Can These Self-Charging E-Bike Libraries Bring Mobility to Low-Income Communities?
- Date: 10/01/2024
Buying an e-bike is expensive. Starting last year, a local startup is providing low-cost, self-charging e-bike libraries to low-income communities…
Electric bicycle rebates have exploded in popularity in North America as transportation planners try to get people out of their cars and into healthier, more climate-friendly alternatives. However, there is limited understanding of the full impacts of these incentives.
Are new cycling habits sustainable? Who benefits most from these incentives? And are they worth the cost?
Researchers at UBC's Research on Active Transportation (REACT) Lab have some answers. They surveyed participants in an e-bike incentive program offered by the District of Saanich, B.C. and found that most new e-bike users continued to regularly use their bikes as a substitute for car travel, even a year after purchase. Low-income households reduced their car trips and decreased carbon emissions the most. And incentives are a cost-effective way of reducing carbon emissions.
Have more mobility news that we should be reading and sharing? Let us know! Reach out to Sage Kashner (kashner@ctaa.org).
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