28 July 2023

Would you use an e-bike? Canberra's 'e-bike library' says more people are ditching the car

| James Coleman
Join the conversation
6
Canberra Electric Bike Library

Paula Mance, executive director for SEE-Change, with some of the electric bikes available on loan. Photo: James Coleman.

More households are choosing to ditch the car and use an e-bike to get to school or work in an effort to make money go further, according to the Canberra Electric Bike Library.

“Interest in them is definitely rising, because obviously you don’t have to spend money on fuel,” project officer Gabrielle Meiklejohn says.

“And you can get outdoors, get active, and see Canberra in a new way.”

Not-for-profit sustainability organisation SEE-Change has operated the Canberra Electric Bike Library for more than three years (with the support of the ACT Government), providing e-bike loans of up to two weeks.

READ ALSO After a record 259-day stay in the pound, Aero finds her forever home

The cost is a $35 insurance fee for individuals and $50 for families, payable to Pedal Power ACT.

Over the past 12 months, more than 270 Canberrans have taken out e-bike loans, to the point it’s rare to find spares lying around the office in the Downer Community Hall.

The library is capitalising on this growing interest by expanding its reach north and south through regular ‘come-and-try’ events, often attracting more than 70 people despite next to no advertising budget.

The next of these, at Impact Church in Monash, Tuggeranong, on Sunday 30 July will offer south-siders the chance to take a mix of electrically assisted commuter and cargo bikes on short test rides.

“A lot of our main users are people interested in replacing the car for the work commute,” Gabrielle says.

“Compared with a standard pushbike, an e-bike also makes active travel more accessible for those who might not want all the sweat and necessity to shower and change of the pushbike experience.”

These models stick with fairly conventional names like ‘Metro’ and ‘E-Commuter’, but those with extra cargo space or seating are called things like ‘Yuba Boda Boda’, ‘Krankie’ and ‘Sweet Curry’.

Gabrielle says the latter are also proving increasingly popular for young families, “as they can do the school run with the kids on the back, and ride into work all in one trip”.

READ ALSO ‘More popular than it’s ever been’: why chess is still champion in Canberra

Gabrielle says in about 30 per cent of cases, loaners become buyers.

“It’s always fantastic seeing the smile on someone’s face as soon as they’ve ridden an e-bike for the first time, and hearing how surprised they are at how easy it is,” she says.

Standard e-bikes range in price from $1500 for the most basic models to “as high as you like”, while those with extra seats or cargo space normally start around the $4000 to $5000 mark.

“I think that’s where the library really does help out,” Gabrielle says.

“It’s a low-cost two-week loan so people can really see how an e-bike might fit into their lives. Or, it if doesn’t, that saves them buying one and it just sitting in the shed accumulating dust.”

Canberra Electric Bike Library

The battery pack can be plugged into a standard power point to charge. Photo: James Coleman.

The come-and-try day on Sunday is the second so far this year for Tuggeranong, but for the first time, it’s also joined by the Tuggeranong Repair Cafe, another of SEE-Change’s initiatives.

On the last Sunday of every month, people are invited to bring along broken items, clothes and appliances so they can be fixed and saved from landfill.

The cafe has outgrown its previous premises at the Tuggeranong Community Centre and is moving to the Impact Church, for similar reasons to e-bikes.

“It’s been growing over time and becoming more popular as it becomes more well-known,” Gabrielle says.

The E-Bike Come and Try event will be held at Impact Church, 200 Clive Steele Avenue, Monash, from 1 pm to 4 pm on Sunday 30 July. Helmets are available, and there is free parking on site.

Join the conversation

6
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

I have had a recumbent e-bike for over 2 years and it has transformed my life. I hardly ever drive now. Have a trailer for it so I can do a fortnightly shop with it, carrying 60 kg. So much fun- gets me from city to Woden in 35 minutes, with no issues with finding or paying for parking and no need to shower. With Pedal assist I also get some exercise and it’s so much better for the environment to leave the car at home.

I built my own ebike from scratch. Its a great fun project, but its not a replacement for a car.

Edward Barnett2:39 am 30 Jul 23

Electric bikes are great for Canberra but you need my double deck Trailerbus to get them across town

I ride an e-bike on the weekend for recreation, but I wouldn’t ride it to work – too dangerous, with shoulders in some places barely wider than the handlebars. This and semis passing you with millimetres to spare is a death wish. Mind you, if there was a dedicated path, I’d ride to work

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.