As gas prices rise, there’s a cheaper answer for many people than an electric car

Whenever gas prices spike, the same advice tends to dominate the conversation: “Just buy an electric car.”

And to be fair, that advice isn’t wrong. Electric cars can dramatically reduce the cost of fueling your transportation, and for drivers who already need a car every day, switching from gasoline to electricity can be a smart financial move. A large-scale shift to EVs is also our best bet for energy independence, so global strife has less impact on our wallets. But that argument, despite its merits, ignores the fact that most people can’t simply buy a new car to replace their existing gasoline-powered vehicle.

Even the most affordable EVs on the market typically start somewhere around $30,000. That’s a significant financial hurdle, especially for people who already own a working gas car and can’t justify replacing it with a brand-new vehicle. An electric car may save money in the long run, but money is tight right now.

For many people facing rising fuel costs – especially during global tensions like the ongoing conflict involving Iran that has once again sent oil markets into turmoil – there may actually be a much cheaper solution sitting right under their noses.

Electric bikes. Or even electric scooters and motorcycles.

For under $1,000 today, you can buy a surprisingly capable e-bike that can reach 28 mph (45 km/h) and with at least 20-30 miles (30-50 km) of range. In fact, the single best-selling e-bike in the US is priced at $999, and it’s a darn good one! Spend a little more – say $1,500 to $2,500 – and you can get a genuinely excellent commuter e-bike that can easily replace a large percentage of daily car trips, and that you can count on for years and years of use.

Need something faster? Electric seated scooters capable of 50+ mph (80+ km/h) are now available in the $3,000 range. Those machines can handle faster urban roads and longer suburban trips that might be out of reach for most bicycles.

Even compared to the cheapest electric car, that’s a massive difference in upfront cost.

If your knee-jerk reaction is “what if it’s cold or rains?”, then let me first introduce you to the concept of gloves and rain jackets. But if that’s too extreme for you, then the answer is “then drive that day.” E-bikes or e-scooters make great second vehicles, and you can still save a ton of money using them even if you still rely on your gasoline-powered car for certain trips when necessary. Charging an e-bike battery typically costs just a few cents. Even larger electric scooters often cost well under a dollar to recharge. For most e-bike riders, their yearly fuel costs are less than the price of a single cup of coffee.

But the savings don’t stop just at ‘fueling’ an e-bike. Electric bikes and electric scooters also dramatically reduce the other hidden costs of car ownership: insurance, registration, maintenance, parking, and repairs.

And then there’s something that many people don’t realize until they try it: replacing some car trips with smaller electric vehicles can actually be more enjoyable.

My wife and I are a good example of this. We used to own a car, but when her sister’s car broke down and was effectively totaled, we gave her ours to use. We didn’t really use it that much anyway, as city-dwellers with e-bikes and an e-scooter. At first, we assumed we’d replace our car eventually. But over time, we realized we simply didn’t need it.

We get around primarily on our electric bicycles for local trips, errands, and commuting. When we need to travel farther or use faster roads, we ride a 55 mph electric scooter. It’s a lot of fun to ride our bikes together or to have my wife hug me from behind all the way to date night.

For the couple of times each year when we truly need a car – like taking a vacation several hours away – we simply rent one. Financially, it’s dramatically cheaper than owning a car full-time. And practically speaking, it works surprisingly well.

Of course, that approach won’t work for everyone. Rural areas and long commutes can make car ownership unavoidable. But most Americans live in urban or suburban environments where many daily trips are relatively short. Grocery runs, commuting a few miles to work, grabbing coffee, meeting friends – these are exactly the kinds of trips where small electric vehicles shine.

So yes, electric cars are part of the solution to rising gas prices. And generally speaking, a shift towards electric cars is a major step in the right direction. But when gas prices soar, most people can’t simply run out and buy a new $30k car. But a new $1k e-bike that can do half of what their car does – or more? Now that’s a realistic solution for many people.

So when a gasoline-powered car eventually goes kaput, and you still need four wheels, it’s probably worth considering switching to an electric car. But in the meantime, there may be a more affordable solution that could fit easily in the corner of your garage, as is.

And once you start replacing some of those car trips with a two-wheeler, you may realize you didn’t need to burn nearly as much gasoline as you thought in the first place.

It worked for me. It worked for my wife. And it’s worked for thousands of others.

In fact, if you look far enough around, you’ll realize it has worked for hundreds of millions of others.