44% of Londoners more likely to use an e-Bike than pre-pandemic, says Volt survey

E-Bike manufacturer, Volt, has released new research that shows people in the UK have been looking at more sustainable transport options for their daily commute in a bid to avoid public transport.

According to the nationwide survey of UK adults by Volt, around one fifth 18% of people have suggested that they are more likely to purchase an e-Bike compared to before the pandemic.

The research showed that on average, people are 39% less likely to use public transport methods than they were before the pandemic, and 30% more likely to use e-Bikes, scooters and bicycles over the same period. Furthermore, nearly half of existing e-bike owners, 48%, said that they plan to use their e-Bike more often post-pandemic.

Additionally, the research showed that opinions towards e-Bike usage have dramatically changed in London, where 44% of the respondents said that they were more likely to buy an e-Bike for personal transport than they were pre-pandemic. Research also found that in Northern Ireland, 25% said they were more likely to buy an e-Bike and in Scotland, one in five expressed an interest in purchasing one.

James Metcalfe, Founder and CEO of Volt, said: “This research reflects what we have seen on a daily basis amongst our customers. We have been manufacturing e-bikes for over a decade and grown continually throughout that time, but nothing can compare to the acceleration the industry experienced in 2020.

“Before the pandemic, urban transport was at a crisis point. Disgruntled commuters either sat in traffic for hours or paid through the nose for trains that either ran late or not at all. The pandemic provoked a hard reset. As people look to return to the office, it is vital that we capitalise on this momentum by creating the infrastructure to support these new swathes of riders and to solidify e-bikes position as the future of transport. It is also imperative that the Government does all it can to dissuade those fearful of public transport from hitting the roads in cars. The environment has dramatically benefitted from fewer car journeys during the pandemic, and we encourage everyone about to embark on a journey of five miles or less to look to an e-Bike over a car.”

The research also found that men are more likely than women to buy an e-Bike post-pandemic, albeit by a fairly small margin (22% and 14% respectively) and that 44% of 18–24-year-olds said that they are more likely to buy an e-Bike than they were before the pandemic.