In 1897, Hosea W. Libbey of Boston patented the electric bicycle. When Libbey tweaked his invention to put the concept into production, the internal combustion engine followed. Cars whizzed by, and transportation was defined as the next century.

Today, there is no doubt that the car is still king when it comes to personal transportation. But now, more than 120 years after Libbey's invention, e-bikes are quietly making a comeback. Air pollution, noise pollution, traffic congestion and the pursuit of a healthier lifestyle are now global concerns and people are looking for better alternatives for their transportation and commuting needs. In fact, fat tire e bike riders traveled 586 billion kilometers worldwide in 2018. And the movement is moving fast. "E-bikes are one of the greenest forms of motorized transportation available today," said Jon Egan, a leading urban transportation and planning consultant and commentator on electric and autonomous vehicles. "Their battery-powered motors make short commutes easy and longer distances more feasible."

Egan said that as technology continues to improve and battery prices drop, electric bikes will become more affordable and will increasingly challenge fossil-fuelled motorcycles and cars as the transportation of choice in many of the world's most congested cities tool.

It is in rapidly urbanizing countries that e-bikes are taking root the fastest.

In the 1990s, China implemented stringent anti-pollution laws to combat toxic air quality that had serious impacts on public health and the economy. As a fashionable and youthful means of transportation, electric bicycles are now regarded as a "must have" for young urban professionals in China's big cities, with half as many electric bicycles as cars.

"You have to look at the history of personal transportation in places like China and across Southeast Asia to understand why e-bikes are so popular," Egan said. “Cars were always too expensive for most homes and bicycles, so motorcycles and scooters are the accepted means of transport. Not only does this make the use of e-bikes more natural, it also means that roads and transport infrastructure have Much better for cycling."

The speed at which e-bikes are adopted in Asia shows how promising they are globally.

"For anyone who has spent time in Bangkok, Hanoi, Guangzhou, or Manila, you can only imagine the potential improvements in air quality, reductions in noise pollution, and the promise of fewer road deaths as e-bikes continue to reshape transportation. ,” he said of Egan.

But what about in the West? Are American and European commuters ready for a change, too? In 2018, the global e-bike market was estimated to be worth nearly USD 21 billion. While e-bike sales in the U.S. were only around $77 million, that was almost double the previous year's total.

Egan believes more can and should be done to encourage e-bikes.

“Convincing suburban families to swap their SUVs for electric bikes is a big enough challenge,” Egan said. "Our cities are designed around the car - multi-lane highways, strip malls. The sheer dominance of the car has led to a lack of sidewalks and bike lanes. We're going to have to make major changes to our cityscapes to accommodate the multitude of e-bikes .”

But there are places in the US where e-bikes are being successfully trialled. For example, the New Urbanism community of Seaside, Florida, is promoting electric bikes as part of the solution to growing traffic and parking challenges.

“The waterfront and adjacent new urban communities attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year,” said Justin Dunwald, manager of the YOLO Board + Bike store in Gulf Plaza, Florida. "As traffic congestion increases, e-bikes are rapidly being adopted as a solution."

Waterfront authorities have recently had to impose parking bans, ban cars, and even pedestrianize the city center — all in an effort to recreate the town's fundamentals as a walkable, bikeable town that doesn't need cars at all. community.

Travel destinations are often a great way to seed ideas and try new things. Visitors to the seaside from car-centric locations like Dallas, Atlanta and New Orleans are more likely to rent e-bikes and ride them to the beach for a day or dinner one night as a vacation experience. If the experience is good, maybe they'll consider trying it again when they get home, initially as a leisure option but starting to break free from the car's grip on their transportation options.