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Comment by enqk | Hacker News Reader

This has to include some thoughts on how to get vehicles to drastically lower their weights...

I really just don't think there's any benefit to trying to fix cars (I keep thinking "stop trying to make fetch/cars happen" from Mean Girls haha). My strong opinion is the way you fix the weight problem in EVs isn't to hope for better battery efficiency or w/e, it's to replace it w/ an ebike and a raincoat.

I largely agree, but it would still be a good problem to solve because it would make electric buses and the cars that can’t be replaced lighter.

I'm a little naive to the weight problem, is it really an issue for like, buses? Is this actually an area where trams (gasp!) are better?

I realized I had just assumed that electric buses were significantly heavier than ICE buses. They can be much heavier; however, using an aluminum frame or smaller batteries (if you don't need the range), can bring the weight down considerably. It's hard to get exact weights because the weight varies by configuration.

I was mostly thinking of efficiency issues. But apparently, they have lead to issues with road wear in Indianapolis[0], although this may in part be due to poor planning on the transit agency or public works' part.

Trams and trolley buses do solve this issue

[0]: https://www.wrtv.com/news/working-for-you/indygo-reconstruct...

(Oh my hometown!)

Huh I hadn't realized this might be an issue; thanks for the info. I know roads are rated for weight but I didn't think electric buses might have been so heavy to generally exceed it.

An e-bike weighs orders of magnitude less than an electric car.

Buses and trains are extremely heavy

per passenger? trains also have less friction

This is exactly the right type of thinking and questions to be asking. We should be looking at cost (dollar and/or carbon) per unit of useful work (e.g. passenger-mile). On those terms commuter busses and trains often aren't a clear improvement over cars because of how often buses and trains are running at less than 25% capacity.

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