EBike Studies

On this page:

• Ebike climate impact & user behavior studies

• Ebike incentive program effectiveness studies

• Life cycle analysis studies

• Health studies

• Bike lane & other active transportation economic impact studies

 

Ebike climate impact & user behavior studies

E-Bike 1000MPG Project

Ongoing project (2019 - present) to assess the potential climate impact of e-bikes. Includes the Ebike Monitoring Project, a ongoing citizen science monitoring project to measure charging energy usage of e-bikes on the road.

​Key findings:

• E-bikes get anywhere from 1000 to 4000 MPG equivalent - 400 to 1600 km/liter

• E-bikes cost less than a penny a mile to charge.

• E-bikes can go 70 times as far as a 30 mpg gas car per pound of climate emissions (national average electric energy mix - more than twice that with California's mix). E-bikes are about 20 times more efficient than electric cars.

Results are based on monitoring of 30 ebikes in California, including cargo and adaptive etrikes as well as commuter bikes for over 3000 miles of riding. (detailed results at Ebike 1000 MPG Project - Results)

• E-bikes get 30-100 times more miles per pound of battery than an electric car, greatly reducing the pollution and human rights impacts of vehicle battery metals.

Battery analysis based on Tesla EV vs Bosch ebike battery specs for charging life expectancy (full analysis at Ebike 1000 MPG Project - Batteries)

By Tom Lent, Walk Bike Berkeley, E-Bike 1000 MPG Project.

The Ebike Monitoring Project is part of the SciStarter citizen science network. 

Covered by Derek Markham, E-Bikes Are Radically More Efficient Than Electric Cars, Clean Technica, 12/11/2023. 

​

Denver’s 2022 Ebike Incentive Program: Results and Recommendation

2023 analysis of the first nine months of Denver's program. Results from survey across most participants at the end of 2022 and ride app tracking of 70 riders for 3 months in 2022 over 3,500 ebike rides and over 15,000 miles). Report also describes the Denver program and includes lessons learned

​Key Findings:

• Ebikes are replacing an average of 3.4 round car trips/week, averaging 26 mile/week per rider and totaling about 100,000 vehicle miles per week across all program participants.

• 65% riding at least once a day. Average trip length is 3.3 miles

• Almost 1/3 are new to bike riding.

• 2/3 of the program funding went to low income qualified residents. They are riding their ebikes nearly 50% more than non low income participants (average of 32 miles vs 22 miles per week)

• Program savings of 0.94 lb CO2e/$, for a total of 2,040 MT CO2e emissions avoided per year.

• During the program rollout, shared bike and scooter trips in Denver exceeded the highest recorded ridership since launching in 2018, demonstrating the complementary nature of the two city-supported programs.

By Mike Salisbury of Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency (CASR), Brian Ellin, Michael Schwartz, and Nelle Pierson of Ride Report, and Bryn Grunwald, Jacob Korn, and Ben Holland of Rocky Mountain Institute

​

The E-Bike Potential: Estimating regional e-bike impacts on greenhouse gas emissions

2020 study of mode shift by e-bike purchasers to estimate CO2 savings on a regional basis.

​Key Findings:

• A 15% mode shift to e-bikes in the Portland, OR region would result in a 12% reduction in transportation CO2 emissions - about 1,000 ,metric tons a day - with an average savings of 225 kg of CO2 per e-bike per year.

By Michael McQueen, John MacArthur, & Christopher Cherry, Portland State University & University of Tennessee, October 2020.

​

Electric Assisted Bikes (E-bikes) Show Promise in Getting People out of Cars

2019 review of research studies on mode shift from car travel to e-bikes and of e-bike incentive programs.

​Key Findings:

• Evidence from a variety of research studies indicates that e-bicycling, more so than conventional bicycling, substitutes for car travel.

• Most studies show 35-50% of e-bike trips replaced car trips with some studies showing even higher commuter trip replacement rates. VMT reduction studies are limited.

• Incentive programs are widespread in Europe.

• Combination of financial incentives, infrastructure and e-bikeshare may be most effective to increase adoption.

By Dillon Fitch Ph.D., Co-Director, BicyclingPlus Research Collaborative, UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, April 2019.

​

A North American Survey of Electric Bicycle Owners 

2017 survey of about 1800 e-bike riders in North America to find out why they purchased an e-bike, how they ride it and what those rides replace.

​Key findings:

E-bike riders take: 

• More trips (than they would by pedal bike)

• Longer trips

• More hills

• Farther and faster with less effort and more cargo or children

• Different types of trips - e.g more utilitarian

E-bike trips replace trips by bike, transit and car

• Majority of utilitarian e-bike trips are replacing a car trip

Riders feel safer on an e-bike than a regular bike

• Speed and range allows them to take longer routes to avoid dangerous streets

• Quicker acceleration helps get through wide intersections safely

• Can reduce speed differential with traffic 

Most common reasons to purchase an e-bike:

• Replace car trips - about one third of e-bike owners use their e-bike as their primary mode of transportation for commuting and errands.

• Reduce physical exertion

• Deal with challenging topography (hills)

Key motivations by demographics:

• Older adults and those with physical disabilities:

  • Reduce effort of riding

  • Health & fitness

  • Use their bikes more for recreation than utilitarian uses

• Younger and those with no physical limitations:

  • Replace car trips

  • Make commute easier, quicker and more cost effective

  • Use their bikes more heavily for utilitarian purposes than recreation and exercise

• Females value e-bikes more than males do for:

  • Getting up hills

  • Carrying cargo or kids

  • Keeping up with friends and family on rides 

E-bikes make it possible for more people to ride who:

• Can’t ride a pedal bike

• Don’t feel safe riding a bike

By John MacArthur, etal, Portland State University, Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) 

March 2018 ​

​

A Global High Shift Cycling Scenario: The Potential for Dramatically Increasing Bicycle and E-bike Use in Cities Around the World, with Estimated Energy, CO2, and Cost Impacts

2015 survey of cycling and e-bike ridership around the world, estimates of trends, projection of potential scenarios for 2030 & 2050 levels and potential energy and CO2 impacts.

​Key Findings

A proposed range of polices and investments could almost double cycle/e-bike mode share in urban travel around the world to 11% by 2030, reducing urban transport energy use and CO2 emissions about 7%, saving $6 trillion globally in infrastructure, fuel and vehicle costs, plus gain a wide range of other quality of life benefits in reduced air pollution, lower traffic congestion, reduced injuries and fatalities and improved health.

By the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy and the University of California, Davis Jacob Mason, Lew Fulton, Zane McDonald. Research commissioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), and the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association (BPSA). November 12, 2015.

​