Electrifying change

“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”

— H.G. Wells

Robin Mwai pulls a key fob out of her handbag and swipes it across the Trek BCycle docking station on the Capitol Square to unlock an electric-assist bicycle. Mwai isn’t planning a long ride, just a quick pedal back to campus.

Mwai had previously used Trek’s regular red BCycles but says there is no comparison to the new white e-bikes, which offer a seamless boost in power from a battery-operated motor tucked into the bottom bracket.

“I’m a big fan,” says Mwai, a senior at UW-Madison who works in the Dean of Students Office. “It’s a pretty speedy way to get around to class. And with the fob it takes like three seconds to get it unlocked, which is great if you’re running late.”

Pat Nichols, a 63-year-old therapist, is also smitten. He suffered a pulmonary embolism two years ago and for a time resigned himself to a sedentary lifestyle. But then he purchased an e-bike from Crazy Lenny’s. “It’s honestly been a life-changer for me,” Nichols says.

Nichols uses a full electric boost to help during his seven-mile morning commute to the office. On the way home, he usually turns the motor off and rides under his own power to get in more of a workout.

“Thanks to an e-bike, I’ve been able to incorporate bicycling back into my daily routine,” he says. “Now, I’m starting to go out and do more exploring on the weekends.”

E-bikes aren’t cheap. Quality electric bicycles run $1,500 and up, more than three times the cost of a basic commuter bicycle. But the industry is finding e-bikes appeal to cyclists wanting to extend their range, those seeking to replace short trips typically made by car or people simply looking to go for a fun spin.

Economic development officials are cheering e-bikes for providing visitors a quick and easy way to get around regardless of their fitness.

“Wisconsin is already known as a great biking state and this is going to make us even more welcoming to bikers of all levels,” says Kristie Schilling, CEO at Monona East Side Business Alliance.

Electric-assist bikes or “e-bikes” are bringing major changes to the self-propelled transportation space. It’s arguably the most dramatic design improvement in bicycles since the introduction of chain drives in the 1880s and has persuaded millions of Americans to reduce their reliance on cars. Sales at retailers like Crazy Lenny’s E-Bikes are soaring, both among experienced cyclists and novices.

But e-bikes are not the only new game likely coming to town. E-scooters — which can be located and rented using a phone app — are now even more popular than e-bikes, especially in warm weather places like Austin or Atlanta. While Madison has yet to allow any of the national scooter share companies to launch a fleet here, other Midwestern cities, including Milwaukee and Chicago, have launched pilot projects to judge their viability.

The potential benefits of these new ways to move around town include relieving parking and traffic congestion in dense urban areas, reducing carbon emissions and pollution, and improving health, both physical and mental. But, as with any new technology, come challenges and growing pains.

It’s easy to envision the nightmare of scooters cruising down Campus Drive or cluttering downtown sidewalks. Meanwhile, the growing number of e-bikes on designated paths and city streets is already adding to traffic and safety concerns for both traditional bicyclists and policy makers.

Some bikes are capable of traveling 20 mph on the motor alone, which might be a bit too fast for novice riders or community bike trails. “E-bikes are coming so fast, they have kind of gotten ahead of the ordinances and rules,” says Darren Marsh, director of Dane County Parks, which is charged with maintaining and monitoring activity on the popular Capital City State Trail.

Marsh is glad to see people enjoying the area’s natural resources whether they are bicycling, hiking, hunting or fishing. At the same time, he says regulators want to make sure not to jeopardize the concept of “passive recreation,” where users must do a bit of work to earn a payoff.

 “You run into some gray areas,” Marsh says. “I mean you want people to get outdoors but you do lose something when you hike two miles up to a scenic vista and then someone rides up on an ATV.”

Madison’s Dan Bier has found himself surprised on more than one occasion by an e-bike rider speeding past on the Southwest Commuter bike path near his Midvale Heights neighborhood.

“I’ve got to say it’s a little disconcerting when someone flies by you,” says the 71-year-old Bier, a retired UW administrator. “It certainly adds another variable to the equation.”

Whether the proliferation of e-bikes will cause a spike in bike crashes remains to be seen. Dr. Brian Patterson, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, says bike crashes are already “pretty common” in Madison, especially in the summer when the ER might see several a day on weekends. But they still represent just a fraction of total visits. 

“I have seen a few e-bike crashes but not a ton when compared to other bicycle crashes. And of those I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem like speed is a major factor,” he says.

Patterson says most bike accidents involve people turning on gravel at the bottom of hills or interacting with other riders or cars, and he doubts whether having the electric assist makes a significant difference.

“If popularity increases, and more people with little bicycling experience start riding, it certainly seems possible that we’d see more accidents,” says Patterson. “Whether the bike is electric or not, the most important safety factor is wearing a helmet.”

There are some disturbing crash injury statistics coming out of China and Europe, where e-bikes have been around for two decades and now outsell regular bicycles. E-bikes are heavier and potentially more difficult to control. The power assist can send riders zipping along much faster than they could otherwise.

One recent study found that e-bike crashes now represent “a sizeable proportion” of emergency room visits in China. A survey from the Netherlands found the death toll for men on an e-bike went from 20 in 2016 to 38 in 2017 — with a staggering 31 of the 38 over the age of 65.

Separate studies in Israel and Switzerland found more injuries for users of electric bicycles and crashes with pedestrians.

Due to crash concerns, New York City has for several years been battling e-bike users, most notably delivery service riders. After a 2017 crackdown, the city settled on a compromise allowing e-bikes that boost speeds to no more than 20 miles per hour.

Of course, imposing speed limits on electric bikes is tricky. Many Lycra-clad riders under their own power already push past 20 mph and what cash-strapped police department is going to send officers out to stand around with a radar gun waiting to catch scofflaws?

Moreover, with 40,000 Americans killed in auto-related accidents each year, bicycle accidents barely register as a public health concern.

Still, to long-time bicycle commuters like Craig Weinhold of Madison, e-bikes are proving both a blessing and a curse. While he’s thrilled to see more people leaving their cars behind, he’s already seen close calls during his ride into work on the Capital City State Trail, which includes some narrow, twisting stretches in Fitchburg frequented by pedestrians.

Weinhold recounts recently seeing an older rider coming down a hill at high speed and apparently out of control on an e-bike. “She skidded sideways and somehow managed to keep it upright but had that look of death in her eyes,” Weinhold says.

There’s an art to riding smartly and safely, especially in urban areas. Many cyclists spend years learning to handle a bicycle, how to avoid obstacles, how to safely apply the brakes, how to maneuver around pedestrians, motor vehicles or other bicyclists.

But when an inexperienced rider hops on a motorized bike, they may not be ready for the ride of their life. State laws require no license or driver’s test to operate an e-bike.

Weinhold is particularly concerned that Wisconsin is poised to approve what would be the least restrictive e-bike law in the nation. (A separate bill permitting electric scooters, but giving local units of government the ability to regulate them, was signed into law earlier this year by Gov. Tony Evers.)

The e-bike bill, which has been approved by the state Assembly and Senate but not yet signed by the governor, would codify an electric bicycle as “a bicycle that is equipped with fully operative pedals for propulsion by human power and an electric motor of 750 watts or less,” according to an analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

It would bring electric bicycles under the same rules of the road as other bicycles and afford them the same responsibilities and privileges, allowing them on paved bike paths, gravel state trails, and off-road single track trails where mountain bikes are already permitted. About 30 states now have laws specifically related to e-bikes.

The Wisconsin proposal differs from other states, however, by allowing the faster “Class 3” e-bikes — which provide an electric boost up to 28 miles per hour — to operate on off-road paths and trails unless specifically banned by local governments. Weinhold maintains allowing Class 3 e-bikes “by default” is going to lead to more user conflicts, crashes and problems.

“Stories of fools and speed are pretty commonplace,” offers Weinhold, an IT consultant at CDW in Fitchburg who recently posted a YouTube video showing an e-bike rider racing past him on the Capital City Trail.

But Steve Arnold, board secretary of the Wisconsin Bike Fed, calls concerns about safety or congestion largely overblown. He maintains the state’s pending e-bike legislation is actually “pro-democracy” since it lets local governments and the Department of Natural Resources decide where e-bikes should be allowed or prohibited.

“Yes, there is going to be a learning curve for new riders but anything that gets more people out on bikes is a good thing,” says Arnold, the former mayor of Fitchburg.

Weinhold unsuccessfully lobbied the Legislature to remove the Class 3 default provision. Angela Roidt, a spokesperson for state Senate President Roger Roth (R-Appleton), stresses that local governments will be able to “opt-out” of allowing Class 3 motors.

“The bill was written working in tandem with the Bike Fed and no bike groups registered against it at the hearing,” Roidt says. “We are creating a regulatory framework recognizing e-bikes as closer to traditional bikes than motorcycles. Municipalities and the DNR can regulate bikes allowed on paths under their jurisdiction.”

Renee Callaway, the city of Madison’s new pedestrian bicycle administrator, calls for educating new riders while addressing bad behavior on the streets and trails. The city recently erected signs on the highly congested John Nolen Drive bike path that cuts under Monona Terrace urging caution and slow riding when others are present.

“At this point, more outreach is going to be our best approach,” says Callaway.

In other words, don’t expect a return of the uniformed bicycle monitors the city employed back in the 1990s who would blow their whistles and chase down cyclists violating traffic laws.

If e-bikes are causing some hand-wringing in Madison, just wait until electric scooters hit the streets.

Policy makers and regulators around the country are scrambling to get a handle on a public transit technology that is causing chaos in many cities. While e-scooter share programs have enabled more people to get around without cars, scooters have ended up scattered about in alleys or tossed carelessly into waterways.

This year, electric scooters surpassed electric bikes in rentals. An April report by the National Association of City Transportation Officials said riders took 38.5 million trips on shared electric scooters in 2018 versus 36.5 million trips on shared, docked bicycles.

Although Wisconsin law now permits the use of electric scooters on roadways, Madison is in no rush to allow any companies to bring them in. The city had previously talked about a scooter pilot project, but it now appears on hold.

“Scooter companies typically do not operate in the winter in northern cities and any e-scooter share program would need to be approved through the city process so it would not be feasible to have e-scooter sharing this year,” says Callaway, who has been contacted by e-scooter sharing companies looking to operate here.

And there is big money behind the e-scooter sharing market. Bird, which launched the electric scooter revolution in the U.S. in 2017, is currently valued at over $2 billion. Another major player, Lime, now partners with Uber to offer scooters within the Uber app. Spin, which started as a bike-share startup, has since gone all scooters and was recently acquired by automaker Ford.

The craze worries emergency room doctors, who urge riders to take caution and wear helmets — something few seem to do. A study by the Austin, Texas, health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 20 people were injured per 100,000 scooter trips and 15 percent of those injured suffered traumatic brain injuries. The report looked at actual crashes in Austin during a three-month period in 2018.

Jack Craver, a former Isthmus contributor now living in Austin, says scooters have overwhelmed that city in just two years. “I think people view the scooters as easier in every way than e-bikes,” says Craver, who covers transportation issues in his Austin Politics newsletter.

Craver notes that while e-bikes require less physical effort than regular bikes, scooters require zero physical effort. That’s an important consideration in a place like Austin, where triple-degree heat is common.

“Lots of people haven’t ridden a bike since childhood and feel uncomfortable riding them, particularly in an urban environment,” says Craver. “But ironically, I think e-bikes are probably safer than scooters because [e-bikes are] much more stable and have better brakes. You have much better control on a bike.”

Midwest cities are proceeding slowly. Minneapolis is now conducting a pilot with 400 scooters while Chicago this spring rolled out scooters on a limited basis in neighborhoods on the west, northwest and southwest sides. It’s now surveying residents on the program, which ends Oct. 15. Milwaukee is also gathering input on its scooter pilot, which was put on hold in August after numerous complaints about people riding on sidewalks. Milwaukee officials are hoping the vendors can improve compliance with regulations before proceeding with a permanent program.

Most cities limit scooter speeds to 15 mph and prohibit scooters from operating on sidewalks but, again, enforcement is difficult. One approach is holding the scooter company responsible when its equipment is not parked upright, or is blocking loading zones or doors to buildings. That puts the onus on users to take a picture of how the scooter is parked and to provide it to the vendor to prove it was done correctly.

The bottom line is that the transportation game has changed in ways few could have predicted two decades ago. Most observers don’t see any drop-off in adoption of the new technologies with industry experts saying e-bikes will eventually replace regular bikes entirely.

E-bike sales in the U.S. increased 83 percent between 2017 and May 2018, and now make up more than 10 percent of domestic bikes sales, according to a bicycle industry analysis.

Waterloo-based Trek, which began operating its BCycle program in Madison in 2011, has introduced some electric bikes in 11 of the 43 cities in which it operates but Madison has the only all-electric fleet. It operates about 350 electric bikes here and has seen ridership triple since the fleet changed over this year (see story next page).

“After seeing e-bikes’ positive effect on Trek’s business, we were confident they could provide a similar boost in bike share,” says Morgan Ramaker, BCycle’s executive director. “The results have exceeded our expectations.”

Ramaker notes that 37 percent of their customers say they drive less often because of BCycle.

“At Trek and BCycle, our goal is to change the world by getting more people on bikes,” she says. “Electric bikes help us do that, appealing to both our previous riders and to new riders who may not have considered or been physically able to ride regular bikes. Riding an e-bike is such a game-changing experience and it’s great to be able to introduce so many more people to it.”

E-bike advocates like Hannes Neupert, founder of ExtraEnergy, a nonprofit German consultancy that has been plugging battery-powered cycling since the 1990s, says traditional bicycles will soon go the way of the passenger pigeon or the dodo bird.

“Electrification will kill the mechanical bicycle within a few years like it has killed many other mechanical products,” he told a transportation conference in 2010. “Bicycles will remain as historical items hanging on the wall.”

But given the millions of bicycles already on the road — and the attachment many feel to their trusty rides — it’s seems unlikely traditional bikes will simply vanish. Many still appreciate the wonders of moving so nimbly using only their two legs.

As Susan B. Anthony remarked over a century ago: “She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life.”

Today, that might include a technological boost. But to those who appreciate seeing the world without looking through a windshield, truer words were never spoken.

Tweet: The new electric bike share run @Madison_Bcycle has been wildly popular. It’s also got a few kinks to work out.

Description: Madison’s BCycle program was the first to go all-electric with 350 bikes that have electric assist motors. Since then, ridership has nearly tripled. But some riders have experienced dead batteries and an inaccurate smartphone app.

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Troubleshooting

BCycle has some kinks to work out with its popular e-bike share

Considering that Madison is the beta site for the first all-electric BCycle fleet, it’s not surprising there have been growing pains here.

In June, Trek-owned BCycle switched out its traditional red rental bikes in Madison for white electric bikes, which feature a Bosch motor that helps riders pedal up to 17 mph before the assist cuts out. Users can choose to use the electric assist or not via a handlebar function key.

Madison is the first of 43 BCycle markets in the U.S. to go all electric and ridership here has been up nearly three times since the introduction of the e-bikes, according to Morgan Ramaker, BCycle’s executive director.

There are about 350 BCycle electric bikes on the streets of Madison rotating among 44 different locations, mainly in the central city but running as far east as the Madison College Truax campus and as far west as University Crossing off of Whitney Way.

But the popularity of the electric bikes in Madison has led to frustrating cases where the bikes in a BCycle kiosk have low or no battery life.

Ramaker says there are BCycle crews working in the field from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. most days of the week, swapping out batteries as needed in addition to performing normal preventative bike maintenance. A big part of the routine is “bike balancing” — moving bikes to and from empty or full stations to make sure they’re where riders need them.

“The e-bike batteries only drain with use, so the positive news is that any time a battery is low or dead, it’s because of the phenomenal interest in riding the bikes,” she says.

There is a battery level meter located on the speedometer display and the BCycle phone app clearly urges users to check the level before paying and unlocking a bike from the docking station.

“I can say from experience, that is very important,” says Steve Arnold, board secretary of the Wisconsin Bike Fed.

But in cases where BCycle hasn’t yet swapped out a battery, Ramaker says the 45-pound electric bikes still pedal as well as the traditional red bikes — although the onus is on users to do all the work.

“There is no ‘drag’ from the motor when it is off and the e-bikes are actually about the same weight as the old bikes, even with the addition of a motor and battery,” she says.

Another problem reported by users involves the BCycle phone app, which in some cases will show bikes available at a particular kiosk when in fact there are none. Ramaker says BCycle is addressing the issue but says it has occurred relatively infrequently.

“The app is continuously being worked on to improve the user experience,” says Ramaker. “We pushed an update just last week and have another waiting for App Store approval.”

BCycle e-bikes can be rented online for $5 for a 30-minute ride, plus $5 for each additional 30 minutes. Weekly passes are $16, monthly passes are $20 and an annual pass goes for $100.

“As the first BCycle system in the country to go 100 percent electric, we are learning and adapting our processes every day to better serve our customers,” says Ramaker. “Reliability is key, so we hate to hear of anyone having less than an awesome e-bike experience. We are always listening and taking seriously all customer feedback. We’ve been incredibly grateful for how supportive the Madison community has been as we blaze this new trail and develop best practices for systems across the country.” 

— Mike Ivey