Electric bikes

The speedy option
We always assume that the car is the quickest mode to travel from A to B. During TravelWise week, Shrewsbury commuters put it to the test in a contest between the bus, park & ride, an ordinary car, an electric car, an ordinary bike and an electric bike. The challenge? To travel from Harlescott Park & Ride to the Square during the morning rush hour. A total journey distance of 2.5 miles.

The surprise winner was the electric bike which beat all opposition by arriving in 11 minutes. This was a full 12 minutes ahead of the ordinary car. Why did it win? The bike has assisted power (taking the puff out of pedalling), it was able to park conveniently (and free of charge) in the very centre, where as the car got delayed in a jam, and had to find a parking space first.

Electric bike information
Electric bikes are fitted with a small motor to help the rider when the going gets tough. The idea is not to make a faster, more powerful vehicle, but simply to flatten the hills and shorten the miles. The end product is a fairly conventional bike, but one that lends a hand when required. A recent survey found that the average electric bike user covered 1,200 miles per annum (and replaced 3 car journeys per week).

The advantage in an electric bike over a motorbike or scooter is that you don't need a driving licence or road tax. Parking is free. The average electric bike costs around 1.5p per mile to run and has a range of about 10-20 miles per charge. To charge it up, you simply plug in with a standard 3-pin plug to a standard electricity socket.

Follow the links on this page to the Shropshire Cycling and yellow pages websites to find electric bike retailers.