Electrically-assisted bikes (e-bikes) have the capability to slash carbon dioxide emissions and could offer a safe and sustainable route back to work for commuters, new research shows.
University of Leeds researchers from the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS) found that e-bikes, if used to replace car travel, can reduce car CO2 emissions in England by up to 50% – about 30 million tonnes per year.
What’s more, replacing 20% of car miles travelled with e-bike travel would result in 4-8 million fewer tonnes of carbon emitted each year, the researchers have claimed.
The greatest impact on carbon emissions would come from e-bike use outside urban centres, where they can help people make longer journeys than conventional cycles, and could bring new transport options to people living in suburban or rural areas.
The researchers also found that e-bikes could help to cut the costs of travel in neighbourhoods characterised by low incomes, limited access to public transport and where many car journeys could be replaced with e-bike use.
Dr Ian Philips, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Transport Studies at Leeds and CREDS member, who led the research, said: “The strategic potential of e-bikes as a mass-transport option has been overlooked by policymakers so far.
“The research began as a way to measure the potential carbon savings that e-bikes can offer, but as we emerge from the lockdown, e-bikes can be part of the solution to getting people safely mobile once again.
“We’re recommending that governments across the UK should find ways to incentivise e-bike use to replace car journeys.
“As well as lowering carbon emissions from transport, e-bikes have the potential to improve the mobility options for people and communities at risk of transport poverty.”
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