{"id":4856,"date":"2009-08-21T10:53:38","date_gmt":"2009-08-21T16:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=4856"},"modified":"2009-08-21T10:53:38","modified_gmt":"2009-08-21T16:53:38","slug":"cash-for-clunkers-car-bike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/cash-for-clunkers-car-bike\/","title":{"rendered":"A Greener Cash for Clunkers: Trade Your Car for a Bike"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cargo<\/a>If you’ve kept an eye on the federal government’s “Cash for Clunkers<\/a>” program (which will end on Monday), you know that it’s been a huge success on a number of fronts: hundreds of thousands of people have traded in older, less fuel-efficient vehicles for new models with better gas mileage, and some auto manufacturers are even rehiring. Of course, the program’s had its downsides, also: dealers have complained about slow reimbursements, and some environmentalists have worried that the fuel economy requirements weren’t quite stringent enough.<\/p>\n

Portland, Oregon-based businessman Joe Doebele has another complaint about the program: there’s nothing in it to get commuters to shift from four wheels to two. Rather than just throw stones, though, Doeble decided to do something about this shortcoming: he’s started his own “cash for clunkers” program at his cargo bike shop Joe Bike<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[social_buttons]<\/p>\n

OK, yes — Doebele has a personal financial stake in getting more people on bikes. But he’s also right about some of the shortcomings of Cash for Clunkers. He told the Oregonian<\/em>‘s Hard Drive blog<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I realized that if people are driving a clunker, they probably don’t have too much cash to spend on a new car and we’re asking them to go deeper into debt to drive more… My Cash for Clunkers program is partly out of a sense of humor and partly out of economical activism.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Trade Your Car — or Your Bike — for a New Bike<\/h3>\n

The Joe Bike Cash for Clunkers<\/a> program has two options: your “clunker” can be either a car or a bike.<\/p>\n