Electric bicycles

This refers to the news report, ‘China will adjust the maximum speed of electric bicycles to 25 km per hour’ (Jan 24). An electric bicycle is a vehicle with an integrated electric motor which can be used for propulsion or moving forward. E-bikes use rechargeable batteries, electric motors and some form of controls. The batteries used in these bikes include sealed lead-acid and nickel-cadmium or lithium-ion polymer. The energy cost of operating an e-bike is quite small, but the cost increases when the battery is replaced. The battery of an e-bike can be charged from the mains at the charging stations set-up for this purpose at different locations. The battery requires eight hours to charge, which provides a range of 40 to 48 km, at a speed of around 20 km/h.

China is the world’s largest manufacturer of e-bikes. It produced 22.2 million units in 2009. E-bikes have a lot of health benefits, especially for those requiring cardiac rehabilitation. Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation can reduce the risk of death by around 27 percent. E-bikes are zero-emission vehicles as they emit no combustion by-products. The cost of a Chinese electric bike is around Rs60,000. If we want to start the use of e-bikes in Pakistan, we will have to train the users keeping the existing traffic culture in view. Special lanes will have to be created for this purpose.

Air-Cdre (r) Azfar A Khan

Karachi