We hop in the car to get groceries or drop kids at school. But while the car is convenient, these short trips add up in terms of emissions, pollution and petrol cost.
Close to half (44%) of all Australian commuter trips are by car – and under 10km. Of Perth’s 4.2 million daily car trips, 2.8 million are for distances of less than 2km.
This is common in wealthier countries. In the United States, a staggering 60% of all car trips cover less than 10km.
So what’s the best solution? You might think switching to an electric vehicle is the natural step. In fact, for short trips, an electric bike or moped might be better for you – and for the planet. That’s because these forms of transport – collectively known as electric micromobility – are cheaper to buy and run.
But it’s more than that – they are actually displacing four times as much demand for oil as all the world’s electric cars at present, due to their staggering uptake in China and other nations where mopeds are a common form of transport.
An ebike is a great vehicle. $1000 is a sweet spot to get 30mph, good acceleration, build quality, and $700-$800 is the new $1000. Fat tires get more torque, even if a heavier wheel, and let you have more comfort, and trail/snow/sand crossing capability. $2000 can get 40mph, or pull a trailer, or have bigger cargo/child seat capabilities.
Electric vehicles in general benefit immensely from being light. A smaller/cheaper battery is lighter and gets more range if overall vehicle is light too. Pedaling is a much bigger boost on lighter bike. BYD’s seagull ($11k) is a very small/light car that could be built in the west/sold for $15k. It’s practical enough to be a great car value.
Where ebikes need improvement is for commercial and touring purposes, having public charging and for ebikes charging at 1000-1500w is a huge 100-200km range per hour. The other major improvement for both ebikes and EVs would be power assisted trailers with regen braking, and regulation that permits and standardizes them. These can be range extending if pulled empty, or power themselves to not reduce range when loaded, and provide electric power at destination. Solar on trailers also means when not in use having emergency power at parked location.
When an ebike costs less than 6 months of car insurance, or 12 months of public transit pass, easy to park/charge/store, and can get around the city as fast as a car, its simply the best vehicle option. Where EVs can shine more is when V2G offers enough profit potential to pay for the car and part of the insurance.