**Electric Two-Wheelers, Sustainable Mobility and the City Electric Two-Wheelers, Sustainable Mobility and the City**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.81460

#### Stefan Bakker Stefan Bakker

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81460

#### **Abstract**

Congestion, lack of accessibility, social equity, air pollution, as well as rising CO2 emissions are some of the key issues urban transport policymakers face. Motorised twowheelers and their accessibility benefits are often ignored in this discourse or seen as undesirable for reasons of pollution, noise, road safety and driving behaviour. Cycling, on the other hand, is viewed positively, yet faces substantial social and political barriers, and is suitable mainly for shorter trips. This chapter explores the role electric two-wheelers (including pedelecs, e-mopeds and e-scooters) can play in urban vehicle ecosystems, using the sustainable mobility paradigm. Compared to traditional transport planning, this paradigm has a stronger focus on aspects such as accessibility, people, streets as a space, city liveability, as well as environmental impacts. The analysis is based on existing literature in the academic and policy realm and a comparison with other transport modes including motorcycles, bicycles, public transport and cars. It includes cases from China, Vietnam and the Netherlands, each of which have distinct mobility system characteristics. Possible policy instruments to facilitate further deployment of electric two-wheelers are discussed as well. This chapter thereby helps filling a gap in transport, sustainable development and climate change mitigation literature, in which electric two-wheelers have not been well covered to date.

**Keywords:** e-bikes, electric two-wheelers, urban mobility, accessibility, sustainable transport, transport policy

## **1. Introduction**

Substantial changes in urban mobility systems are required across the globe in order to reach sustainable development goals (SDGs) and climate change objectives. Indeed, sustainable urban

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

transport is essential to achieve SDG targets related to urban access, reduced health impacts from air pollution and road traffic crashes, clean energy, inefficiency of fossil fuel subsidies, resilient infrastructure, climate change measures and sustainable cities and communities [1].

fleet composition, mobility options and urban planning. As a new mobility option for both passenger and freight (e-cargobikes), it has the potential to replace trips by other modes, notably bicycles, motorcycles, public transport and cars but also small trucks and vans. In addition, E2W may support other modes such as public transport by providing convenient first and last mile mobility. We particularly look at shifting from motorcycles to E2W as a way to maintain space-efficient (passenger) mobility on two wheels, yet in a cleaner fashion;

Two-wheelers powered by a combustion engine, including mopeds, scooters and motorcycles, play a key role in transport in many parts of the world. In South and Southeast Asia, the share of two-wheelers in the passenger vehicle population is particularly high, for example, 72% in India [14], 87% in Indonesia and 95% in Vietnam (95%) [15]. The fleet is growing by up to 10% annually in several Asian countries. In Europe, 12% of all registered vehicles are powered two-wheelers, though almost half of these are >250 cc [14] and often used for touring and sports purposes rather than utility mobility. In Brazil, 26% of the vehicle population are motorcycles and in North America, only 3% [14]. In China and Southeast Asia, two-wheelers account for more than a quarter of total passenger transport activity (measured in passenger-

A motorcycle uses seven times less space compared to a car [16] and is more energy-efficient, even when accounting for a higher average occupancy of cars. Nevertheless, motorcycles are

In many cities in Asia, motorcycles are the preferred mode of transport by a large share of the population [17]. In dense cities, for example, Hanoi, accessibility to jobs by motorcycle is higher than by any other modes [18]. It enjoys higher status than a bicycle and is considered more convenient, particularly for hot and humid weather conditions. Motorcycles are relatively affordable and can be acquired by most households, thereby making it an equitable

In European cities, motorcycle mode share is often low, however rising in recent years. Amsterdam is a case in point, with about 2% of trips in 2016 by mopeds and scooters, which is a doubling compared to 2008. Moreover, such two-wheelers are involved in 16% of road crashes [19]. Although there are plans and strong public support to ban mopeds and scooters from using bicycle lanes, as of mid-2018, these are still allowed on all bike lanes and are not required to wear helmets. The users are relatively diverse, that is, they include all age and

At the same time, electric two-wheelers are gaining importance and already take a significant modal share in some countries in 2015, notably China (7%) and 2–4% in Denmark, the Netherlands and Japan [20]. China dominates E2W sales with about 30 million and a stock of about 250 million [17], followed in sales by Europe with 2.3 million, while the rest of the world

emissions and are involved in a large share

Electric Two-Wheelers, Sustainable Mobility and the City http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81460 99

however, shifting away from other modes may also be significant.

km) in 2015, more than any other mode [12].

of road crashes.

mode of transport.

income groups.

accounts for about 1 million in 2015 [13].

significant sources of air pollution, noise and CO<sup>2</sup>

**2. Conventional and electric two-wheelers: current situation**

Exposure to ambient air pollution results in 4.2 million deaths annually [2], and 9 out of 10 urban dwellers breathe air that does not comply with the WHO standards. The transport sector is the largest contributor to PM2.5 pollution [3], with, for example, the economic cost of air pollution from road transport in OECD countries estimated at close to USD 1 trillion per year, measured in terms of the value of lives lost and ill health [4]. In addition, physical inactivity is responsible for 3.2 million deaths annually [5]. Data on noise impacts are limited; however, the health effects from exposure to noise are substantial. In the European Union, 65% of the urban population is exposed to noise above 55 dB, leading to an estimated 1–2 million DALYs annually [6]. Other concerns related to urban transport include increasing congestion and lack of accessibility, social equity and transport justice [7], urban liveability, habitat fragmentation [8] and energy security or oil price vulnerability [9].

At the global level, urban (passenger) transport contributed about 2 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2015 or one-quarter of total transport emissions (including international aviation and maritime transport) [4]. In order to meet the Paris Agreement climate change targets of staying well below 2° and aiming for 1.5°, total transport emissions have to be limited to 2–3 billion tonnes in 2050 from approximately 8 billion tonnes today [10]. As transport is where emissions are rising the most rapidly among all sectors, this is a major challenge.

Traditionally, transport planning has been focussing on providing infrastructure to meet a projected future demand for transport. As Banister argued in his seminal article, 'The Sustainable Mobility Paradigm' [11], addressing the above-mentioned challenges requires fundamental shifts in transport planning. This new paradigm involves, among others, focussing on accessibility of opportunities in the urban space rather than mobility and vehicular travel per se, management of travel demand, considering street as a 'space' rather than a road and including environmental and social concerns in transport project evaluation.

Most literature on sustainable mobility considers modal shift away from cars to more environmentally benign modes. Within this, there is a significant and growing amount of research on cycling, with bicycles also enjoying a good reputation with policymakers in most countries. Motorcycles, on the other hand, are, by and large, ignored in sustainable transport research, as well as in policy discussions and climate change literature, although some researches are acknowledging its importance in meeting climate change objectives [12]. Since 2010, more literatures have been published on electric two-wheelers, such as e-bikes and electric scooters, which assess their potential impacts on the mobility systems and the environment, user motivations and aspects such as safety and driver behaviour [13].

This chapter aims to add to existing literature by (1) assessing qualitatively how electric twowheelers (E2W) can contribute to sustainable urban mobility and (2) reviewing policy options to enhance the role of E2W.

In this chapter, we adopt the following approach. The e-bike is a relatively new vehicle and in fact represents 'the most rapid uptake of alternative fuelled vehicles in the history of motorisation' [13]. E2W thereby change urban mobility ecosystems or regimes, including the vehicle fleet composition, mobility options and urban planning. As a new mobility option for both passenger and freight (e-cargobikes), it has the potential to replace trips by other modes, notably bicycles, motorcycles, public transport and cars but also small trucks and vans. In addition, E2W may support other modes such as public transport by providing convenient first and last mile mobility. We particularly look at shifting from motorcycles to E2W as a way to maintain space-efficient (passenger) mobility on two wheels, yet in a cleaner fashion; however, shifting away from other modes may also be significant.
