One of the curiosities of debates about cycling in the UK is that almost all of them centre on the place with the greatest concentration of not only bikes but also politicians and journalists: inner London. Inevitably this is just a small part of the story. Much of the current focus is on so-called share bikes operated by companies such as Lime and Forest – nippy electric-assist machines that can be picked up and left on pavements.
On Saturday, a Guardian investigation revealed that councils in the capital have so far this year seized 3,393 dangerously parked or abandoned ebikes, a number 23% higher than the total for the whole of last year. Depending on your view, ebikes are either a gamechanging boon to short-distance urban transport or, if we heed the testimonies of those who have been menaced or injured, a dangerous and lawless scourge. But even this misses the point.
Outside the handful of urban areas where Lime and their competitors operate, the ebikes that exist are privately owned. And many of these are not, at least under the law, ebikes at all. This can sound complex, but bear with me.
To be classed as an ebike, a machine must have a powered speed limit of 15.5mph and a motor that only kicks in when you pedal, not via a throttle. Wander around pretty much any UK town or city for long enough and you will see contraptions that very much do not meet these criteria. They might look broadly like a bike, with pedals and a chain.
But they are often throttle-powered and can travel much, much faster than 15mph. They are illegal electric motorbikes. This is a vital distinction to make before you start discussing ebikes, and whether they are, indeed, a brand new peril on our streets.
Now that we know where we are, how much, if at all, of the media scare stories about ebikes or their illegal cousins have a basis in fact? Again, it’s slightly more complex than it might seem. If you hang around central London, it won’t take too long to see someone on a Lime bike sail serenely through a red light, sometimes weaving awkwardly through gaggles of pedestrians.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
