Originally Posted by
B. Carfree
As usual, you need to get out more. I have seen cargo bikes being used over the past three decades in Eugene, OR, San Francisco, CA, Davis, CA, Anchorage AK, Sacramento, CA, Seattle, WA, Bend, OR, and Arcata, CA. These things aren't rocket surgery; I have seen several that are homemade and one business that manufactures and uses them locally.
I'm sure I would have seen them in many other cities if I had gotten out more
, but I enjoy living and traveling on the Best Coast too much to spend my time elsewhere.
I'm on the fence with this part of the discussion.
In nearby Phila, PA, I have seen a number of cargo bikes being ridden or locked up downtown, but they represent a very small percentage of the bikes seen. (FWIW, Haley Trikes, formerly of Savannah, GA, is HQ'd in Phila nowadays.) It seems that the Wald Giant Delivery Basket is becoming very popular among many Phila cyclists, but I don't think strapping one of those to your handlebars will turn your bike into a Cargo bike. Still, in Phila, I've seen some longtails, and a couple of cycletrucks or similar...
However, here in my native SJ, I have never seen a cargo bike outside of a retail shop***. (REI was selling a Kona Ute a few years back... so, it barely counts.)The only one I see regularly is my own personal LGB, which is (sadly) in pieces in my basement, awaiting powdercoat and a full rebuild. So, yeah, to SJ ppl a cargo bike is a rare/exotic site to behold.
***I might be lying. A local dirtmall, the Berlin Mart, has a fleamarket on weekends, and there's a business that uses Worksman Front Loader trikes to sell ice cream and Italian water ice throughout the flea market. But I've never seen them leave the parking lot.