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Cost of living may encourage many to get an e-bike but lack of subsidies will slow uptake

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Alex Bowden's picture

Alex Bowden

Alex has been editor of ebiketips since 2021. He previously contributed news, reviews and more to road.cc and has also had a parallel (largely lapsed) career writing about cricket for various publications.

1 comments

1 year 3 months ago

Subsidies aren't necessarily required, as the cost savings are a subsidy in their own right.

I had to put fuel in my car, this weekend, so put £30 in, to replace to previous £30 worth.

When I got home, I checked my bank statement, and discovered that £30 had lasted over 6 weeks, which was a vast improvement over my usual pattern of about £100 every 2 weeks.

The reason for this saving?

I took the decision to change jobs, so I could swap a 60 mile per day car commute for an 8 mile per day bicycle commute. Almost 5 months in, and it's working out really well.

I know that this isn't for everybody, but it's definitely a viable option for a significant number of people.

There are definitely hurdles to overcome - infrastructure, weather (it's really not that bad), hills (e-bikes to the rescue), workplace facilities & societal attitudes- but it can be done (Just ask our friends in the Netherlands)