E-bike research project

[Alexalph]

Good Morning Pedelec'ers

I am posting as a student studying transport planning at Leeds University studying transport planning. As part of this, I am currently undertaking a dissertation examining peoples attitudes towards electric bikes and how electric bikes have changed the travel habits of those who own them.

I would be most grateful if you could complete the survey at: https://www.survey.leeds.ac.uk/ebikeuser2

There is the opportunity to win a £10 Amazon gift voucher and to receive a copy of the research.

Thank you to those who already responded in the welcome thread, however a few more responses would be very welcome for me to draw stronger conclusions. Any comments on the research, the survey or electric bikes in general is always welcome! There seems to be a particular shortage of ladies in my sample.

This will be my final post on this subject as my surveying must be completed by the end of this week.

 

[flecc]

You may be able to get much of what you need immediately. Some while ago, another student, Jack Eagle, completed a MSc course study on the prospect for electric bikes in the UK with the the help of forum members. His PDF report I made available on my website on his behalf since he had no other way of doing that at the time. Here is the link:

http://www.flecc.co.uk/m/eaglereport.pdf

Also, if you look in this Electric Bike Focus Group Forum, you'll see a number of the original posts from Jack asking for responses where you'll see the member's original answers to a variety of his questions.

A footnote. Some while ago I researched the members of this site and found that female membership was about 5%, which could account for the lack of responses you note.
.

 

[Alexalph]

Thanks flecc, that's very interesting. I'll certainly be having an in-depth read through that. It is still useful to get some responses of my own as 6 years has passed and hopefully ridership and the quality of the technology has increased.

I can believe the low female ridership level, its hard enough to get females with non-electric bikes to respond!

 

[EddiePJ]

its hard enough to get females with non-electric bikes to respond!

Wait until you get married.

 

[Tubamanandy]

Quite enjoyed filling out the questionnaire - some thought provoking questions

 

[halfer]

Survey completed. However, the question about bike cost did not cater for e-bikes over £2K - and there's a fair few of those about these days.

The question about 'reducing exercise' is an interesting one. If you ride the same distance twice, once on an e-bike and once on a conventional bike, then the pedelec has obviously provided less health benefits. But my experience is that the conventional bike is rarely used in rain or cold, while e-bikes keep you going even when you'd rather not ride.

So the questionnaire may not have accurately captured that, paradoxically, you may get more exercise on an e-bike than a regular one, because it encourages you to cycle a great deal more.

 

[trex]

I was disappointed that the survey does not look at e-bikes as cheap transport and serious competition for buses.
Do you use your e-bike to commute to work?
How much would you spend on bus fares for the same journey?

 

[halfer]

How much would you spend on bus fares for the same journey?

Indeed. And, is there a time-saving too? In my last job, I could cycle to work in about 35 minutes, or take the two necessary buses and get there in 50-60 minutes.

 

[Tubamanandy]

When I ride into work (Blackpool), I save £4/day on parking and about £2/day on diesel AND I almost get there as fast and have a great ride along the promenade (Cleveleys to Blackpool) - a win, win situation

 

[halfer]

When I ride into work (Blackpool), I ... have a great ride along the promenade (Cleveleys to Blackpool)

Ooh, that does sound nice. Me, I'm fond of Brighton, and hearing of e-rides along the promenade makes me want to take the bike down to the coast and get some sea air and a good view on the bike