By Laura Bliss
Climate-friendly e-bikes are a key part of plans to decarbonize urban transportation. To speed adoption, more cities are offering lending programs that can expose more riders to this new mode.
Kate McCarthy had no problem biking downtown from her home in Montpelier, Vermont. It was the ride back — and the steep quarter-mile climb up Franklin Street — that killed her enthusiasm. When it came time to pick up her son from school or go shopping, taking the car was easiest. She mostly walked to work.