Electric City: E-Bikes and the Future of Cycling in New Zealand
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Report on the Electric City: E-bikes and the Electric City research future of cycling in New programme Zealand Using case study research and a small workplace e-bike trial we explore the potential contribution that electric bikes can make to improving efficiency, sustainability and wellbeing within New Zealand’s urban transport systems. Dr Kirsty Wild Prof Alistair Woodward 2018 Acknowledgements Many thanks to all the e-bikers, retailers, key informants, and Auckland District Health Board staff who participated in this research. Thanks also to the Future of the Bike team: Alex Macmillan, Hamish Mackie and Adrian Field who acted as an advisory group for this project. Thanks to John Lieswyn, Viastrada, and Claire Pascoe and Simon Kennett, NZTA for assisting us to access up-to-date data on e-bike imports in New Zealand. Thanks also to Nick Wilson for producing our e-bike counts. Finally special thanks to Kieron Millar at Auckland District Health Board, the team at Electric Bike Team, Maurice, Emilio, Alex and Talia, and to Meg Page, of Electric Meg, for their ongoing advice and support to develop and run our e-bike trial at Auckland Hospital. © The University of Auckland, 2018 1 Contents Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... 0 Electric City: E-bikes and the future of cycling in New Zealand ......................................... 5 Overview................................................................................................................... 5 Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 5 Key findings: .......................................................................................................... 5 Recommendations:.................................................................................................. 7 Introduction: The Electric City research programme ..................................................... 10 Study one: The potential of e-bikes: An Auckland case study ......................................... 10 Methods ............................................................................................................... 10 The research site: Auckland’s transport challenges .................................................... 11 The local context: E-bikes in New Zealand ................................................................ 12 E-bikes in Auckland ............................................................................................... 13 Our study participants ........................................................................................... 14 The e-cyclists in our study ................................................................................... 14 The e-bike retailers and key informants ................................................................ 15 Becoming an e-cyclist: Motivations and drivers ......................................................... 15 What do retailers and policy makers say about who uses an e-bike? ......................... 15 What do e-bike users say about why they ride? ..................................................... 17 Dissatisfaction with current transport mode ................................................................. 18 Existing cyclists who want to make cycling easier or faster: ..................................... 18 Dissatisfaction with public transport ..................................................................... 20 Dissatisfaction with car commuting....................................................................... 21 People who want to return to cycling or who enjoy leisure cycling and would like to try it out for everyday transport .................................................................................. 21 Seeking out new opportunities for exercise and movement after experiencing disability ....................................................................................................................... 22 Experience and values ........................................................................................... 22 A financial nudge .................................................................................................. 23 An environmental nudge ........................................................................................ 23 Encouragement from others and getting the opportunity to try a bike: ........................ 24 Advertising ........................................................................................................... 24 The experience of using an e-bike: The best and the worst things .................................. 25 The best things about using an e-bike......................................................................... 25 Making everyday travel by bike more realistic ........................................................... 26 Turning up to work looking ‘professional’............................................................... 26 Carrying more stuff ............................................................................................ 26 Improving commute efficiency and reducing commuting stress: .................................. 27 © The University of Auckland, 2018 2 Improved arrival time reliability: .......................................................................... 27 Reducing travel times ......................................................................................... 28 Eliminating parking hassles: ................................................................................ 29 Improving safety ................................................................................................... 30 Improving confidence interacting with cars: .......................................................... 30 Being able to choose a safer route, even if it is longer or hillier: ............................... 33 Improved quality of life .......................................................................................... 33 Fun and mental health benefits ............................................................................ 33 Make cycling more feasible for people with care responsibilities ............................... 36 More enjoyable, flexible opportunities for exercise .................................................. 37 Saving money.................................................................................................... 40 Reducing car use ................................................................................................... 40 The worst things about using an e-bike ....................................................................... 41 Safety concerns .................................................................................................... 42 Fears over the safety of riding on-road with cars .................................................... 42 Worrying about harming pedestrians .................................................................... 45 Bike weight ....................................................................................................... 46 Concerns about speed and injury ......................................................................... 47 Concerns about bike path quality ......................................................................... 49 Fear of theft ......................................................................................................... 50 Biking in bad weather ............................................................................................ 50 Cost .................................................................................................................... 51 Range anxiety....................................................................................................... 53 How can we make e-bike use safer and more attractive?............................................... 53 Reduce the up-front cost of e-bikes ......................................................................... 54 Providing people with opportunities for try an e-bike for their commute ....................... 55 Improvements to cycling infrastructure .................................................................... 56 More separated cycle paths ................................................................................. 56 Higher quality cycle paths ................................................................................... 57 More cycle highways ........................................................................................... 58 Sweeping the cycle paths .................................................................................... 58 A new approach to shared paths .......................................................................... 59 More bike parking .............................................................................................. 59 Other biking infrastructure .................................................................................. 60 The right to ride on the footpath when you feel unsafe ........................................... 60 E-Bike training for new users .................................................................................. 61 Driver education ................................................................................................... 62 Regulation to increase safety? 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