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Bosch eBike System commissioned a study regarding the advantages of using e-bikes and cargo compared to cars.
Three out of four daily trips, including home-work or home-school trips and occasional and recreational trips, are less than 10 km.
As we unfortunately well know, most people continue to prefer the car as their main means of transport, while the bicycle still enjoys marginal consideration and is more related to free time.
The research conducted by Bosch eBike Systems, “Transforming urban mobility: the opportunity for eBikes and eCargobikes” is based precisely on this assumption and focuses on pedal-assisted bicycles and the potential for transforming urban mobility.
The research takes into consideration three main levels:
- Microeconomic level: concerns the impact that the choice has on a private individual, a family or a business in terms of spending and savings;
- Macroeconomic level: concerns the effects on the economic system in terms of employment, GDP economic growth deriving from the production and use of eBikes and eCargo;
- Social Collective Level: Measures the influence on the whole society and typically the effects of environmental, congestion, health, safety, noise and many others.
MICROECONOMICAL EFFECTS
Transport costs are the third largest expenditure item for families: 240 euros per month, of which on average 105 euros is in fuel for motorized vehicles. Comparing the fixed, maintenance and use costs of a small car with a high-end city eBike, the study estimates costs of 800 to 1,500 euros per year for a car versus 110-300 euros for an electric bike . Furthermore, the purchase costs are 15,000 euros on average for a small car, compared to 5,000 for a high-end eBike.
According to Bosch and Decisio, if one of the two cars were replaced with an eBike or an eCargo, a family could save around 1,200 euros a year for management and use alone and more than 100,000 euros over a period of 60 years. The pedal-assisted bike, therefore, could replace a small car in urban tasks such as taking children to school, going to work or doing the shopping.
MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS
eBike production has increased six-fold compared to just 10 years ago. If in 2011 they were just 4% of all bicycles, in 2021 the figure had reached 23%. If growth continues at this rate, by 2030 more electric bicycles will be produced and sold around the world than muscle ones. Furthermore, to date, 50% of the economic value of an eBike sold in Europe is produced internally. A trend apparently destined to continue over the years, especially if companies continue to decide to reshoring, a phenomenon that began with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Referring to data from the International Energy Agency and Smart Growth America, we can also see how interventions to create cycle paths, bike lanes and pedestrian areas generate more jobs for the same euro spent than any other investment in the transport sector. In addition, investments in cycling and walking are relatively "fast", because they are made within a few years of their financing. As a result, these projects inject capital into the economy very quickly.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL EFFECTS
Considering the entire life cycle of the vehicles we see on the road every day, the electric bike produces 25 g/CO2eq per km (the equivalent CO2 is a unit of measurement that uniformly expresses the impact of the different greenhouse gases in terms of quantity of CO2, given that not all contribute equally to the greenhouse effect), compared to 138 for an electric car and 211 for a combustion car.
Then there is the issue of road safety. In cities where the bicycle modal share (i.e. the percentage of trips with a certain type of transport) is higher, road accidents with injuries involving a person on a bicycle are lower. This could be explained by a certain attention on the part of those who drive motor vehicles towards vulnerable road users, and a greater habit of their presence.
If we talk about road traffic, the discussion becomes merciless. Three of the 10 most congested European cities are Italian, and the study compares the average speed during rush hours in Milan, Turin and Rome with Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Utrecht: in the first three the speeds are respectively 18, 20 and 21 km/ h, while in the Netherlands at 40, 42 and 56 km/h. The reason is simple: if it is a valid alternative, many people will use the bicycle for daily travel, and those who are forced to travel by car will have much less "competition" for road space.
The bike (muscle or electric) is also to be considered as an investment in health. Not doing any type of sporting activity can, in the long run, increase the risk of contracting serious diseases. But in addition to representing an individual risk to one's health, the lack of movement is also a source of significant economic impacts for the community. In Italy, it has been estimated that the cost of a sedentary lifestyle is more than a billion euros just for the treatment of these pathologies and that the overall cost could be more than 12 billion euros every year. Physical activity allows you to reduce the incidence and impact of diseases and the costs associated with healthcare spending.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN BARRIERS TO USING AN EBIKE OR ECARGO?
Load: the low battery autonomy and the high investment to own an eCargo are classified as factors that limit its adoption. The autonomy of the current eCargo still allows you to travel at least 50km in most models.
Safety: Riding a bicycle next to cars, trucks, vans, or other large vehicles can be intimidating for a cyclist. A fear that can be accentuated when traveling with children in an eCargo, for example.
Infrastructure: in Italy the cycle networks are unfortunately still poor, with lanes that are poorly designed or end up nowhere. Parking and development infrastructure and urban planning culture is still heavily car-centric.
Culture: in the case of the cargo, we are talking about a new vehicle on the Italian scene. Most people have not only never driven one, but are unaware of its existence and are unaware of the economic, environmental and health advantages compared to many mobility alternatives.