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More Twin Cities families using ‘cargo bikes’ to haul groceries and children
(www.twincities.com)
this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2026
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You can buy two good cargo bikes a year for the average total cost of ownership of a car. When so many trips are within bike range, why would you not do this?
We still need to fill edge cases. Hiking is really big where I live but you can't take public transit to more than one or two trailheads, and certainly not some of the more remote ones.
I desperately want a nonprofit carshare in my area to fill the gap for this as well as occasional things like moving lots of stuff. Without a cost effective way to get a car when you really need one, people will own a car for edge cases. And when you have a car sitting there... you'll drive it even when you don't need to.
fwiw there might be platforms that let you just rent out the car when it's not in use, it's a thing here and my landlord company even puts their cars on it!
(It's GoMore, only available in a couple countries but you can look at it for an example of how it works)
There's a nonprofit rideshare in Ithaca, NY for inspiration! https://www.ithacacarshare.org/
Sometimes it's a lot easier than you think to be the change you want to see. You might be amazed at how far you get before you run into significant roadblocks.
Sounds like you have a project. :P
I would choose the healthier option (the cargo bikes). I just don't want to be corralled down a cattle chute where there are no other options. I would also use my vehicle to haul the elderly around, if required (not a cargo bike).