RMI’s new e-bike calculator helps city policymakers and advocates quantify the environmental and economic benefits of replacing short-distance vehicle trips with e-bike trips
To avoid the worst effects of climate change, it’s widely understood that the United States will need to electrify its highest-emitting sector: transportation. What’s less understood is that even under the most ambitious emissions-reduction scenarios, the United States must also reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 20% before the end of the decade to stay on course for a 1.5°C future. Both electrification and VMT reductions are needed, and policymakers have an opportunity to advance both strategies at once to deliver equitable, climate-aligned outcomes in their communities. The key to this joint effort? E-bikes.