back when the weather’s bad. Around here, that’s frequent.

[Anonymous]

I see a lot of these at our DCPS this year as well and I think it's great. I don't think they've seen any reduction in car drop offs yet but maybe in a few years as these become more affordable. Now that you can get one for under $1000 I think it will convince a lot more families because it feels like less of a risk.

The one thing holding us back is that we live in an apartment and we don't have a secure place to store the bike when not in use. I've been looking into anti-theft devices but it's still a source of stress for me -- we'd have to park it in areas around the building that have a history of theft. And there's no way to store it in our walk-up. If anyone has any ideas on this front, please let me know!

[Anonymous]

OP here.
I'm envious of the electric cargos. When I had my kids in a cargo, the electric version was way out of reach and there were not enough protected lanes.

[Anonymous]

I agree that electric motors have revolutionized access and use of bicycles.

BUT.

As a European accustomed to seeing all kinds of road-sharing in my home country, I'm just terrified for cyclists here. Car drivers do NOT know how to share the road in this country. And some cyclists are just asking to get hit. I nearly hit a cyclist with no lights, dressed all in dark colors, on Rockville Pike on a winter's night. I live off of Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, and every year there's at least one cyclist fatality near the beltway entrance and exit. Usually a teenager.

Please be careful when cycling and please stay alert for cyclists and pedestrians when driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of these at our DCPS this year as well and I think it's great. I don't think they've seen any reduction in car drop offs yet but maybe in a few years as these become more affordable. Now that you can get one for under $1000 I think it will convince a lot more families because it feels like less of a risk.

The one thing holding us back is that we live in an apartment and we don't have a secure place to store the bike when not in use. I've been looking into anti-theft devices but it's still a source of stress for me -- we'd have to park it in areas around the building that have a history of theft. And there's no way to store it in our walk-up. If anyone has any ideas on this front, please let me know!

That's too bad! Could you lobby your building to designate a bike storage room? I think there are more and more of those, and they are becoming a must-have amenity for many prospective tenants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I'm envious of the electric cargos. When I had my kids in a cargo, the electric version was way out of reach and there were not enough protected lanes.

I could only do this with an electric cargo bike -- I just am not a strong enough cyclist to be able to rely on my own power for a cargo bike with one or two kids in it. It's very cool to see electric cargo bikes around 1k. They used to be 8k!

[Anonymous]

BIG increase in cargo bikes on the Hill in the past year. I'm not sure that I would do it, but more power to those parents. It looks like fun. If I had a secure location to lock up a cargo bike, I'd consider one for grocery shopping, but not really feasible to haul it up the stoop and keep it inside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I'm envious of the electric cargos. When I had my kids in a cargo, the electric version was way out of reach and there were not enough protected lanes.

I could only do this with an electric cargo bike -- I just am not a strong enough cyclist to be able to rely on my own power for a cargo bike with one or two kids in it. It's very cool to see electric cargo bikes around 1k. They used to be 8k!

Oh wow, I did not know the price was so affordable. This is really getting into the range where a lot of families could easily decide to go the cargo bike route for school/work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Started riding my son to his DCPS everyday to/from school when I’m telecommuting.

It’s only a 6 minute ride, but it’s easily the favorite part of his day.

Love these people who wouldn't dream of driving a child anywhere without strapping them into a car seat, but they'll put a child on a bike in a crowded city and are like, "it's fine -- i'll just be careful."

The kids wear helmets and the bikes go a lot slower than cars do. Also, I would only commute with my kid on my bike in residential neighborhoods with low speed limits and good bike infrastructure. it's actually much, much safer than driving.

This just seems delusional. You are putting your child in a life threatening situation. If you get hit by a car, he or she is dead.

I mean, I walk my kid to school about six blocks. She doesn't wear a helmet or anything. I rely on the exact same safety measures as I would while riding a bike -- awareness of vehicles, caution at intersections, etc. And on our walk there is always the risk that my kid could dart out into the street at the wrong time (she knows not to do this but with kids you never know). Do you think it's "delusional" to walk with my daughter to school every day? Is the only "safe" way to transport a child inside a vehicle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I'm envious of the electric cargos. When I had my kids in a cargo, the electric version was way out of reach and there were not enough protected lanes.

I could only do this with an electric cargo bike -- I just am not a strong enough cyclist to be able to rely on my own power for a cargo bike with one or two kids in it. It's very cool to see electric cargo bikes around 1k. They used to be 8k!

Oh wow, I did not know the price was so affordable. This is really getting into the range where a lot of families could easily decide to go the cargo bike route for school/work.

Some really strong sock puppeting here. Funny how all of these posts sound like they were written by the same person.

Lol I'm not the OP and am one of the above PPs but only one of the three.

I think you just don't get that this is really appealing for a lot of families. It's not even political or environmental. Driving around DC is a PITA, car drop off at most DCPS is unpleasant, parking at work is often expensive, and so on. If you live in the city this is a really great option, especially since Covid has made public transportation less reliable or appealing.

[Anonymous]

Same. I would love to transport my DD this way (I am a long-distance cyclist who bikes for recreation and transportation) but DH thinks seats are unsafe. Will only use trailer. Which is fine but doesn't work for my bike.

[Anonymous]

I admire the people who do this, but personally I can't get past the safety risk (from vehicle traffic) or the inclement weather logistics. Does everyone who bike commutes in May-Sept have access to showers at work? Because I would be a disgusting mess by the time I got to work, and I don't have a place/time to shower there.