ABSTRACT

E-bikes are bicycles with a battery-powered motor assisting the rider. With sales rising rapidly in many countries, e-bikes are likely to become a key component of a transition towards a low-carbon mobility. However, there is a scarcity of research into either the similarities or the differences between the practice of e-cycling and conventional cycling. The paper proposes a theoretical framework to address (e-)cycling based on the notions of motility (individuals’ cycling potential) and bikeability (spaces’ hosting potential). The framework is applied to a large-scale survey (14,000 bike commuters in Switzerland). The analysis shows that the e-bike makes it possible to overcome some of the barriers faced by conventional cyclists, such as distance, gradient and physical effort. The e-bike empowers more people to cycle, across social groups (women, couples with children, people over 40, people with a lower physical condition) and spatial contexts (suburban and rural areas). By reaching groups and spaces that are more motorised than average, the e-bike expands the practice of cycling as a complement or alternative to automobility. However, both e-cycling and conventional cycling share many characteristics (e.g. motivations) and face similar challenges (in terms of a lack of infrastructures, etc.).

摘要

电动自行车是带有电池供电的电机来辅助骑手的自行车。随着许多国家的销量快速增长，电动自行车很可能成为向低碳出行过渡的关键组成部分。然而，缺乏对电动自行车和传统自行车实践之间的相似之处或差异的研究。该论文提出了一个理论框架来解决基于运动性（个人的骑自行车潜力）和可骑行性（空间的承载潜力）的概念的（电子）自行车。该框架应用于大规模调查（瑞士 14,000 名自行车通勤者）。分析表明，电动自行车可以克服传统自行车手面临的一些障碍，例如距离、坡度和体力。电动自行车使更多人能够跨社会群体（女性、有孩子的夫妇、40 岁以上的人、身体状况较差的人）和空间环境（郊区和农村地区）。通过到达机动化程度高于平均水平的群体和空间，电动自行车扩展了骑自行车作为汽车出行的补充或替代方案。然而，电动自行车和传统自行车共享许多特征（例如动机）并面临类似的挑战（缺乏基础设施等）。