First, it was e-bikes, offering an efficient, effective, and low-cost way for teens and just about everyone to zip around town, yet drawing the temper of suburban traditionalists. Now golf carts are the new public enemy number one in suburbia, at least if you ask the growing number of online groups where residents complain about these small electric vehicles “clogging” their streets.
But beyond the hand-wringing, golf carts and their more sophisticated cousins known as Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) or Low Speed Vehicles (LSVs), are quietly becoming a popular alternative to cars for short trips around US cities and suburbs.