How to encourage the use of electric bikes?
With congested roads and a significant carbon footprint, the individual thermal car must gradually disappear from the urban landscape. In response to this, soft mobility is emerging as a new way to approach travel.
Today, the context is favorable to reflection and change. In fact, communities are committed to facilitating travel for city dwellers. Bicycle lanes, self-service bicycle and scooter fleets, and parking areas reserved for personal mobility devices are multiplying. This new urban landscape promotes the use of personal development devices. Many people are abandoning the subway and turning to the purchase and rental of electrically assisted bicycles (EAB). Advantages, benefits, grants, subsidies, discover the many reasons and devices that encourage the use of electric bikes, this new mode of urban transportation. Zoom on the VAE, the clean and fast means of transportation that seduces many French people every day.
A means of transportation known as "soft mobility
French people who live near their workplace and who like to travel by bike are delighted with the accessibility of the electrically assisted bicycle. Externally, these bikes look very similar to the classic models. However, the former, equipped with a motor to accompany the pedaling movements, requires less effort.
In view of the many advantages of the VAE, an interesting but costly means of travel, the State offers the French the possibility of benefiting fromone or more aids. These financial aids encourage the acquisition of a VAE. In addition, the appearance of multiple bicycle paths, essential to the safety of cyclists, encourages the use of this mode of transportation.
The power of the motor and the duration of the battery make it possible to cover long distances. It is therefore quite natural that city dwellers rethink their way of moving and favor this mode of transportation to get to work or to appointments.
Physical effort, but less
Preferring cycling to public transport reduces the risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle (obesity, cholesterol, etc.). However, cycling long distances puts a lot of strain on the legs and can be exhausting.
The pedaling assistance of electric bikes does not exempt cyclists from pedaling, but facilitates this movement. In fact, thephysical effort is there, but the fatigue and suffering felt are less.
Cycling provides a pleasant quality of life and a certain feeling of freedom. Nevertheless, the distance required for certain trips can be a brake on the use of this mode of transport. The EAB offers real advantages in this respect. For example, with this vehicle, undertaking long trips and taking uneven roads becomes easy. Thanks to electric bicycles, pedaling for hours and moving through hilly cities is now synonymous with pleasure.
Finally, regular physical activity is good for the body, but also for the mind. The endorphins released during exercise reduce stress and anxiety. In addition, cycling is good for your mental balance.
A fast mode of transportation
In spite of an evolution of consciousness that tends to preserve the environment and therefore to limit car travel, big cities are daily subject to traffic jams. An economic and environmental plague, it is essential to favour soft mobility and public transport.
In the city, the average speed of an electric bicycle is higher than that of cars (19 km/h against 14 km/h). If the speed of an electric bicycle is almost similar to that of a car, it is still preferable to travel by bicycle. And for good reason: when traffic is slow, bicycles take advantage of traffic-free bicycle paths and are therefore a very fast means of transportation. In the absence of bike lanes, bicycles can weave (carefully) between vehicles and thus brave traffic jams. In other words, commuting by EV reduces the stress of delays and irritability associated with congested roads.
An ecological way to travel
Today, many people want to reduce the impact of human activities on the environment. One of the challenges of urban mobility is to limit the carbon footprint of thermal transport by developing soft means of locomotion.
When the daily distance travelled allows it, adopting an electric bicycle to get around is part of an ecological approach. In fact, favouring soft means of transportation generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Although they are equipped with a battery, E-bikes, like scooters or even gyroroues, are much less polluting than private cars. The purchase or rental of an electric vehicle represents a much lower cost than the maintenance, parking and fueling costs of a thermal car. In addition, there is the possibility of benefiting from purchase subsidies.
Take advantage of government assistance
Whether it is a question of renovating a property or acquiring a new vehicle, the State encourages the French to move towards environmentally friendly lifestyles.
In order to encourage the population to opt for soft mobility, the State pays a purchase premium for any acquisition of an electrically assisted bicycle (conform). This aid can reach a maximum of 200 €. The local authorities also offer the possibility of receiving aid ranging from 100 € to 500 €.
It should be noted that the conditions for obtaining this aid vary depending on where you live (Lyon, Toulouse, Paris, etc.). For example, since February 2022, the city of Marseille has stopped granting the bonus for electric bikes.
To conclude, the EAB is an ecological, dynamic and fast mode of transportation. Acquiring or renting such a vehicle keeps you in shape and meets the need to move towards a more responsible lifestyle. Moreover, finding the time or the desire to practice a regular sport activity is difficult for many people. Adopting an electrically powered bicycle is a way to combine business with pleasure. The ideal two-wheeled vehicle to fight against weight gain, strengthen the immune system and keep the heart healthy.
Finally, owning an EV in the city gives you real freedom. Public transport users (for equivalent distances) experience their journeys differently. Traveling by bike allows you to connect with the environment, to feel the sun's rays on your skin, or to be carried away by the desire to go further and discover new places. Public transportation follows a very precise route and does not offer as much freedom. Finally, the omnipresence of bicycles in the urban landscape also helps to reduce noise pollution.
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