Extending life on the bike: Electric bike use by older Australians

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2015.03.001Get rights and content

Highlights

  • An online survey of older electric bike riders in Australia.

  • Majority of electric bike owners rode weekly (88.0%) including daily riders (34.3%).

  • Infrequent adult pedal cyclists used their e-bike frequently for all trip types.

  • Encouraging e-bikes will help older people make active transport choices for longer.

  • We recommend age exceptions to permit cycling on footpaths from 65 years.

Abstract

Older age may bring physical limitations but for many people, the desire to remain active does not diminish. To remain active, and continue the physical and psychological benefits of physical fitness, people need options that support continued movement; one option is an electric bike. In this study we identified the characteristics of older people who own and ride an electric bike in Australian and understand their motivations for purchase, their electric bike use and safety issues. We conducted an online study of electric bike owners in Australia (n=529). In this analysis, we focused on responses from participants aged 65 years and older (n=69). Respondents were aged from 65 to 88 years (71 years), most were retired (73.9%) and had been regular cyclists prior to purchasing an electric bike (80.3%). Almost half (42.6%) purchased their electric bike in a specialist electric bike shop and the two most reported motivations for purchase were to ride with less effort and replace car trips. The majority of respondents rode their electric bike weekly (88.0%) including people who rode it daily (34.3%). The most frequently cited mode shift was from private motor vehicle (car) to electric bike across all trip purposes. Respondents typically felt safer riding an electric bike than a pedal bike and the majority had not experienced an electric bike crash (84.1%). This initial, exploratory study provides the first insights into older Australian electric bike riders. Electric bikes provide a fun, practical option for people to incorporate active travel into their most frequent trips. Mode shift from car trips suggest that electric bikes increase regular (weekly, daily) physical activity. Initiatives and public policies that support electric bike use may increase the uptake of electric bikes by older people in Australia.

Introduction

Over the coming decades as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, the number and proportion of older people in industrialised countries will increase to unprecedented levels (OECD, 2001). In Australia, by 2050, the number of people aged 65 and older is projected to reach 7.5 million, or 22 percent of the population (Kersper et al., 2012). For many older people, ageing is accompanied by some decline in their capabilities, cognitive decline and/or physiological complications (Geda et al., 2010, Paterson and Warburton, 2010). These changes coupled with driving cessation (Molnar et al., 2013) and retirement can contribute to social isolation (Liddle et al., 2004) and depression (Marottoli et al., 2000, Ragland et al., 2005).

However, this image of the frail, inactive elderly is not true for all older people. Many older Australians continue to be physically active for decades beyond retirement. While there may be some age related physical constraints, the additional time afforded by retirement can bring greater opportunity to pursue interests including travel, hobbies and increased physical activity (Gabriel and Bowling, 2004, Lahti et al., 2011).

Cycling creates a range of health benefits associated with the incidental activity of active travel (Sallis al., 2004) however there are also barriers to cycling for many Australians. Lack of on- and off-road cycling infrastructure (Dill and Carr, 2003, Pucher et al., 2010) is gradually being addressed through investment in cycling infrastructure, other barriers to cycling remain, for example: too many hills, distances, adverse weather, the need to carry items, lack of time or end of trip facilities. Electric bikes or e-bikes have the potential to remove many of these barriers to cycling and enable more Australians, including older Australians, to ride. This study was a survey of electric bikes owners to explore these knowledge gaps. This paper continues with an overview of electric bikes and some safety concerns followed by the survey conducted and the findings.

An electric bike is a bicycle with an electric motor that engages to provide power assistance up to 25 km/h. Initially in Australia, electric bikes could be engaged by either a throttle grip or by pedalling and were restricted to a maximum power output of 200 W, a restriction that excluded most internationally designed and manufactured models (Rose, 2012). This limitation was removed in 2012 with the adoption of the European Union design standard. Changes included increased power output (250 W) and power can only be engaged by pedalling also called pedal assist or pedelec (Rose, 2012) (i.e. not via handle grip throttle) (Australian Government, 2012). Electric bicycles are legally defined as bicycles in Australia and riders are subject to the same road rules and permitted to ride their electric bike as if it were a pedal bicycle.

With power assistance, many of the objective and subjective barriers to pedal cycling (Haworth, 2012) including lack of fitness or the perception of fitness needed to cycle, increasing age, hilly terrain and injury or illness, lack of time and lack of end of trip facilities are reduced or removed (Dill and Rose, 2011, Neupert, 2012, Rose, 2012, MacArthur et al., 2014, Popovich et al., 2014). Many current models of electric bikes look similar to conventional pedal bicycles (see Fig. 1). The electric bike battery pack may be fitted in a number of locations on the bike including seat post, on a rear rack or integrated into the bike frame. The motors may be in the hub or integrated as part of the chain drive.

While power assistance makes riding easier, the rider still needs to pedal and therefore gains some physical activity benefits. The effort required to pedal an electric bike, even with power assistance at the highest setting, meets the requirements for moderate-intensity health enhancing physical activity for adults (Simons et al., 2009, Gojanovic et al., 2011, Brisswalter et al., 2012). However, compared to a pedal bicycle, riding an electric bike requires less physical effort and produces less muscular strain and cardiovascular effort (Theurel et al., 2012) which makes electric bikes attractive to people with existing injuries or as a rehabilitative tool and can provide the extra push some older people may need to continue to ride.

Generally, cycling participation is increasing annually in Australia, in 2011, 4 million Australians (18% of population) had cycled in the previous week, while over a third of Australians (39.6% of population or 8.5 million people) had cycled in the previous year (Australian Bicycle Council and Austroads, 2011). Electric bikes are currently not reported in the cycling participation data, however, it is feasible that e-bikes will facilitate cycling for an increasing number of people who currently do not cycle.

Internationally, older people represent a significant component of the growing electric bike market. China is the world’s largest electric bike market estimated to reach 150 million e-bikes by 2015, current figures are not available for the ownership by older riders (Cherry, 2013). In Europe electric bike ownership is growing (Gehlert et al., 2012). In the Netherlands, electric bike account for up to 10% of all cycle trips and mostly by the elderly (Twisk et al., 2013). Even in the highly motorised US, use of electric bikes, including use by older Americans, is increasing (MacArthur et al., 2014).

Safety concerns with pedal cycling, such as risk of a collision with a motor vehicle or crash due to events en route are relevant for electric bike riders. However, electric bikes themselves may create additional safety issues. Electric bikes can be heavier than most pedal bicycles, with a different centre of balance due to the placement of batteries and the location of the motor. Dutch e-bike riders have fallen more frequently while mounting or dismounting compared to pedal bike riders (Twisk et al., 2013). Bike handling skills are also noted as a safety concern, with unexpected higher speeds on the electric bike compared to a pedal bike is counterintuitive for some riders (Spolander, 2007, Davidse et al., 2013).

Older electric bike users may also face specific safety concerns related to their physical fitness and strength. Physical strength required to operate brake levers by hand is one particular concern noted by older riders who may have lost strength in their upper body and hands (Spolander, 2007, Twisk et al., 2013). Further, illness or injury that effects balance is also a concern as people age, particularly when riding at lower speeds or mounting/dismounting (Spolander, 2007). In this study respondents reported if they had experienced a crash and we considered the advantages and disadvantages of the power assistance in the different crash events.

The total population of electric bike owners in Australia is unknown and there is little knowledge of the way older people use e-bikes (Johnson and Rose, 2013). This was an exploratory study to gain insights into e-bike use and the analysis presented in this paper focused on the characteristics, use and safety issues of respondents aged 65 years and older.

Section snippets

Method

An online survey was conducted with electric bike owners in Australia. The initial survey was conducted to better understand electric bike ownership and use. Given the absence of data on e-bike use in Australia a short survey was preferred to maximise the likelihood of response and the number of respondents and minimise participant burden (e.g. compared to a travel diary) in this first study of electric bike owners in Australia. In-depth interviews (n=7) were conducted to inform the survey

Results

In total, 69 electric bike owners aged 65 years or older completed the survey (range: 65–88 years, x¯71 years). Table 2 displays respondent demographic characteristics, vehicle ownership and whether the respondents regularly cycled prior to their electric bike purchase.

Discussion

This initial exploratory study of electric bike use by older Australians provides useful new insights into this emerging transport option. From the survey respondents in this small sample and the caveats that therefore apply, the evidence suggests that older e-bike riders are retired, married, university educated, had a driver’s licence and access to a car. Most people were previously pedal cyclists and bought their bike to ride with less effort, replace car trips, maintain their fitness and

Limitations

There were some limitations that would need to be addressed to improve future studies of older electric bike users. Broader recruitment strategies that targeted older people may increase the response rate, approaches may include targeting recruitment to groups dedicated to older people and making hard copy surveys more accessible. A travel diary that records trips over a period of time (i.e. trip purpose, mode choice etc) would provide a more comprehensive picture of actual use of e-bikes.

Conclusions and research directions

Electric bikes are a viable, independent, relatively low cost, environmentally friendly, active transport option including for older people. For people who have been adult cyclists, e-bikes can provide an option to continue to cycle even if they are no longer able to use a pedal bicycle. For non-cycling adults, the electric bike offers a fun and convenient choice that can increase their active transport trips. While there may be some reduction in other physical activities (e.g. walking) early

Acknowledgements

This research was supported under the Australian Research Council׳s Linkage Projects funding scheme (Project LP100200197) and conducted in conjunction with VicRoads, the Victorian Department of Transport, the Transport Accident Commission, the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian Research Council or any of the organisations associated with the

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