[sustran] Re: More on UNEP, electric bicycles?

[Pguitink at worldbank.org]

In The Netherlands electric bicycles are very popular among the elderly.  It is
a kind of 'hybrid' where you have the option to use it as a bicycle, or to
switch on the electric 'engine' which is mainly used with strong headwinds or to
climb one of the (scarce) hills.  The speed of these hybrids is limited by law
at 25 km/h. and they share the bikepaths with other bicycles without any
problems.

Recently, the law in The Netherlands has been changed, putting mopeds which are
going faster (by law up to 40 km/h, but in reality up to 60-70 km) again on the
road where they were some 20 years ago.  While I have not seen any accident data
yet, I think this should work well in urban areas where traffic speeds are
generally in the 40-50 km/h range,but I am not sure how it affects interurban
traffic.

Cheers,

Paul Guitink
Sr. Transport Specialist
Latin America and Caribbean Region
MSN I5 506
The World Bank
Phone + 1 202 473 3948
Fax +1 202 676 9594