Exploring e-bike trial options and opportunities

Overview

Action 2.15: Explore opportunities with the private sector to provide electric bicycles (e-bikes) to allow employees to experience using e-bikes for work travel and to understand how e-bikes influence travel behaviour. 

Lead agency: Department of Transport and Main Roads

Status: Complete

Achievements

In June 2022, we gathered information to help us understand the market's experience and expertise in planning, managing and evaluating e-bike trial schemes, in both workplace and community settings. 

We invited 12 organisations from the private sector to tell us about possible e-bike trial scheme models and key considerations for delivering e-bike trials in these different settings. To complement the information gathering process we:

• consulted with WeRide Australia and SEE-Change to gather further insights into e-bike trial schemes in other jurisdictions and associated challenges and opportunities 
• reviewed Queensland University of Technology e-bike research, including preliminary findings of research into e-bike incentives.

We found that when people borrow an e-bike free of charge or at minimal cost for a short period of time, it often leads to an ongoing lease or purchase. We learned they continue to use the e-bike to replace trips they would normally have taken by motor vehicle. 

We also identified there is less need for employees to take short, work-related trips by e-bike due to increasing flexible working arrangements, virtual meeting technology and public shared e-bikes in central business districts.

Next steps

We will use the learnings from this project to inform decisions about potential future e-bike related initiatives.