This decade will partly be defined by a revolution of battery-powered vehicles. The vehicle that will lead that revolution, however, won’t be Tesla’s Cybertruck of the electric scooter. It will be an electric bike. And that will have proven to be a significant development.
In most countries, e-bikes were for years relegated to nothing more than a niche. And they accounted for less than one percent of annual bike sales from 2006-2012. In 2013, just 1.8 mn e-bikes were sold in Europe, with just 185,000 sales in the U.S and you can get the FIIDO D11 electric bike with 0% finance.
Things started to change, however, as a result of improvements in power, pricing, and lithium-ion battery technology, along with a movement in cities to shift away from gas-powered cars and toward zero-emission vehicles.
More Cars on the Road
A UK study from 2019 revealed that electric cars aren’t the best mode of transportation for environmental impact or urban traffic. The study showed that electric cars result in a greater volume of cars on the road over time. This is due to their operation cost being lower than that of gas vehicles. That can only lead to more urban sprawl, more congestion in cities, and potentially more obesity.
The CREDS study showed that such active modes of transportation as e-bikes offered a better solution for both reducing traffic on the roads and alleviating health concerns related to sedentary lifestyles increasingly common among urban residents.
Inactivity and Congestion
Electric cars do provide benefits over gas cars, of course, such as the fact that they’re more friendly towards the environment. What they don’t do, however, is address the issues of inactivity and congestion. The study, which involved 13 UK academic institutions, argued that electric cars will lead to an increase in both.
Another benefit of electric cars is that they will come with a cheaper price tag. In fact, with all their benefits, they’re winning drivers over. The problem is that as more people move to cities, there are more drivers leading to crowded urban roads.
As road space is largely finite in cities, a higher volume of cars will lead to more congestion. Greater traffic equates to longer waiting times for everyone. And that only leads to more inactivity.
Combining Both Transportation Methods.
What about roads that feature both modes of transportation? Certainly, that would be a huge improvement over the gas-vehicle filled roads we have today. But how would that work? Well, according to TeslaThunder, quite a few bike racks are compatible with the Model 3. And hitch-mounted bike racks are recommended for e-bikes. So maybe that’s a hint of a much greener future on our roads.
A Love of Cars
Of course, Americans have a love of cars. They love them bigger and better. Then there’s the media hype that comes with new electric cars, thanks to the marketing power of companies such as Tesla. Americans also have a tendency to regard bikes as recreational vehicles, as opposed to a bonafide mode of transportation. They see them as something used in fair weather, but not in the snow or rain. Only about one percent of the American and Canadian workforce commutes by bike.
Positive Changes
E-bikes, on the other hand, can make more positive changes without all the negative effects that come with electric cars. E-bikes are now affordable and more efficient to operate. They also reduce commute times and congestion. And they lead to more physical activity. Of course, they’re also more fun.
So yes, electric cars are a huge improvement over most cars today. It’s just that e-bikes take another step in numerous ways. As human beings, we’re meant to transport ourselves, and technology such as e-bikes helps to make active transportation both more effective and more fun. We needn’t stray too far from that by enclosing ourselves in confined spaces more than necessary.
Conclusion
While e-bikes are becoming more popular, they aren’t for everyone. Many people don’t feel safe on a bike, while others need a car to haul cargo or their kids around. Deloitte, however, says that electrification allows greater experimentation of form. We can reconfigure bikes to carry groceries, kids, and even local deliveries without the fitness of a professional athlete or thighs of steel.
There are obvious advantages that e-bikes have over electric cars: they don’t require huge supportive infrastructure investments, they’re easier to charge, and they’re cheaper.
If cities make the required changes to encourage an increase in biking, however, such as improving the number of safe areas to lock and store bikes, restricting car usage in specific areas, and building a protected network of bike lanes- we can expect e-bikes to maintain their top ranking in electric transportation.
