Though it’s fun, cost-effective, and great for the environment, replacing your car with a bicycle isn’t without its snags. Biking in the rain isn’t for everyone, sweating up hills can make you unpopular when you get to the office and bike thieves are a constant problem in many cities. Enter VeloMetro Mobility, who hope to solve many of those problems with their VeloCar that will be available in Vancouver through a car-sharing program early next year.
The VeloMetro VeloCars are three-wheeled vehicles classified as bicycles, so a driver’s license is not needed to drive one. They are fully enclosed, keeping riders from the worst of Vancouver’s wet weather, and also come with electric-assist to help riders up the local hilly terrain.
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The cars also have a locking storage space, dash-mounted tablets for navigation, and an energy recovery brake system to recharge the battery pack en route. The vehicles can travel almost 20 miles per hour and are also narrow enough to fit a bike lane, keeping riders out of busy city traffic.
VeloMobility’s VeloCar sharing program is set to launch early in 2016 and will feature an online sign-up that can get riders into a VeloCar in just a few minutes. After the Vancouver roll-out, Kody Baker, co-founder of VeloMetro Mobility, plans to make VeloCars the leading personal transportation alternative to automobiles in urban centres around the globe.
Images via VeloMetro
