Leeds in top ten cities for e-bike growth by 2050

Electric bike popularity is increasing as more people discover the health, environmental and money-saving benefits of cycling short distances over the use of cars. The rise in popularity will have positive impacts on both the environment and the population’s health and wellbeing, according to experts.

Motoring and cycling retailer Halfords has predicted that more than one and a half million e-bikes will be sold in the UK in 2050. Leeds will see a substantial growth in sales, with approximately 21,172 estimated to be sold.

Jim Martin, editor of Tech Advisor, said “I think technology-enabled bikes becoming so popular is partly due to tech becoming mainstream, but also because it’s now more cost-effective than before to add technology to just about any product.”

“By the year 2050, I expect e-bikes will be cheaper, lighter, and have a longer range than current bikes. The integrated technology within the bike may also improve dramatically and could include more safety features.”

Craig Bennett, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said the rise in e-bikes, combined with a 5.7 per cent decline in new car registrations in the UK in 2017, could be extremely beneficial to the environment.

He said “Electric bicycles can potentially play a big role in cleaning up our transport by removing dirty vehicles from our roads and getting people onto two wheels. People who may have previously been unable to travel by bicycle could have an entire new, cleaner way of getting around.

“By getting more people out of their cars we can look to a future where our towns and cities are not choking on polluted air.”

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