Electric bikes offer hope as number of polluting motorbikes rises
BANGKOK, THAILAND, November 14, 2008: The electric-powered bicycle, or e-bike, is enjoying explosive growth in China, with numbers jumping from 10 million in 2005 to over 20 million in 2007, according to figures compiled by the Clean Air Initiative-Asia (CAI-Asia).
“E-bikes are good for the environment as they have much less impact on air quality and produce far less greenhouse gases than motorized two-wheelers,” said Cornie Huizenga, executive director of the CAI-Asia Center.
E-bikes in China owe their popularity to their low cost (between US$200 and $300), China’s bicycle culture, and supportive policies that allow e-bikes to use regular bicycle lanes, said Christopher Cherry, assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, during an interview at the Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2008 workshop in Bangkok. Dr. Cherry compiled a report on the e-bike in China for CAI-Asia. Moreover, the e-bike’s next major market could be Vietnam, says Dr. Cherry.
Unfortunately, while e-bikes do not emit pollutants on anything like the scale of motor bikes, in China their batteries are causing problems when it comes to recycling.
“They use lead-acid batteries and change them frequently, about once a year,” Dr Cherry said. In a market where recycling is informal, a lot of lead is lost in the process, with emissions released into the atmosphere and into the ground. Lead can affect people, especially children, adversely, impacting on neurological systems and mental capacity.
To be fair, China recognizes the problem. In 2005, a leading producer of batteries for e-bikes in China faced calls to close his factory from protesters who feared environmental damage.
It may take China and other Asian markets some time to catch up with environmentally friendlier e-bikes of Europe which use high-end lithium ion batteries. In China, said Dr. Cherry, there is currently no incentive in a highly competitive market for bike manufacturers to install a higher-end battery that may cost 50% more.
Remedial measures may be on the way, however. China is expected to introduce a policy aimed at restricting informal recycling of e-bike batteries by providing licenses only to recyclers who handle large quantities of batteries, said Dr. Cherry.
Such developments offer a glimmer of hope as the number of polluting motor bikes and three wheelers continued to rise sharply in Asia between 2005 and 2008, according to research conducted by the Clean Air Initiative in Asian Cities and the Asian Development Bank.
For example, the number of motorbikes leapt by 42% in Indonesia during this period – and by 40% in Vietnam, 38% in Thailand and 28% in India.
The number of three-wheelers also rose in this period. Motorized tricyles – like Bangkok’s tuk-tuks – often provide the “last-mile connectivity” in the urban transport system, linking commuters between homes or offices and buses or trains.
Between 2005 and 2008, the number of Indonesia’s three-wheelers went up by 50% and India’s by 29%. Due to tighter emission control measures by the authorities, the number of tuk-tuks in Bangkok fell by 64% in this period. Analysts also note that in Bangkok, motorcycles far outstrip tricycles in carrying commuters to the nearest bus stop, Sky train or subway station.
Such two- and three wheelers are major polluters but experts led by Narayan Iyer, an independent consultant specializing in two and three-wheelers, said they also have to be “recognized” as important modes of urban transport.
E-bikes are popular in China and if they catch on in other parts of Asia, they will reduce levels of polluting emissions significantly.
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By Anuraj Manibhandu, media@cai-asia.org
