Predictions for 2010?

[Footie]

Ace new e-bikes
Zero road tax
Low charging costs - £0.004p per mile (for me)

And for those who still cling to the automobile

More new 'green' legislation (anti-car)
Petrol price rises
More speed cameras

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Bike #1
Cougar Mountain Electric Bike 36v 200w rear wheel Hub motor (Jul07), 10 Ah LiFePo4 battery (Apr08)
Maximum range (road/hills - Cornwall) 18 miles. Maximum range (on flat) 25 miles

Bike #2
20 year old 18 gear mountain bike 36v 500w Goldenmotor front hub motor (Jun 09), 9 AH DIY rack-pack or 15 AH SLA (depending on trip). Used off road
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[flecc]

I'm not so sure about those.

The odds are that the Conservatives will win the election and will have to take some unpopular fiscal measures to balance the books. That could make them unwilling to take other measures like anti-car legislation and more speed cameras which could further anger the public.

I think the main trend over the next four years will be that we'll all be made poorer to start getting our economy back into health, with a fifth year easing off for them to try to retain power at the following election.

In 2010 much depends on whether we get a further downturn in the general economy and the housing market, both of which are still fairly likely. If we do, all markets will suffer, e-bikes included.
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[monster]

i think green taxes will be much easier to sell than other taxes. hopefully we will see a lot more of them. i read in the paper that motorists are going to get hit by a tripple-wammy of higher fuel tax, insurance and cost of oil. i definatly think there is scope for more to be put on the car tax bands. it was a real shame that the scrapage sceme wasn't linked to emmisions though.

 

[Branwen]

It's been exactly a year since the article about the greenwheels was put on the site's homepage - whatever happened with that, I haven't seen anything more about that.

I was sort of hoping there would be other leaps forward in tecnology this year. I suppose the cost is high for new inventions as they claw back the cost of research and development, but I haven't seen anything startling yet.

There's been the rash of adverts in the new year about a range of the most environmentally friendly cars in the world - some of which look very space cadet - are we ready to look like space cadets yet? For those that got an electric bike for green reasons the cars might start looking better than a bike, clear conscience and all the benefits of a car.