In the push to decarbonise Australia’s economy, much has been made of the need to transition to electric cars.
But advocates say there’s a much cheaper and greener electric vehicle to consider: the electric bicycle.
While you’ll probably have to go on a 12-month waiting list and come up with at least $40,000 to buy a new electric car in Australia for now, you could get a two-wheeler with a battery that costs less than 10 cents. load, quite easily.
Chris Jones, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Australia, says many of us have forgotten that bikes are a form of transport and often see them simply as exercise and recreation.
Chris Jones says electric two-wheelers seem to have been forgotten by policymakers. (ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)
“It’s a bit sad that this humble, very efficient and very affordable electric vehicle is often overlooked,” Dr Jones said.
“I think a lot of people, especially in Perth, have always seen bikes as toys or recreation – they’re very rarely seen as transport.”
But that is changing fast.
“[E-bikes] they are the most abundant electric vehicles on the market right now. Electric bikes outsell electric cars 10 to one,” he said.
They range from about $1,200 to convert an existing bike to an electric motor and $2,000 to $3,000 for a factory-built e-bike, and running costs are “negligible.”
“My e-bike battery is about half a kilowatt hour. Synergy based [WA’s energy retailer] rates, that’s between 3.5 and 7 cents to fully charge the battery,” Dr Jones said.
“You’re halfway there before you know it”
In the hills of Perth, we met Andy, who had ridden his bike into Kalamunda town center to go shopping.
He bought his second-hand e-bike six months ago after his license was suspended and said it had been a handy replacement for his car, which he planned to continue using even when he got back behind the wheel.
“It’s more fun to go to the shops and get around than it is to get in the car and drive in traffic,” he said.
“And I haven’t had to worry about fuel, so that’s been good, especially with the price of fuel now. You pick and choose parking spaces.”
Andy got his e-bike six months ago and says it’s more convenient for short trips than driving. (ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)
He has used motorbikes and motorbikes before, but what surprised him most about the e-bike was how easy it was to get around.
“It’s easier than getting in the car and jumping in and all that and turning it on and hitting the road,” he said.
“You’re halfway there before you know it.”
But it has highlighted for him the gaps in the cycling infrastructure in his neighbourhood.
“The roads could be better, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t have caught it earlier.”
Removal of barriers to driving
While there’s nothing an electric bike can do differently than a pedal-powered one, the motorized engine removes barriers to cycling for trips where people would otherwise use their cars.
An electric motor eliminates many of the difficulties of climbing hills. (ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)
It’s also attractive to people who want to ride but don’t have the fitness or desire to break a sweat but want to keep riding, according to Henry Shiel, who works at Fremantle e-bike shop Solarbike.
“We see people who, for example, want to travel a relatively short distance, but don’t feel like they want to break a sweat,” Sheil said.
“The e-bike is like having a little hand pushing you, you still make an effort, but otherwise you don’t work up the same sweat.
“On top of that, many parents drop their kids off at school on their bikes.
“We also have elderly people, or people who may have lost their sense of balance, perhaps after a minor medical episode.”
.Henry Shiel repairs an electric bicycle wheel. (ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)
He said the store recently sold an electric tricycle to a disabled youth.
“He can go out with his family and keep up with them, and his dad has told me that it’s really been a huge benefit for the youngster in terms of his independence.
“And there is definitely a portion of people who have decided to eliminate the car, because of the cost and the environmental impact.”
Planners say encouraging people to ride instead of drive will be crucial. (ABC: Emma Wynne)
Although most e-cyclists opt for motor-assisted pedaling, they often encounter the attitude that having a motor to assist is somehow cheating them or not giving them the full benefit of cycling exercise. .
“I absolutely reject it,” Sheil said.
“I found it [having the motor] it meant that I cycled on days when I would have otherwise gone, ‘Oh, it’s too windy, it’s too rainy, it’s too hot’ and I took the bus, or drove or something.
“Whereas with the e-bike, I found that I actually use the bike a lot more, and therefore my aerobic fitness, I felt the benefit of that.”
Reducing car use is crucial to reducing emissions
Removing that temptation to hop in the car is vital if Australia is to reach a net-zero emissions target, according to Courtney Babb, senior lecturer in urban and regional planning at Perth’s Curtin University.
“As part of the move to net zero, we need to get people out of cars and reduce car use,” Dr Babb said.
“There’s a focus on electric vehicles to do that and reduce our emissions that way, but that’s not going to be enough, we actually have to reduce car use.”
He says there is good evidence that e-bikes did.
“Research shows that e-bikes replace between 20 and 80 percent of trips in different cities around the world, with bike-friendly cities having the highest rates,” he said.
A bike ride on a ‘safe active street’ in Perth’s northern suburbs. (ABC News: Gian De Poloni)
He noted that since the start of the COVID pandemic, there had been growth in sales of both bicycles and e-bikes, but there were still barriers, one of the keys being bicycle infrastructure.
“One of the main drivers for people to cycle is having safe cycling environments,” Dr Babb said.
“We have a very good primary cycling network [in Perth]although it could also be better.
“But what are missing are many of the secondary links…cycling on local streets and roads is generally considered unsafe.
“The United Nations recommends that about 20 percent of transport budgets go to active transport, and I think about 2 percent of ours is.”
It is proposed to extend subsidies for electric vehicles to bicycles
Some Australian states and territories now offer subsidies and rebates for buying electric cars.
Dr Babb suggested that governments could look at extending this financial support to e-bikes as well.
“I think if the government were serious about decarbonising transport, but also addressing some of the problems associated with a very car-centric and car-dependent transport system, we need to think about other solutions than just electric cars and offering per-person subsidies for electric bikes could be one way to do that,” he said.
“Even with a subsidy or a bonus for an electric vehicle, they focus on people who are at the wealthier end of the spectrum.
“With electric bikes, maybe you can target people who don’t have that much money to spend on an electric car and also replace a lot of those trips within that 15-kilometer catchment where they live.”
There are calls to extend subsidies and bonuses to electric bikes. (ABC News: Gian De Poloni)
Chris Jones agrees.
“I think the fact that really efficient two-wheeled electric transport has been completely overlooked by the various existing schemes is quite disappointing,” he said.
“I think governments often forget how cheap e-bikes are as a transport option.”