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Two buses, three hours and 13 miles: how Americans in ‘transit deserts’ get groceries without cars
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 03 May 2026
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3h to go 13 miles? Get a bike...
What if it's uphill?
Both ways?
Both ways?
An electric bike. The American ones are 3x as powerful as European models.
“Just spend $500-2000 on an e-bike” isn’t what I would consider within the reach of most people living in food deserts and on food stamps.
I was kidding but even if everyone buys electric cargo bike (which are not cheap) to carry water, milk and other heavy items 40km round trip will be ~2h, you won't be able to take kids with you or simply stop on your way from work. It's doable but it will be painful for a lot of people.
Do we need charities to fundraise to make sure Americans have access to clean drinking water in their village?
That is a lot better time than the article listed for the alternative option. Kids can ride along with their own bikes or in a trailer/seat, depending on age.
Really? You would let 6-7 year old ride 40 km on public roads? Or 2-3 of them? You will buy 4 electric bikes with snap benefits?
Ok, just keep taking the shitty bus then if you find that so much easier than riding a bike.
I know it's a stereotype that Americans are incredibly lazy but you are not exactly doing anything to suggest otherwise.
I don't live in US and I do take my bike to work. I simply realize not everyone is in the same situation as I am. It's called empathy.
They're banning ebikes for young people and imposing onerous licencing, regrestration, and insurance requirements
Or they're disabled, or they need to bring kids, or they need bulky items or or or....
Bulky items like say, groceries
They're banning ebikes to save big oil
That kinda sucks for the elderly or disabled, but anyone else can use a regular bike
One time, when I was about 30-years-old, I was trekking long distance and a 74-year-old guy named Jerry caught up to me. We road side-by-side for a while and talked and he invited me to ride into town with him. We rode until we encountered some people that were waiting for him and then we all rode into town and had dinner together.
Never saw him again after that. He was doing over 200 miles a day. I was doing a little over a hundred miles a day. Granted, he had a $5,000+ titanium frame bicycle and I just had some mediocre aluminum frame worth maybe $500.
Sure, you get some old people who run marathons, but you also have many that don't get out for much exercise at all and ebikes (or 3 wheelers) can help them a lot. It's also the most common legal form of ebike I actually see.
Otherwise a lot are using them illegally as an unregistered motorcycle down bike lanes. All illegal and barely ever enforced.