As transport organisations continue to explore ways to reduce carbon emissions and encourage more sustainable travel, understanding how people adopt new forms of mobility is becoming increasingly important. Research into e-mobility can help inform future policy, infrastructure investment and the development of practical alternatives to private car use.
ITEN member Marcus Jones recently attended the ELEVATE project webinar, which explored the use of electric bikes, cargo bikes and e-scooters. In this blog, Marcus shares his reflections on the project’s findings and what they could mean for the future of sustainable transport:
I attended the end of project webinar arranged by the ELEVATE project, which investigated household use of ’e-mobility’: electric bikes, including cargo bikes, and e-scooters. ELEVATE was funded by EPSRC, and led by researchers from Leeds, Brighton and Oxford Universities. The research included trials of e-cargo bikes at three cities and a rural location, surveys and stakeholder workshops.
Overall, the project identified strong public interest in trying out e-mobility and a positive response from those who tried them. A key takeaway for me was the success of the e-cargo bikes. These are large electrically assisted bicycles, fully compliant with UK regulations, but able to carry much larger loads, including children, far more easily than a normal sized bicycle. Users found that they could replace many trips that would otherwise require a car, while being easier than a car to park in a city centre, making it easier to make multiple journeys. More than half of the distance ridden by trial users would otherwise have been undertaken by car. In particular, because e-bikes could more easily replace car trips, the researchers concluded that they have greater potential for carbon savings than e-scooters. Furthermore, even with the electrical assistance, users were still more physically active than the general population, leading to health benefits as well as reductions in congestion and emissions.
Although many users have concerns about riding in traffic, many felt more confident with the cargo bikes because of their greater visibility and their greater ability to keep with traffic at junctions and hills, without sweating. However, there were concerns that existing cycling infrastructure is not always suitable for them, for example not allowing sufficient width. Other barriers include cost and difficulty storing them securely at home. My overall impression was very positive- e-bikes are giving people new alternatives to car travel for trips where cycling would wouldn’t otherwise have been practicable. However, to make the most of this opportunity, further efforts will be needed to provide safe and convenient routes and secure parking both in homes and at destinations.
Full details of the project, including the webinar presentations and the final report are available here.
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