Electric Velomobiles: as Fast and Comfortable as Automobiles, but 80 times more Efficient. Cargo cyclists replace truck drivers on European city streets. Electric Velomobiles: as Fast and Comfortable as Automobiles, but 80 times more Efficient. Part 1 / Part 2.
You would think that a vehicle that is 80 times more efficient than an electric car, and offers a similar speed and range, would be encouraged by governments worldwide. However, the opposite is true. The biggest obstacle for manufacturers and drivers of electric velomobiles is legislation. How to downsize a transport network: the Chinese wheelbarrow. Transport options over land Before the arrival of the steam engine, people have always preferred to move cargo over water instead of over land, because it takes much less effort to do so. But whenever this was not possible, there remained essentially three options for transporting goods: carrying them (using aids like a yoke, or none at all), tying them to pack animals (donkeys, mules, horses, camels, goats), or loading them onto a wheeled cart or wagon (which could be pulled by humans or animals). Carrying stuff was the easiest way to go; there was no need to build roads or vehicles, nor to feed animals.