Not Just Bikes
2 HN recommenders · recommended in 9 months, 2021–2025
7:59 · 1.2M views · Jun 1, 2020
Not Just Bikes looks at the tiny microcars such as the Canta seen around Amsterdam. It discusses how they serve people with mobility issues, can use bike paths under certain rules, and where they fit in a 21st century city.
Linked in self-driving and car-dependence threads as an example of small vehicles that help disabled and elderly people without full-size cars.
9 comments from Hacker News
Please, please watch the videos I linked. Especially the Not Just Bikes channel. For example, this one [LINK] can quickly explain why a transport system flooded with autonomous cars and poor public transit would make the overall system worse for everyone . There is also another video that talks about microcars for people with disability and reduced mobility: this video No rational person can watch those videos and conclude that the best course of action to solve urban transportation requires self-driving cars. Getting FSD cars is just a rich nerd fetish which will not solve anything and likely contribute to make suburban sprawl worse.
Not Just Bikes has a nice video on the Canta and things like it if you'd like to see them in action: this video
> They suffered and died. They were (mostly) taken care of by extended multi-generational households. They obviously died and/or suffered to the extent that medical and QoL technology was insufficient. The whole status quo of pensioners migrating to Florida-style retirement community necropolis with a F-150 and a rubber stamped driver license is a modern US-centric phenomenon. You are naming disparate & absurd things as the reason that European like walkable communities are bad for old people, like the difficulties of 1930's cities (or perhaps pre-industrial, you aren't very clear), the difference in landmass between the US and Europe (?) and the fact that there is a small range of disabilities that allow someone to drive and shop to Costco but not to go to a cornershop. The reality is that being old sucks ass, but being old and sedentary (when you can avoid it) sucks worse. I've taken care of multiple senior family members & friends, the ones that were active, i.e walking everywhere, not avoiding stairs completely, have lived longer and happier. Sure, even active people gradually lose the ability to do day-to-day stuff and cars or microcars[1] can help them and other people with mobility concerns, but that's not an argument against walkable places. Making streets non-hostile to pedestrians, having necessities closer to residences and prioritizing public transport makes people stop preferring cars as medium of transport if they don't need it (youngsters). This actually helps
It's time to stop making excuses. I'm coming at you with receipts. This is interesting that you say that you can't bike in the winter, Finnish people have no trouble biking in the winter: [LINK] It also seems odd that it's no problem to plow and salt a gigantic interstate highway system in the USA but somehow it's impossible to clear some small bike lanes. Before you say "only fit people can cycle," Netherlands has microcars that the elderly and disabled can use on bike lanes: this video It's weird that you say that installing and operating mass transportation is "completely infeasible" when that's the status quo in Japan. For example, this very rural line with a single rail car has a more frequent timetable than Amtrak's Chicago to Milwaukee train, which connects two large metro areas that are within feasible commuting distance: Video of the line demonstrating how rural it is. Each train only has one car! [LINK] Timetable (PDF link) [LINK] It's also weird that you say that this can only work in places with high population density, when we know that's not the case. The population of Denmark is similar to Indiana, with Indiana beating Denmark in population density, and the population of Sweden is similar to Ohio, with Ohio having 10x Sweden's population density. Explain then why there's no passenger train from Chicagoland (same size as all of Sweden) to Columbus, Ohio (same size as Copenhagen), a distance of 350 miles (which includes passing through two other sizable cities), but
I think a lot of people are dismissing some of your very valid points here, cherry-picking things that annoy them. Tough to avoid with a comment of this size, of course, but I do think it's dismissing how much of a role public transit plays in this picture. It sounds like you're saying that public transit has actually gotten worse in recent years in Oslo ("There are museums, cultural events, restaurants, and people to visit that I simply cannot do anymore in any practical sense. I miss that.")... but for the select group of people who CANNOT travel the city using bikes or public transit. Does Oslo really not have exceptions to the "zero car movement" for inviduals with disabilities like yourself? Amsterdam, for instance, allows microcars to use bike lanes: this video ... which is mildly annoying by bike, but seems like a great solution to let disabled folks take advantage of bike infrastructure. Overall I understand your frustration with how the city accommodates you, but I don't think the solution is allowing more cars in the city. It sounds like you would be best off if the city introduced some solution like microcars, forced all private vehicles (barring exceptions, like moving trucks and deliveries) from the city, and let you get around without traffic. Not sure if bikes are really causing the problems for you. > Except we have winters (should not surprise many) when travelling by bike a good option. (Yes there is a tiny minority who risk life and limb by biking all year aro