With proper regulations, electric bikes can turn drivers into riders, a big boon for cities Bike riders have plenty of ideas on how to make cycling in cities more popular (trust me, just ask). But according to some planners, the most consequential shift in American cycling habits could come not from standard requests such as more safety features or expanded bike lanes, but from electrification.
?You can?t underestimate the joy factor of being able to push a button and zip down the street on a bicycle,? says Derek Chisholm, an urban planner in the New Orleans office of AECOM. ?A lot of people don?t know how much they?d enjoy it.?
Chisholm is part of a small but growing number of planners and biking advocates who believes that opening up our bike lanes and roadways to electric bikes, or e-bikes, would be a boon for American cycling. Rules and enforcement around the motorized vehicles vary greatly from city to city and state to state based on helmet requirements, top speeds, and minimum age to ride. Some enforce outright bans on electric bikes, which is the main reason the market in the U.S is still small?fewer than 100,000 e-bikes were sold in 2014, according to Bike Retailer and Industry News. But when you consider the wide variety of bikes available, from fully automated rides to pedal-assist systems that give a boost, and the growing international market?global sales should hit $24.4 billion by 2025, according to a Navigant Research study?Chisholm sees plenty of p...