Abstract
E-bikes are bicycles that provide pedal-assistance to aid people in cycling. Because of the potential of promoting sustainable transportation, more attention has been focused on the e-bike market. This paper investigates the differences of the cycling experience and perceptions between e-bike and conventional bicycle users, using samples drawn from independent bicycle dealer customers. A total of 806 respondents in the United States took the on-line survey, including 363 e-bike-owning respondents. The results show that e-bikes play a more important role in utilitarian travel, such as commuting and running errands, compared to a conventional bicycle. Conventional bicycle-owning respondents use their bicycles more for recreation and exercise. Also, e-bike owners tend to bike longer distances and take more trips per week. Both e-bike respondents and bicycle respondents stated that improved health was a key factor for cycling, while Millennials and Generation X respondents cycle to save time and improve the environment. Finally, an ordered logit model is proposed for evaluating factors that influence interest in future e-bike ownership. Travel purpose, e-bike familiarity, annual household income, and education level are statistically significant factors in the model. These findings begin to provide insight and a profile of potential new markets for e-bikes in the United States.
Highlights
Shifting people from cars to more sustainable and space-efficient modes of transport can help reduce many transportation and health challenges, including traffic congestion, air pollution, and physical inactivity [1,2]
We do not have any data on bicycle ownership, we find that our sample of bicycle-owning respondents is older and potentially more affluent than bicycle commuters and users, who are generally upper-middle income white males [39,40]. This could be an artifact of the sampling approach, again focusing on independent bicycle dealers (IBD), or it could be that our sample reflects ownership and other studies focus on the intensity of utilitarian bicycle use
The purpose of this paper was to study the differences of cycling experience and perception of e-bike and bicycle users, and factors influencing the e-bike purchase decisions of bicycle users
Summary
Shifting people from cars to more sustainable and space-efficient modes of transport can help reduce many transportation and health challenges, including traffic congestion, air pollution, and physical inactivity [1,2]. E-bikes are electric-assist bicycles which can travel longer distances, provide higher mobility, and reduce barriers to users compared to conventional bicycles. The e-bike market in Western countries has increased rapidly in recent years. A very important distinction is that the Chinese e-bike market grew very rapidly through the early 2000s, and has since plateaued at around 30 million sales per year [5]. Those e-bikes are relatively low-cost (usually less than $1000 U.S.) and have evolved in form to resemble scooters that are rarely pedaled [6,7]. A survey conducted in the U.S identified significant barriers to e-bike use, including the weight of an e-bike, a fear of theft, road danger, and a fear of insufficient battery power [19]
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