Nearly a quarter of Europeans “now willing to commute to work by e-bike”

Shimano STEPS has revealed the results of a European e-bike study looking at people’s willingness to commute to work by e-bike.

The research of over 12,000 people across ten markets revealed that 24% of European commuters would consider switching to an e-bike. Almost half of the population of the Netherlands (47%) would commute to work by e-bike, the highest in Europe, while 39% of people in Spain and 33% in Italy would make the switch.

The research also revealed that across Europe, the main reasons to consider commuting to work by e-bike are to keep fit (34%), to protect the environment (30%), and to save money (30%). People are put off riding an e-bike to work because of the possibility of bad weather (37%), the cost of an e-bike (34%), and arriving to work sweaty (25%).

People in the UK are the least likely to choose an e-bike to commute to work, with only 11% willing to consider making the switch. The possibility of bad weather (43%) and arriving to work sweaty (35%) were the main reasons for the UK public to resist the switch.

“We’re seeing huge growth in the e-bike market across Europe and this research highlights the likelihood of widespread adoption of e-bikes to commute to work in the future,” said Jeroen Van Vulpen, brand manager at  Shimano STEPS.

“We know that there is already a strong cycling culture in specific countries, where those who’ve made the switch to an e-bike have found that bad weather is rarely an insurmountable problem and sweat is a thing of the past when you let the electric assistance take the strain. It’s really encouraging to see that across all markets, people are willing to switch to an e-bike to keep fit and protect the environment.”

“We welcome this research from Shimano, which confirms that there is huge potential for power assisted bicycles, especially combined with the building of longer distance cycle highways,” said Ádám Bodor, advocacy director at the European Cyclists’ Federation.

“These bikes are a great addition to the bicycle family contributing to sustainable active transport by being available to substitute ever longer car journeys.”