Research furthers idea that eBike riders go further and more often

Research by eBike brand QWIC has bolstered the growing body of research that suggests that pedal-assist owners are using their bikes more often and riding further than they had previously without a motor’s help.

Widely seen as a vehicle type that is putting in a real modal share challenge in urban spaces, the electric bike is increasingly popping up in key legislation as a means to reduce transport congestion and pollution. Now QWIC says that its 3,318 sampled riders demonstrated that they are cycling, on average, around 55km every week more than they had previously.

Better still, those rides are coming at the expense of transport modes less efficient for urban journeys. With motivations ranging health (for which eBikes have been found to deliver plenty of benefits) and more outdoor time, to journeys just being more fun, QWIK users were averaging 88km per week, taking on journeys that would almost certainly have been done another way previously.

Further to the congestion relief, it is said that using an electric bike delivers only 3% of the Co2 emissions of the average car journey.

Of all QWIC eBike riders, one in five (20%) cycle more than 100km per week on average. That’s 5,200 km per year. Which amounts to a bike ride from Amsterdam to the southernmost tip of Spain and back again. There are even eBiker riders who cycle more than 300 km per week; they do this mainly to cover their commuting distance, the research found.

QWIC conducted this research in the run-up to the European Mobility Week (Sept. 16 – 22), an initiative of the European Commission. September 22 is also worldwide Car Free Day, the day when motorists are challenged to leave their cars at home and choose more sustainable transportation. Car Free Day is held in 46 countries and in more than 2,000 cities.

The research will bolster calls for more long-distance cycle routes in a bid to better enable longer-distance and safer commutes.