This is something that solves people’s needs, not only something that is eco-friendly
Sorry, but no. That solves just a minuscule problem in the litany of problems (good intentioned) venezuelans are having here. Rappi workers still are working for an utterly abominable corpo with ridiculous wages and no benefits. And third world tech bros, conservatives, so-called “enterperneurs” and the local oligarchy are lobbying against the labor reforms the government is trying to get approved trying to improve this situation. Loans for electric bikes are not a radical solution in this case.
The people whose needs it serves are presumably the people who take profit from Rappi.
I get that the news source here is aiming for positivity but it reeks of advertorial.
Some great points about ebikes in there, as well as some awful takes on the gig economy.
I think good ebikes are great and I used to make a living selling them. The best use cases are where delivery companies own and operate them and handle last-mile stuff using cargo ebikes. The purchase scheme type stuff is pretty good too if they’re serious about the bikes they offer and can assist with maintenance because that adds up quite quickly.
Good ebikes are utterly brilliant and if I lived in a city I’d be all over a long tail cargo bike as my daily driver. They’re amazing machines really.
The cynic in me always comes out though; the issue I have (which hampers their uptake more generally I think) is that for most gig economy riders the good ebikes are prohibitively expensive so most of them are on some shonky cobbled together DIY pedelecs (as opposed to EPAC’s) which are made of very cheap bikes fitted with dodgy motors and batteries which are dangerous and illegal mostly as they’re generally not speed restricted and on a throttle. It paints a bad picture of ebikes for the general public (being ridden dangerously, too fast, fire hazards, and means that lots of their obvious advantages get eclipsed by the public outrage invited by the use of these dubious BSOs.
Side note:
“The gig economy is really important for immigrants, it helps them integrate,” Rosales says. “It is a quick option to make money.”
Made me sick in my mouth. Proper jobs and support help immigrants integrate. The gig economy traps people in a low wage work-til-you-burn-out cycle. The only people it benefits are the companies engaged in a race to the bottom, ripping off their drivers and the people who use the service (businesses and customers).
/Rant.