Joint Actions on Climate Change, presentation ID# 2447: The bike is back with a battery (as part of Tracks

and Themes ) Session: Towards sustainable mobility: electrical, hydrogen, or both? scheduled for Tuesday, June 9, 2009: 4:30 PM-6:30 PM, Aalborg Congress & Culture Centre The bike is back with a battery Dr.ir.FrankvanderHoeven,DelftUniversityofTechnology,FacultyofArchitecture Theattentiontheelectriccarreceivesasapromisingmeansof sustainabletransportation seemsattimestoovershadowtherise ofthatotherelectricvehicle:thepedelecorelectric bicycle.For thosewhodon'tknowyet:apedelecisabicycleassistedbyan electricmotor. Thatmotorispoweredbyarechargeable(lithium ion)battery.Themotorisintendedtoassist pedaling,notto replaceit.Itisthenewestevolutionofthebike.Itsnumbersare growing fast. Thispaperassumesthatthegrowinguseofpedelecsrequiresa differentapproachfrom designresearchandpolicymaking towardselectrictwowheelers.Itwilloutlinethemajor differences betweenregularbikeuseandpedelecuseandaddressesissues likecitytocity cycling,bicycletheft,parkingandstreetcharging. Whenitcomestosustainablemobilitymostofthetransportationpoliciesseemto focuson increasingtheuseofpublictransport,combinedwithlandusepolicies suchastransitoriented developmentoftransportdevelopmentareas.{1} Muchenergyandresourcesarepumpedin theconstructionandexploitationof bus,BRTandlightrailsystemstoalmostnoavail. Currentlyonly3%ofallkilome trestravelledinTheNetherlandsaretravelledusingbus,tram ormetrocom bined.Trainusersandcyclistsmakeupfor8%ofthosedistanceseach.And yes, cardriversandcarpassengerstogethermakeupforthreequartersofthekilome tre production,withrespectively51%and24%.{2} Eightpercentoftheoverallkilometre productionisasigni[icantmarketshare,es peciallywhenweconsiderthatthebikeismainly usedforshortdistances.Inmid sizedDutchtowns(matchingthedistanceswherebikes performbest)theshare inthemodalsplitcanbeashighasonethirdofalltrips. Modal-split and trip generation in The Netherlands, 2007 {2} Modalities Number of trips Distance per person per day Share in the modal-split All modalities 2,99 32,6 100% Car, driver 0,99 16,5 51% Car, passenger 0,46 7,9 24% Trein 0,06 2,7 8% Bus/tram/metro 0,08 1,0 3% Moped 0,02 0,2 0% Bicycle 0,78 2,5 8% Walking 0,58 0,7 2% Other 0,05 1,2 4% TheaverageDutchcitizencyclesabout2to3kilometresaday.Thatdistancedid [luctuate somewhatovertheyearsbutisconsideredtobestable.Seenfroman Europeanperspective Holland(andDenmark)areatthetopwithabout1000 kilometrestravelledbybicycleper personperyear.{3}

AsaresultbothHollandandDenmarkcompriseavastinfrastructureandpractice thatsupports cycling.Childrenlearntobikewhentheyareyoungandknowfrom earlyonhowtobehave intraf[ic.Otherroadusersarewellusedandadjustedto 2 cyclists,sharingtheirroadspace.Thegeomorphologyandclimate(exceptfor wind)are favourableaswell.Thesefactorscombinedmayverywellsustainthe marketshareofthe bikeintheyearstocome.Still,itdoesn'tseemlikelythatbike usewillincrease spontaneouslyitsshareinthemodalsplit. Two directions Letsassumeforamomentthatthebicyclewithitshumanenginehasreachedits maximum marketpenetrationwithroughly1000kilometresperyear,perperson. Atthatpointweshould askwherewegofromhere.Therearetwointeresting directionsthatcouldbetaken:focus onotherEuropeanmarketsorfocusonthe possibilitiesthatamuchimprovedbikecanoffer. Webrie[lyexploreboth directions. AtanEuropeanscalewemaywanttotakeahardlookattheregionaldifferences inbike use.Thescaleissubstantialwithahighof1019andalowof24kilometres perpersonper year.{3}Thisisadifferenceofafactor40. Thesedifferencescaninpartbeexplainedbygeomorphologyorclimate.The highsandthe lowsaresofarapartthatwemayhavetoassumeotherfactorsare atworkaswell.Inmost countriesaneffectivecyclinginfrastructureislackingasa resultofdecadesofcaroriented infrastructurepolicies.Bymeansoftravel demandmanagementitshouldbepossibletoget theFrench,theBritish,the Portuguese,theSpaniardsandtheGreektocycle.Itmayperhaps notbe reasonabletoexpectthemtotravel1000kilometresperyearbybikeanytime soon. ButsofartheFrench,theBritish,thePortuguese,theSpaniardsandthe Greektraveleven lessthan250metersaday.Thereisroomtogrowhere,atleast intargetedcommunities, lifestyleoragegroups. Atthesametimewemaywanttoimproveourunderstandingofwhatanew generation bicyclescouldmeanforboththecommunitiesthatareusedtobiking andthosethatarenot. Pleaseconsiderforabriefmomentthephasesthebike alreadywentthrough.

Thebikewasinventedasa'walkingmachine'(Laufmachine),muchasthevehicle small childrenusewhentheystarttolearnbiking.Rotarycranksandpedalswere introducedtothe frontwheelhub.Thepedalsmadeitnecessarytoincreasethe frontwheelthatwasturned byusingmusclepower.

Increasingthefrontwheelreducedtheeffortthatisnecessarytostartthebike, moveit uphillormakeitfaceheadwind.Itresultedintotheiconicbikewithits 3 largefrontwheelandsmallbackwheel:thevelocipede.Finallytheuseofchain wheelsanda rollerchain,transferringpowerfromthepedalstothedrivewheel, improvedthedistribution ofthemusclepowerdrastically.Itbroughtthebike roughlytothecon[igurationasweknow ittoday.Atthismomentweare witnessingthenextevolutionofthebike:thepedelecor electricbike.Itcoincides withanoverallriseininterestintothepossibilitieselectricmobility oremobility. [Laufmachine] Replacing the motor of a car Say:emobilityandmostofuswillthinkofelectriccars.Thereisastrongcaseto investin cleanercartechnologycars.Thesheernumbersaspresentedabove(a shareinthemodalsplit ofthreequarters)guaranteesthattheimpactofintroduc ingelectriccarsonourroadswill besigni[icant.Itisneverthelessinterestingto speculatewhattheconversionofinternal combustionenginetoanelectricengine willmeanforthewaypeopleusetheircar.Itwill certainlyleadtobetterenviron ment:lessnoise,lessairpollution.Butwillthefunctionalityof thecarchange much?Doestheelectriccardrivefaster?Doesitdrivefurther?Willitbe easierto [indaparkingplace?Theanswerisno.Drivingspeedisregulatedbylawand basedmainlyonsafety,notonfuelef[iciencyandonlysporadicallyonenviron mentalimpact. Thecapacityofthebatteryandthetimethatisnecessaryto[illup 4 anelectriccarmayonedayliveuptoacarwithacombustionengine.Itisnot likelyitwill exceeditanytimesoon.Findingaparkingspacemaybeevenmore complicatedbecauseyou mayhaveto[indaspotthatcanchargeyourcar.Illegal parkingwillbeathingofthepast. Theenvironmentalimpactontheurbanenvi ronmentwillbehuge.Butintermsof functionalityitlookslikethatacarwithan electricengineperformsmuchlikeacarwithan internalcombustionengine. Introducing a motor to a bicycle [BiketecFlyerT] Theattentiontheelectriccarreceiveasapromisingmeansofsustainabletrans portationseem toovershadowtheriseofthepedelecorelectricbike.Forthose whodon'tknowyet:a pedelecisabicycleassistedbyanelectricmotor.Thatmo torispoweredbyarechargeable (lithiumion)battery.Themotorisintendedto (dynamically)assistpedaling,nottoreplaceit. Inlegaltermsapedelecisinthe EUaregularbicycleaslongasthemotor'spowerdoesn't

exceed250Wandas longthemaximumspeedisleveledoffto25km/h.Highspeedpedelecs witha speedupto35km/hdoexist.Switzerlandforinstancedoesn'tregulatethebike's maximumspeed.IntheEUsuchpedelecsarelegallyregardedasmopeds. 5 Intheyear2008almost140.000pedelecsweresoldinTheNetherlands.This numbergrew from22.000in2004,34.000in2005,44.000in2006and89.000in 2007.{4} year Number of electric assisted bicycles sold in The Netherlands per year {4} 2004 22.000 2005 34.000 2006 44.000 2007 89.000 2008 140.000 Althoughpedelecsstillrepresentedin2007only6%oftheactualnumberof bikesbeingsold, duetotheirhighpricetagtheyalreadyaccountforathirdofthe turnoverinbicyclessales intheNetherlands.In2008thismarketsharealready grewto10%.Thismakesitvery lucrativetomarketthem.Intheearlyyearssales weremainlytargetedattheelderly population.Currentlythepedelecsaredis coveredbycommutersandotheragegroups.The introductionofcitymodelsand electricallyassistedmountainbikessupportsthatdevelopment. Onecansafely saythatasilentrevolutionisgoingon.Itisarevolutionthatisn'tmuch debated bytheresearchcommunity,neitherbypolicymakers. Meet the bike 2.0 Themostinterestingaspectaboutapedelecisthatitisamuchimprovedbicycle. Itisabike 2.0.Themotormultipliessomeone'smusclepower.Theyassist.Some modelsalreadyassist itsownerdynamically.Whenthispersonfacesincreasedre sistancebywindorslopingterrain themotorwillworkhardertocompensatefor it.Anelectricbikeisabikethatallowelderly tocycleuntilanolderage.People livingincitiesorruralareaswithsteepheightdifferences willbene[itstrongly frompedelecs.Ridinguphillusingapedelecrequiresthesameeffortas ridinga regularhorizontalstreet.Pedelecsallowcommuterstobridgelongerdistances. Peopleusingapedelecdonotsweat,whichisamajorissuewithtripsbetween homeand theof[ice.TheCroydon(aLondonBorough)cyclingcampaigngives[ive reasonswhytheylike pedelecs:{5} Social need Therearemanypeoplewhomaywantandneedabitofelectricassistance, whetherthroughinclination,ageorphysicalfrailty,oraneedtoridequicklyto workwithout needingtoshowerandchange. 6 Environmentally responsible Pedelecsconsumeatinyamountofenergycomparedtomopeds, motorcyclesor cars;andtheonlyconsumablesoverandaboveastandardcyclearethe batteries, whichcannormallyberecycledwhentheyhaveexpired.Typicalpower consumption is0.10to0.15kW,comparedwithabout15.0kWforacar.

Socially responsible Pedelecs,likepedalonlycycles,arerelativelylightandslowmovingvehicles that (unlikecars,motorcyclesandlorries)poselittledangertopedestriansandother vulnerableroadusers.UnderEUlaw,electriccyclescannotprovidepowerover 25km/h(or 16mi/h). Effective Pedelecstendtogetusedoften,ratherthanleftgatheringcobwebsinthegarage like manystandardbicycles.Combinedwithacycletrailer,theycaneasilyhelp towtheweekly shopforalargefamily. True cycles Pedelecsaretruepedalcyclesunderthelaw,withalltheeverydayeaseofuse advantagesthisimplies: righttoride,i.e.notests,licensing,taxesorotherhassles noneed forhelmetsorspecialclothing trainoperatorscarrybicycles,enablingeffectivemixedmode travel righttousecycleandbuslanes Pedelecsdonotsimplyreplaceregularbicycles.Theywillchangethewaybicycles areusedand haveasigni[icantimpactinthewaypeoplemovearoundontwo wheels.Possiblyitmay allowtheDutchandDanishtobikeevenmore.Probablyit willallowthePortugueseand Greekforthe[irsttimeintheirlivesenjoyabike. Stilltheirarehurdlestobeovercomethat aren'taddressedyetinthedesignof bikesorintheinfrastructurepoliciesoflocaland regionalauthorities. City to city cycling MostDutchmunicipalitiespossesimpressivebicyclenetworks.Butthatinfra structurefalls shortifyouwanttomovebetweentowns.Theoutoftowninfra structureisoftendeveloped withrecreationalobjectivesinmind.Theyconsistof scenicroutesbutdonotnecessarybring youstraightfrom'A'to'B'.Theoutof townrecreationalroutespossesanotherdisadvantage. Theyaren'tbuiltwithso cialsafetyinmind.Mostrecreationalusetakesplaceinthespring orsummersea 7 sonduringdaylight.Inthewintertimetheseroutesarestraightoutunfriendlyto women, elderlyandothervulnerableuserswithlackingilluminationandthereg ularuseofnomans lands.Ifpedelecsareabouttoexpandthereachofregularcy clists,thantheoverallnetworks needaserioussecondlooktosupportthatmobil ity.Indenselypopulatedregionsregional authoritiesneedtoprovide'bicycles highways'thatinterconnecttheurbannetworks. Bicycle theft Anelectricbikeisagreatbutexpensiveasset.Typically,thepriceofapedelecwill range between1000and3000euro.Withtheirgrowingpopularitytheywillbe comeincreasingly vulnerabletotheft.BicycletheftisamajorissueinTheNether landsthathampersthefurther

growthofbicycleuse. OnJune14th2007,after100daysinof[ice,theDutchgovernment (Balkenende IV)pledgedtohalvetheamountofbicyclesstolenbyreducingbicyclethefteach yearwith100.000casesfromtheyear2006level.Initsstatementthegovern mentclaimed 750.000bicycleswerestolenin2006.{6}Butaccordingto'Statis ticsNetherlands'909.000 persons(15yearsorolder)experiencedbicycletheftin 2006.{7}Eventhegovernmentseemto underestimatetheseverityoftheissue. Thesenumbersrelatetoregularbikes,bikesthat fetchbetween10and100euros whentheyaresoldafterbeingstolen.Electricbikesare muchmorelucrative. Eventheessentialpartsofapedelecareatrisk.Aremovablelithium ionbattery (currentlystandardisedbytheEnergybusgroup{8})willcostabout500to600 euros.Thebatteryisrelativelysmall,beingsomewhatlargerthanamilkpackand poorly lockedonthevehicles. Parking Inthedenselybuiltareasmostofthe(prewar)homeslacktheabilitytoparka bikeindoors. Becausepedelecstendtobemuchheavierthatregularbikes(2025 kilo),peoplewillnot wanttocarrythemupstairs.Theycouldoptforabikewitha removablebatteryandbringthe batteryintheirhometochargeit.Inthatcase theyhavetolockupthebikeoutdoorsand leaveittheiratnightsandholidays.If theywouldthinktheremovablebatterytoomuchofa riskbecauseitdetachable, theycanalwaysoptforapedelecthatintegratesthebatteryin itsframe.Butthan theyfaceproblemshowtochargetheirvehicle.Rememberitistooheavy toex pectthatpeoplearewillingtocarryitupstairs.Iflocalauthoritieswanttheirciti zens tocyclewithassistedbikestheyhavetotakeaseriouslookattheftproof parkingand charging.Noeffectivesolutionsexistatthispointyet. 8 Street charging Solutionsseemverywellpossible.TakealookatVelib,theParisSelfServicebike hire systemthatisavailable24hoursaday,7daysaweekintheFrenchcityof light.{9}Ituses socalledstationsthatareequippedwithroughlytwentybike standsconsistingofabike lockingmechanismandacardreader.Itsecurely storesandregistersthepositionofthe vehicleinthenetworktohaveitavailable atrequest.Becausethebikemakesphysically contactwiththestanditshouldn't requirerocketsciencetoincludeachargingsolutionboth intheparkingfacility andthevehicleitselftocombinebothparkingandchargingatthesame time.It doesrequirehoweverthatindustryandlocalorregionalgovernmentsmeetand agreetodevelopjointlypracticalsolutionsandstimulatetherolloutofsucha system. Then, havingahighqualitychargingandparkingsolutionsintegratedinpublic places,mayverywell unlocktheacceptanceofsimilarsolutionsforothervehicles suchasmopedsandcars. [Velib,Paris]

9 Conclusion Theemergenceofelectricassistedbicycles(pedelecsorelectricbikes)seemto signalthenext evolutionofthebicycle.Itofferstheprospectofagrowingshare forbikinginthemodal splitofthosecountrieswherethemarketseemstobesat urated.Itmayverywellofferan advancedpathtointroducecyclinginmarkets wheretheuseofbicyclesistraditionallyweak, duetogeomorphology,climateor culture.Localandregionalauthoritiesneedtobeaware thatachanginguseofbi cyclesoverlongerdistancesrequiresthattheoutoftown recreationalnetworks needtobeadaptedtoworkseamlesslywiththeurbannetworks.Local govern mentsandindustryshouldworkjointlytoeffectivelysolvetheft,parkingand charging issues.Thattaskisfarfromdaunting.Componentsforthesolutionsare available.Thebottom updevelopmentofelectricbikingdeservesnevertheless moreattentionitreceivescurrently fromdesignresearchandpolicymaking.Asa cleantechnology,agrowingindustryanda meanstoremainhealthy,theelectric bikedeservesitrightfulplacebetweenothermodalities.