Electric bicycles offer clean, affordable transportation with the same comfort as a car or truck, at a fraction of the fuel consumption. According to Electric-Bikes.com, for every 500 miles an electric bike is used in place of a car, an average of 25 gallons of fuel is saved.
Countries around the world are realizing the potential environmental salvation that electric bikes can provide. China and Denmark exercised subsidy options to create enormous markets for the bikes, writes David J. Goodman of the New York Times. It worked in other countries, so e-bike subsidies could make a difference in the United States.
Janet B. Goehring, in Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Options for State Policymakers, suggests five subsidy strategies that any state in the United States could practice: a) an evaluation of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate and Emissions Reductions Programs, which set a timeline for producing vehicles with no emissions, with incentives going to all manufacturers who participate; b) offering emissions credits for hybrid electric vehicles (a limit on the number of emissions that a company is legally allowed to produce in any given period, but credits can be bought and sold among companies; c) consider hybrid electric vehicles for fleet purchases to meet federal alternative fuel requirements (a quota of electric vehicle production, achievement of which is rewarded with incentives); d) encourage customers to purchase hybrid vehicles by adopting incentive programs (paying people to help cover the cost of an electric vehicle purchase); and e) explore alternatives to the fuel tax structure (establishing a tax that increases or decreases with the amount of gasoline consumed). Any of these activities would shift manufacturer focus toward electric vehicles, and create a more promising future for the electric vehicle and electricity industries. More electricity means more jobs, which means a boost to the state’s economy.
Santa Cruz, California subsidized electric bikes in the early 2000s, writes Katie Alvord of EMagazine.com, and the program produced strong results: 62% of the participants in the Santa Cruz activity now use their electric bikes in place of regular automobiles, and 84% were ‘delighted’ or ‘satisfied’ with their new bikes. Educating people about electric bikes and helping with financing of the bikes appears to work. Lee Shoemaker, Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for City of Eugene Public Works, is involved in the Portland Bicycle Master Plan for 2030, a 20-year initiative to create more bike lanes and pedestrian walkways to make Portland’s streets safer. The resulting increase in bike path space would invite electric bicycle expansion into the mainstream.
Electric bikes run on lithium-polymer batteries instead of gasoline, and can be partly or completely pedal-powered. Many models require no pedaling at all, which makes riding all the easier. The problem, however, is that Americans have mixed emotions when considering the switch to electric bikes. Alvord adds that North American bike culture is the barrier: North Americans ride their bikes for exercise, not as a main mode of transportation. Automobiles are simply too comfortable and too convenient to be given up for bicycles.
“If I’m going to cycle to work, I’d like a little bit of a workout at the same time so that I can compensate for the calories I consumed with that apricot danish, thank you very much,” asserts Dan Bradbury of MSN Tech and Gadgets.
Keith and Mary Felch of Aliso Viejo California, however, are strong believers in the magic of an electric bike. Since purchasing electric bikes, their lives are much easier: Keith lost 30 pounds and dropped his blood pressure 10 points, and riding up steep hills are no longer a problem. But people don’t need to buy electric bikes just yet, says Ted Dirksen, mayor of Tigard, Oregon and owner of Tigard’s Oregon X-Treme Electric Bike and Scooter.
“People will realize how valuable electric bikes are as the technology improves and gas prices rise; don’t compare the price to another bike – compare it to the price of a car. It’s supposed to be another vehicle.”
Rebecca Berry, owner of Blueberry Rides Bicycle Tours in Portland, Oregon, says that electric-assist bikes are most useful to those who are not otherwise capable of riding.
The Oregon Department of Transportation defines an electric bike as “a bicycle equipped with an electric motor that has a power output of not more than 1,000 watts and is incapable of propelling the vehicle at a speed of greater than 20 miles per hour on level ground.” Considered true bikes, they are to ride in bike lanes with regular bikes and require no special licensing. Though 20 miles per hour is quite a feat for a regular bike, it is rather slow for a motorized vehicle. Alvord writes that they are simply too weak, too slow, and it is rare to find a shop that can perform specialized repairs for the bikes. Customers worry that they will be stranded far from home when the battery dies in the middle of a ride. There is little confidence in the bike’s technological reliability. Shai Oster of the Wall Street Journal agrees that they are just too big to fit comfortably in the bike lane with regular bikes, and too small to ride in the street with larger automobiles.
E-bikes can be modified to suit the rider, and they come with a price range to fit any income. Dirksen says that electric bikes range anywhere from $150 (the low-end models) at a retail store like WalMart or Dick’s Sporting Goods, up to $4,000 or more at a specialty bike shop.
“They’re not for everybody,” he says. “I prefer to sell the bike at my store (which costs $1,099 and can travel 35 miles per charge on flat ground) to people who are really interested about investing in bikes as a second main vehicle.”
Electric bikes ease international reliance on expensive gasoline and reduce harmful environmental fallout like smog and oil spills. They are quiet and inexpensive to recharge compared to the price at the pump. They are environmentally-friendly alternatives to the gunky, polluting gas hogs which have dominated transportation since the birth of the automobile.
There are a couple of common misconceptions about e-bikes that seem to get repeated again and again. One is that e-bikes are form of throttle-powered scooter or mini-bike. The WSJ reporter cited above must have been thinking this when stating that e-bikes are too big for the bike lane. Most e-bikes are the same size and shape of a regular bike and are operated the same way – by pedaling.
The other misconception is that e-bikes will only be popular when there is a need or purpose such as high gas prices or a guilty conscious about carbon emissions. These are valid considerations but another motivating factor, one often cited by Kalkhoff customers, is simply an upgrade of one’s lifestyle. Americans aren’t afraid to spend money on ipads, iphones or home theater to improve their everyday lifestyle. E-bikes make the freedom, fun and convenience of getting around by bike accessible to a much larger group of people – people who want to drive less but don’t want to sweat every time they ride their bikes, struggle up hills, limit what they carry or have to plan in lots of precious time for every trip.
How often do we go for a drive for fun? Truth is, we are dependent on our cars. Most people can’t live without them. An e-bike provides is the first real viable option for a lot of people, and its a fun one at that.
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