Steve Greenfield’s Post

Very interesting and useful piece for people interested in #urbanmobility and cities. "Policymakers’ enthusiasm for #ebikes is understandable. Every trip taken by an e-bike is greener, healthier and more space-efficient than it would have been in a car (not to mention less dangerous for other road users). But in the rush to encourage e-bike sales, a few questions have gone unanswered: What is the optimal #rebate amount? Do the #incentives merely subside buyers who could afford an e-bike without any help? And just how #climatefriendly are e-bike rebates, anyway? A new academic study provides some intriguing answers. The researchers’ conclusions: To maximize e-bike adoption, policymakers should make the rebates easy to redeem but not overly generous, and they should target them toward residents with low (but not the lowest) incomes. And one other thing: Don’t overstate e-bikes’ environmental upside. Reducing emissions is just one of myriad ways that e-bikes benefit communities — and it’s probably not the most important one."

Great to see James Metcalfe, Managing Director of our e-bike client VOLT Bikes, quoted this morning in both BBC News and The Daily Telegraph offering his verdict on the government’s proposal to double the maximum power output of e-bikes. James argues that lawmakers are failing to understand what the industry truly needs, saying: "It is our infrastructure that is lagging behind, not the technology in e-bikes...Ministers need to take action to build more cycle lanes and increase incentives for sustainable transport." VOLT's view is that if the UK is to reach Net Zero and match the progress seen in other cities like Paris or Amsterdam, then we need comprehensive legislation and regulatory reform that encourages active transport and urban development. What do you think? Read the full articles by the BBC's Tom Espiner, Katy Austin and Tom Singleton here: https://lnkd.in/gabTSZCe and The Telegraph's Gareth Corfield here: https://lnkd.in/eqU8Tw9Q

In 2023 we saw a number of e-scooter and e-bike bans related to battery fires and poor rider behaviour. As the micromobility industry is in its infancy, we expect to see a few teething problems and policy hiccups. https://lnkd.in/g-n75ESv

E-Bike rebate programs growing, Oregon is flirting with one joining VT & Denver CO, NY thinking about it. E-bike rebate programs are great to reduce traffic, clean the air & get citizens outdoors to exercise. It also provides transportation for a large group of people who might not have access to transportation, except public transit. Walking 3 blocks to catch a bus to go to a grocery store 2.5 blocks away..... Oregon's proposal would be $1200 rebate for an E-bike and $1700 for a cargo E-bike. E-bike must have a minimum MSRP of $950 so cheap e-bikes won't qualify. Why waste state money on crap? https://rec-law.us/3u8zcSD #E-bikes @RecreationLaw #RecreationLaw #CyclingLaw #RecLaw #CyclistsNotInvisible #traffic #transportation #instahealth #unitedstates #cleantheair #publictransit #group #cargo #reducetraffic #oregon #denver #rebate #citizens #transit #program #proposal #state #air #denverco

#EBike incentives are growing across the US, and policymakers’ enthusiasm for them is understandable. Bloomberg reports: Every trip taken by an e-bike is greener, healthier and more space-efficient than it would have been in a car (not to mention less dangerous for other road users). But in the rush to encourage e-bike sales, a few questions have gone unanswered: What is the optimal rebate amount? Do the incentives merely subside buyers who could afford an e-bike without any help? And just how climate-friendly are e-bike rebates, anyway? A new study by John MacArthur of Portland State University and Cameron Bennett, EIT of Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, Portland State University, along with Chris Cherry of University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Luke Jones of Valdosta State University provides some intriguing answers: https://lnkd.in/gp_44fsk

The growth in #e-bike sales in the US is staggering! The article highlights a 400% increase in e-bike sales over the past four years, indicating a significant shift in #transportation preferences towards eco-friendly and efficient alternatives. This surge in demand speaks volumes about the rising interest in #sustainable #mobility solutions and the evolving transportation landscape. https://lnkd.in/gg6bcfJ8

Another great piece on how anyone can affordably, safely convert any bike to an E-bike with a UL certified system: "E-bikes are having a moment. Last year, 18 percent of all bike sales in the United States were electric, roughly 1 million bikes. E-bikes’ ease, range and power make them an ideal replacement for car trips: A 2023 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado found e-bike trips substituted for cars 34 percent of the time, and at a fraction of the cost, for low-income residents who received one. A 20-mile daily workday commute on an e-bike costs about $20 annually in electricity." But the price of e-bikes remains out of reach for many. They start at around $1,000 and cargo bikes easily exceed $6,000." #equity #health #electrifyeverything https://lnkd.in/epQE8Ruy

How effective are e-bike rebate programs? Who benefits the most? And are these incentives really worth the cost? Discover the promising findings from UBC research in Saanich. #GreenIncentives #CleanEnergy #ClimateAction

Currently, over 100 cities and states have or plan to launch #ebike incentive programs, most funded by energy or environment initiatives. Ebikes have captured widespread attention across the U.S., and for good reason. They are the most energy-efficient way to move from place to place, providing exercise in the process, and offer enough assistance while pedaling uphill or into headwinds to make them usable for many types of riders. Greenhouse gas emissions from e-bikes are much lower than those from either gasoline-powered or electric cars. A new piece in The Conversation US, authored by Chris Cherry of University of Tennessee, Knoxville, John MacArthur of Portland State University, and Luke Jones of Valdosta State University summarizes recent research investigating the effectiveness of several types of e-bike purchase incentives and the investment required to induce additional e-bike purchases. Get the details: https://lnkd.in/gD-UzDRk

Just two weeks remain for the UK cycle industry to have its say on the current Government consultation to double the permissible power of e-bikes, and to remove the need for pedalling. Trade bodies the The Bicycle Association of Great Britain (BA) and Association of Cycle Traders (ACT) have now teamed up to urge the industry to respond urgently and before the deadline on April 25th – with a strong recommendation to oppose both changes, for three key reasons: (1) It is unnecessary. The current regulations work well overall, with huge potential for growth as seen in other countries. There’s no evidence these changes would significantly boost demand – instead, for real e-bike growth we need safer cycling infrastructure, and purchase incentives to address affordability. (2) It is risky. It will take reputable suppliers some time to deliver safe, tested products to the new specification. So in the short-term this change will drive customers to order high fire risk 500W products online, and/or to tamper with existing e-bikes, also with potential fire risk. Longer-term, it risks moped-style regulations on the whole e-bike category, because with no pedalling required e-bikes would be seen as a light mopeds, not as cycles. There are also as yet unquantified risks from more powerful, heavier e-bikes sharing cycle lanes, risking further regulatory backlash. (3) It is the wrong approach. The industry welcomes innovation and the potential of new micromobility vehicle categories, but these proposals do not provide a sustainable framework for these new opportunities. We strongly urge that any new vehicle types, for example 500W, throttle e-bikes or e-scooters, be introduced under the comprehensive LZEV framework approach which was already proposed by the current Government, to provide category-specific regulations appropriate to each new vehicle type, and leave the well proven EAPC regulations broadly unchanged. These concerns, and suggested responses, are set out in more detail here: https://lnkd.in/ebfQn245 Steve Garidis Stephen Holt Tom Payton Kirsty Woodcock Georgia Yexley Simon Irons Marcus Bickerton David Middlemiss Daniel Gillborn Scott Cain Jonathan Harrison