Commuting to school by e-bike?

[Anonymous]

I commuted with my kids on my bike for years and have super fond memories of it all. We didn’t have an e-bike because our route was flat (1 mile to school, and for a period of time, another 1.5 to daycare), but I would have gotten an e-bike if it was hillier. We mostly were on side streets but not always bike lanes (and the routes are way better with protected lanes now than when we were doing it). The ability to pull right up to school and then zip off is nice.

I also agree you’ll get better advice on the aforementioned DC Family Biking Facebook group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not understanding why you can't take the C61 bus to Franklin St and then walk.

OP here - we could. Factoring the walk on both ends, I think you're looking at about 40 mins door to door. Then the adult needs to come back home - another 40 mins. 2x per day.

Bike is 15 mins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not understanding why you can't take the C61 bus to Franklin St and then walk.

OP here - we could. Factoring the walk on both ends, I think you're looking at about 40 mins door to door. Then the adult needs to come back home - another 40 mins. 2x per day.

Bike is 15 mins.

Well, the adult walks faster or could bikeshare back.

There's no way for your kids to go to ITDS that isn't in some way or another a giant hassle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not understanding why you can't take the C61 bus to Franklin St and then walk.

OP here - we could. Factoring the walk on both ends, I think you're looking at about 40 mins door to door. Then the adult needs to come back home - another 40 mins. 2x per day.

Bike is 15 mins.

I suppose it depends on where you live precisely, but I think 15 mins is optimistic. At ITDS you're supposed to walk preschoolers in to their classrooms. And the aftercare requires parents to come inside as well. So plan time for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not understanding why you can't take the C61 bus to Franklin St and then walk.

OP here - we could. Factoring the walk on both ends, I think you're looking at about 40 mins door to door. Then the adult needs to come back home - another 40 mins. 2x per day.

Bike is 15 mins.

But how long will it be when your oldest kid is too big and needs to pedal their own bike?

And don't forget all the time and money you'll spend on maintaining, securing, and ultimately replacing the bike.

This is a bad deal, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not understanding why you can't take the C61 bus to Franklin St and then walk.

OP here - we could. Factoring the walk on both ends, I think you're looking at about 40 mins door to door. Then the adult needs to come back home - another 40 mins. 2x per day.

Bike is 15 mins.

But how long will it be when your oldest kid is too big and needs to pedal their own bike?

And don't forget all the time and money you'll spend on maintaining, securing, and ultimately replacing the bike.

This is a bad deal, OP.

It's a whole lot less than the cost of owning a car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not understanding why you can't take the C61 bus to Franklin St and then walk.

OP here - we could. Factoring the walk on both ends, I think you're looking at about 40 mins door to door. Then the adult needs to come back home - another 40 mins. 2x per day.

Bike is 15 mins.

But how long will it be when your oldest kid is too big and needs to pedal their own bike?

And don't forget all the time and money you'll spend on maintaining, securing, and ultimately replacing the bike.

This is a bad deal, OP.

It's a whole lot less than the cost of owning a car.

It's a whole lot more than going to Garrison. Which is just as good a school!

It's not the money, it's the time and hassle too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cars are dangerous too. So is walking in the city especially some intersections. You have to take some risks

Kids in cars are strapped in and surrounded by air bags and a two ton steel cage. Kids on bikes have nothing except their crappy little plastic helmets (and sometimes not even that).

I don't think there is enough data to really know what the odds are at this point. You have to consider the behavior in the whole context. With an ebike I am probably living a less vehicle centered life, traveling at much lower speeds, on much less busy streets. I am an adult experienced rider, not a child. And I am using a well maintained ebike that I am not modifying to go higher speeds. The odds being quoted in those sensationalist articles are not considering the use case we are discussing here.

Nonetheless, I do think it carries increased risks compared to other transit methods. I wish there was better data to know what those odds are.

As a driver, I expect that sooner or later, I will be in a crash, regardless of how safely I drive because there's a lot of people moving around and people make bad decisions. Those on two wheels should assume the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cars are dangerous too. So is walking in the city especially some intersections. You have to take some risks

Kids in cars are strapped in and surrounded by air bags and a two ton steel cage. Kids on bikes have nothing except their crappy little plastic helmets (and sometimes not even that).

I don't think there is enough data to really know what the odds are at this point. You have to consider the behavior in the whole context. With an ebike I am probably living a less vehicle centered life, traveling at much lower speeds, on much less busy streets. I am an adult experienced rider, not a child. And I am using a well maintained ebike that I am not modifying to go higher speeds. The odds being quoted in those sensationalist articles are not considering the use case we are discussing here.

Nonetheless, I do think it carries increased risks compared to other transit methods. I wish there was better data to know what those odds are.

As a driver, I expect that sooner or later, I will be in a crash, regardless of how safely I drive because there's a lot of people moving around and people make bad decisions. Those on two wheels should assume the same.

+1 and I say this as a huge cycling advocate who does most of my travel around town on bike or on foot. My spouse is an excellent cyclist who is very careful, always wears a helmet, and very used to riding in DC. He was once T-boned by a vehicle making an illegal left turn and wound up in the ER. There was no way for him to prevent the accident unless he literally stopped and looked for people making illegal left turns at every intersection. That driver wasn't even moving that fast -- estimated at 10 miles an hour. But because of the angle at which they hit DH, he was thrown over the hood of their car. He was injured but luckily his helmet protected his head and he didn't need major surgery.

But the thought of that happening to one of our kids? I don't even want to think about it. If I'm walking with them on foot, I can easily check for cars doing that kind of thing at every intersection without it slowing us down. If we're driving, I have more confidence other cars can see me plus the car has enough built-in protection that an accident occurring at 10 miles an hour would likely result in no injuries at all. On a bike? People need to be realistic about what risks they are taking putting their kids in that situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not safe enough for my kids.

Source: ER doctor brother.

+1

+3
Source: surgical nurse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The protected bike lane along Irving is very nice.

I take my two kids on e-bike to school which we lotteried into.

Pros:
- Much faster and more reliable than any other mode of transit
- Easy to park anywhere
- Easy to carry large amounts of kid stuff
- I am less tired from having to make the trip 4 times a day!

Cons:
- Traffic, cars, bikes, pedestrians it really feels like no one follows the rules
- Construction - there is nearly always some form of construction blocking part of the way that lasts years
- Safety, I do feel like it comes with a much higher likelihood of an accident
- Repairs, these are inevitable and a pain with an ebike.

We ride pretty much in all weather. I invested in good rain and snow clothes. Occasionally we take the bus when the bike is broken or it is too icy.

I use side streets, protected bike lanes when possible and I tend to ride a low speeds without much assist even though I could go much faster.

Another con is cost. We don't have an e-bikes because they are expensive and seem to crap out faster than you'd expect given the cost. We have friends who are on their 3rd e-bike in 10 years. That's like 15k in e-bikes (they aren't buying the cheapest models). And doesn't even include upkeep costs.

People are always trying to convince us to get an e-bike but the economics don't make sense for us even though I see the benefit of having a way to travel with kids that is faster than walking but more eco-friendly and convenient than a car. If e-bikes were more similar in cost to a regular bike, that would be different.

My sister just bought a low-miles Subaru Forester (2015? 2016?) for $15k. She lives in DC and the mandatory liability insurance on this car is about $85/month. Registration is $175 year. At the rate she drives this car, <1500 miles/year, it will certainly last another 10 years.

No way would i spend the same money on what are essentially disposable e-bikes over the same 10 yr period. And no, the petroleum she is consuming in real-world practice is not actually contributing to climate change in a meaningful way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cars are dangerous too. So is walking in the city especially some intersections. You have to take some risks

Kids in cars are strapped in and surrounded by air bags and a two ton steel cage. Kids on bikes have nothing except their crappy little plastic helmets (and sometimes not even that).

I don't think there is enough data to really know what the odds are at this point. You have to consider the behavior in the whole context. With an ebike I am probably living a less vehicle centered life, traveling at much lower speeds, on much less busy streets. I am an adult experienced rider, not a child. And I am using a well maintained ebike that I am not modifying to go higher speeds. The odds being quoted in those sensationalist articles are not considering the use case we are discussing here.

Nonetheless, I do think it carries increased risks compared to other transit methods. I wish there was better data to know what those odds are.

As a driver, I expect that sooner or later, I will be in a crash, regardless of how safely I drive because there's a lot of people moving around and people make bad decisions. Those on two wheels should assume the same.

+1 and I say this as a huge cycling advocate who does most of my travel around town on bike or on foot. My spouse is an excellent cyclist who is very careful, always wears a helmet, and very used to riding in DC. He was once T-boned by a vehicle making an illegal left turn and wound up in the ER. There was no way for him to prevent the accident unless he literally stopped and looked for people making illegal left turns at every intersection. That driver wasn't even moving that fast -- estimated at 10 miles an hour. But because of the angle at which they hit DH, he was thrown over the hood of their car. He was injured but luckily his helmet protected his head and he didn't need major surgery.

But the thought of that happening to one of our kids? I don't even want to think about it. If I'm walking with them on foot, I can easily check for cars doing that kind of thing at every intersection without it slowing us down. If we're driving, I have more confidence other cars can see me plus the car has enough built-in protection that an accident occurring at 10 miles an hour would likely result in no injuries at all. On a bike? People need to be realistic about what risks they are taking putting their kids in that situation.

People tend to ride a lot more cautiously when they're with kids. Quieter routes, slower speeds, head on a swivel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The protected bike lane along Irving is very nice.

I take my two kids on e-bike to school which we lotteried into.

Pros:
- Much faster and more reliable than any other mode of transit
- Easy to park anywhere
- Easy to carry large amounts of kid stuff
- I am less tired from having to make the trip 4 times a day!

Cons:
- Traffic, cars, bikes, pedestrians it really feels like no one follows the rules
- Construction - there is nearly always some form of construction blocking part of the way that lasts years
- Safety, I do feel like it comes with a much higher likelihood of an accident
- Repairs, these are inevitable and a pain with an ebike.

We ride pretty much in all weather. I invested in good rain and snow clothes. Occasionally we take the bus when the bike is broken or it is too icy.

I use side streets, protected bike lanes when possible and I tend to ride a low speeds without much assist even though I could go much faster.

Another con is cost. We don't have an e-bikes because they are expensive and seem to crap out faster than you'd expect given the cost. We have friends who are on their 3rd e-bike in 10 years. That's like 15k in e-bikes (they aren't buying the cheapest models). And doesn't even include upkeep costs.

People are always trying to convince us to get an e-bike but the economics don't make sense for us even though I see the benefit of having a way to travel with kids that is faster than walking but more eco-friendly and convenient than a car. If e-bikes were more similar in cost to a regular bike, that would be different.

My sister just bought a low-miles Subaru Forester (2015? 2016?) for $15k. She lives in DC and the mandatory liability insurance on this car is about $85/month. Registration is $175 year. At the rate she drives this car, <1500 miles/year, it will certainly last another 10 years.

No way would i spend the same money on what are essentially disposable e-bikes over the same 10 yr period. And no, the petroleum she is consuming in real-world practice is not actually contributing to climate change in a meaningful way.

because parking. Parking eats up a lot more time than actual driving when you live in dense DC neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights, AdMo, Dupont.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The protected bike lane along Irving is very nice.

I take my two kids on e-bike to school which we lotteried into.

Pros:
- Much faster and more reliable than any other mode of transit
- Easy to park anywhere
- Easy to carry large amounts of kid stuff
- I am less tired from having to make the trip 4 times a day!

Cons:
- Traffic, cars, bikes, pedestrians it really feels like no one follows the rules
- Construction - there is nearly always some form of construction blocking part of the way that lasts years
- Safety, I do feel like it comes with a much higher likelihood of an accident
- Repairs, these are inevitable and a pain with an ebike.

We ride pretty much in all weather. I invested in good rain and snow clothes. Occasionally we take the bus when the bike is broken or it is too icy.

I use side streets, protected bike lanes when possible and I tend to ride a low speeds without much assist even though I could go much faster.

Another con is cost. We don't have an e-bikes because they are expensive and seem to crap out faster than you'd expect given the cost. We have friends who are on their 3rd e-bike in 10 years. That's like 15k in e-bikes (they aren't buying the cheapest models). And doesn't even include upkeep costs.

People are always trying to convince us to get an e-bike but the economics don't make sense for us even though I see the benefit of having a way to travel with kids that is faster than walking but more eco-friendly and convenient than a car. If e-bikes were more similar in cost to a regular bike, that would be different.

My sister just bought a low-miles Subaru Forester (2015? 2016?) for $15k. She lives in DC and the mandatory liability insurance on this car is about $85/month. Registration is $175 year. At the rate she drives this car, <1500 miles/year, it will certainly last another 10 years.

No way would i spend the same money on what are essentially disposable e-bikes over the same 10 yr period. And no, the petroleum she is consuming in real-world practice is not actually contributing to climate change in a meaningful way.

DP but many addresses are not eligible for RPP. Parking spot costs $2500 per year. Vehicle maintenance is $1000 per year on average.

Not saying OP should bike but people vastly underestimate the cost of owning a vehicle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The protected bike lane along Irving is very nice.

I take my two kids on e-bike to school which we lotteried into.

Pros:
- Much faster and more reliable than any other mode of transit
- Easy to park anywhere
- Easy to carry large amounts of kid stuff
- I am less tired from having to make the trip 4 times a day!

Cons:
- Traffic, cars, bikes, pedestrians it really feels like no one follows the rules
- Construction - there is nearly always some form of construction blocking part of the way that lasts years
- Safety, I do feel like it comes with a much higher likelihood of an accident
- Repairs, these are inevitable and a pain with an ebike.

We ride pretty much in all weather. I invested in good rain and snow clothes. Occasionally we take the bus when the bike is broken or it is too icy.

I use side streets, protected bike lanes when possible and I tend to ride a low speeds without much assist even though I could go much faster.

Another con is cost. We don't have an e-bikes because they are expensive and seem to crap out faster than you'd expect given the cost. We have friends who are on their 3rd e-bike in 10 years. That's like 15k in e-bikes (they aren't buying the cheapest models). And doesn't even include upkeep costs.

People are always trying to convince us to get an e-bike but the economics don't make sense for us even though I see the benefit of having a way to travel with kids that is faster than walking but more eco-friendly and convenient than a car. If e-bikes were more similar in cost to a regular bike, that would be different.

My sister just bought a low-miles Subaru Forester (2015? 2016?) for $15k. She lives in DC and the mandatory liability insurance on this car is about $85/month. Registration is $175 year. At the rate she drives this car, <1500 miles/year, it will certainly last another 10 years.

No way would i spend the same money on what are essentially disposable e-bikes over the same 10 yr period. And no, the petroleum she is consuming in real-world practice is not actually contributing to climate change in a meaningful way.

I was really bummed out when I learned how frequently people wind up replacing either the whole bike or the battery. It really cuts down on the environmental argument for me. And yes, the cost is outrageous for something you will wind up replacing that frequently. And in addition to the bikes just crapping out and needing to be replaced, in DC you have to worry about theft.

Before I fully understood the costs I was imagining being able to ditch our car altogether and just switch to a pair of e-bikes. But it's honestly way cheaper to just keep our car (which is paid for and, like your sister's, should last forever since we drive it so rarely) and then walk or take public transit most of the time. An e-bike would be faster for a lot of stuff, but it's definitely not cheaper.