Electric bicycles in The Netherlands: Current developments and future possibilities

Developments with electric bicycles in the Netherlands are progressing rapidly. The number of electric bicycles sold is rises every year. Cycling is a very popular mode of transport in The Netherlands. In 2008 more than one million bicycles were sold. At the moment one out of ten bicycles sold is already an electric one. Electric bicycles are popular among the elderly and people with physical constraints. The government also wants to stimulate commuters to use the e-bicycle instead of the car. There are a few reasons for this: Less congestion, more environmental and health benefits. Research performed by TNO showed that commuters who use an electric bicycle might drive 1.5 times further than with a traditional bicycle, allowing a large group of potential new users to use cycling as mode for their commuting transport. The number of trips by bicycle has to potential to grow by 3 to 5% and the number of bicycle kilometres to grow by 4 to 12% even. The number of car trips might decrease with 1.6% and the number of car kilometres with a lower value due to the replacement of mainly shorter car trips. Pilot projects are set up now to introduce e-bicycles to commuters. A majority of the participants of the first two pilots held are positive about the e-bicycles as an alternative for the car in commuting traffic. An extensive large two year pilot will start in Eindhoven to stimulate commuters to use the e-bicycle instead of the car. TNO will investigate the mobility effects of the use of the e-bicycle from this pilot