E-Bike Research Shows Environmental and Economic Benefits
Electric bicycle advocate and climate scientist Tom Lent recently published new e-bike research about the greenhouse gas emissions reduction benefits. Not surprisingly, he found that e-bikes are great for the environment and inexpensive to operate.
Key findings of the E-Bike 1000 MPG Project:
- E-bikes are 10 to 30 times more efficient than electric cars at fighting climate change.
- E-bikes get 30 to 100 times more miles per pound of battery than an electric car. Battery efficiency is essential because the resources used to make lithium batteries may be in short supply as more car manufacturers switch to electric.
- An e-bike emits 40 to 140 times fewer pounds of greenhouse gases than a 30 mpg gas car, assuming it is charged with California’s electric energy mix.
- E-bikes are incredibly cost-effective. Most bikes cost less than a penny per mile to charge.
This e-bike research supports what we already knew: e-bikes are one of the most economical and environmental forms of transportation. In 2021, CalBike’s $10 million e-bike affordability campaign is crucial to help more Californians choose this green transportation mode.
Lent’s research is a project of the Climate Action Center. He has compiled e-bike research from dozens of sources and has a breakdown of stats by e-bike model.
Already own an e-bike and want to find out how efficient yours is? Get bragging rights about your bike’s high efficiency by joining the citizen science E-Bike Monitoring Project.
