Electric Bikes and Pollution

Riding an Electric Bike Can Save the World

Riding an electric bike has many benefits and most parts of the world is just catching up to this trend. We shouldn’t call it a trend; it’s more of a mission. We need a clean environment to increase our living standards, and for those who are coming after us.

Environmental Benefits of Riding an Electric Bike

An electric bike does not burn and fossil fuels, thus it does not release any gasses to the atmosphere. They use electricity as the primary source of power, which can be obtained by renewable energies, such air sunlight, the wind, tides, etc. Building an electric bike requires a lot less energy than a car, and it’s very similar to building a regular bicycle. When properly disposed of, batteries have virtually no effect on the environment. This part is essential, may it be the battery of your electric bike or your smartphone, never dispose your battery into the garbage.

Electric Bikes and Pollution Problem

Researches show that using your car for a mere 10-mile round-trip commute for five days a week for a year releases up to almost 2 tons of CO2 gas emissions. Considering the fact that most of us commute alone, our basic habits have an enormous impact on our planet.

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During its lifetime, on the road, each car produces another 1.3 billion cubic yards of polluted air and scatters an additional 40 pounds of worn tire particles, brake debris, and worn road surface into the atmosphere.

Bicycling significantly reduces transportation emissions while also reducing traffic congestion and the need for petroleum. The total number of pounds of pollutants, (comprised of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide), emitted per year is 12,140.30 lbs/year (or 0.97 lbs/mile) for passenger cars and 17,025.80 lbs/year (or 1.21 lbs/mile) for light trucks. (Source)

Electric Bikes to Reduce the Parking Problem

Most of us are not aware of this, but parking lots are a huge issue for the environment. We have to clear up more natural land which is the habitat of many living organisms. Not only that, we need to use asphalt, tars and other chemicals to build the actual ground of the parking lot. This mixture of chemicals not only pollute the air, soil, and water, it also causes another huge problem; heat! Every open air parking lot is a heat island, increasing the temperature in the area up to 10 degrees and adding up to our -already severe- global warming problem.

An average US parking space per car falls anything between 150-200 square feet. An average electric bike requires 7.6-8.5 sq ft of parking space. So, you can fit 26 electric bikes into one car parking spot.

Electric Bikes are Better for Short Trips Compared to Cars

As most car owners know, riding your car for short journeys, burn your precious fuel much faster than riding on a highway at a constant speed. The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center found that 60 percent of the pollutants created from motorized transportation during the first few minutes of the ride. In fact, starting the car cold and then driving up to four miles produces more air pollutants than driving on a long trip. The university found that 15 pounds of pollution could be saved if drivers would park their cars on short trips of four miles or less and ride a bike instead (**)

On average, Americans spend 55 days in traffic jams every year!

Economic Impact

Transportation is 17% of a person’s annual total expenditures. And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this percentage has been increasing by an average of 0.35% per year. (Source)

If you consider that an average Ariel Rider Electric Bike costs $2400, and charging your battery costs 0.8 cents, it can save you an average of 7-8k a year, considering you’re the type of a person who’d buy a new electric bike every year (which you don’t have to).

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