The power of electric bikes to encourage riding

Overview

Action 2.13: Investigate feasibility of running an electric bicycle trial to showcase the benefits of cycling and to understand the potential of electric bicycles to overcome some of the barriers to cycling.

Lead agency: Department of Transport and Main Roads

Status: Complete

Achievements

Electric bicycles (or e-Bikes) are becoming more popular and may help in overcoming some of the barriers to people riding more often, especially for longer distances.

We partnered with Queensland University of Technology to undertake a survey of our staff in 2 Brisbane locations to learn about their perceptions of and interest in using e-Bikes to make work-related trips.

There were 392 respondents to the survey, and this was followed by focus groups involving 31 staff with different levels of experience with riding bicycles and e-Bikes. Data collected provides knowledge about what employees currently know about e-Bikes and points to consider in delivering a workplace e-Bike scheme.

The data indicated that our staff are receptive to using e-Bikes for travel to and from work. The study found there was limited potential to trial an e-Bike fleet for work related trips as trips are typically quite short and in inner city environments where riding in traffic is a significant barrier.

The study indicated a regional location with suitable cycling infrastructure and offices located between 1 to 5km apart may have better potential to trial a workplace e-Bike scheme.

Next steps

We will collect additional data to better understand e-Bike ownership and use across Queensland to better understand how to support e-Bike use.