CAN ELECTRIC TRIKES TAKE A BITE OUT OF CLIME?

A surprising new chart  from Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows e-bikes are displacing twice as much oil as all the world’s electric cars, buses, vans, and trucks combined – nearly a million barrels of oil every day. 

That’s about two percent of total road fuel demand, because e-bikes can get the equivalent of up to 4,000 miles per gallon even when relying on electricity generated from fossil fuels.

3.  More e-bikes = fewer cars. No one is suggesting e-bikes can tackle epic road trips or a trip to the lumber yard, but over half of all car trips in the US (and around the world) are less than three miles, and two-thirds are under five miles, according to the US Department of Energy. Almost all the e-biking in a 2022 Swedish study was at the expense of car usage. That is to say, e-bikes weren’t replacing walking trips or pedaling but car journeys—which decreased by a hefty 37%.  Splitting the difference with a trike. Bloomberg reckons three-wheelers are the hottest new EVs, especially among older riders (one in five Americans will be over 65 by 2040). E-trikes are slower and less wobbly than e-bikes, and can carry a lot more stuff. The latest models are (apparently) a lot better at going around corners than kids’ trikes were, but are still a pain to park.