Electric hire bike firm Bolt has appealed for policymakers to support safe cycling infrastructure to help reduce congestion and pressure on public transport.
Sharing some new research undertaken by the dockless e-bike hire operator, Bolt explained how it experienced a 685 per cent spike in usage in Kensington & Chelsea during the September Tube strikes and highlighted some barriers putting more people off cycling.
Significantly, Bolt suggested 40 per cent of people surveyed who said they do not use rental e-bikes said they would consider using them in future, but a quarter of potential users cite safety concerns as a factor putting them off.
Over half (52 per cent) said their hire bike being electric would give them greater confidence to cycle.
Of the people surveyed who said they were not likely to consider hiring bikes in the future, a quarter said they were not confident cycling and 41 per cent highlighted road safety concerns.
Bolt’s micromobility chief in the UK John Buckley believes e-bikes “alleviate pressure on buses and trains, making daily commutes less stressful for everybody” and that “by giving people more transport options, we can reduce congestion, improve air quality, and offer Londoners greater flexibility in how they move around the city”.
On the design and usage front, Buckley suggested electric bikes are more accessible, with “lower frames, making them easier to mount, and the fact they’re battery powered makes them easier to pedal and use generally”.
“Confidence is key to getting more people cycling,” he said. “That means safer cycling infrastructure, consistent regulation across boroughs and cities, responsible operations and clear public education. If we get that right, micromobility can reduce pressure on public transport, cut congestion and give millions more people a flexible, affordable way to move around.”
Last month, Bolt reported it was facing a bizarre headwind in the form of rival e-bike companies apparently moving its hire bikes out of bays in a bid to get them seized for bad parking.
Bolt, compiled a dossier of evidence and sent it to The Times newspaper accusing its rivals of deliberately moving e-bikes to get them impounded by the council for bad parking.
3 thoughts on ““Confidence is key to getting more people cycling”: Build more safe bike lanes to reduce congestion and public transport pressure, hire bike chief urges”
Confidence comes from safety and safety comes from infrastructure and driver behaviour. Seeing how there is little to no appetite for changing driver behaviour, infrastructure is the answer.
@mctrials23 indeed. The other theory is that if only there was perfect driving * cycling / walking would be great with no need for “infra” ** – thus saving cash.
But alas – except under very specific circumstances – mixing motor traffic and vulnerable road users is not a good plan. Motorists feel held up”, vulnerable road users don’t trust the drivers of the big fast vehicles, and they bully everyone else out of the space. (It doesn’t take many as this mode is space- inefficient).
Wishing for better humans is a very old game, arguably with little progress. Behaviour change can be really hard and even with enthusiasm for it such projects can backfire.
But design spaces suitably and you may get the behaviour change as well. We can reach a virtuous circle. With cycle paths pedestrians are usually further from motor traffic. That may encourage more walking. With more people outside motor vehicles there may be more demand for “nicer places” (those motor vehicles are loud, even electric ones, due to road noise).
* Or sufficiently better, which is hard to define, as it’s actually pretty safe now in the UK. And how does that happen? The common idea is “police it better” which I think has several issues (rapidly increasing costs / diminishing returns etc).
** Or is it “there is only motor infra”? I mean if people drive safely what need for footways – or separated motorways?
National UK average is now 150.9 a litre. Think necessity rather than confidance is going to get more people cycling soon.