Electric bikes are taking over the streets of China. Last year, Chinese bought 21 million e-bikes, compared to 9.4 million autos. China currently has about 25 million cars on the road but has four times as many e-bikes. E- bikes are essentially pedal bikes with an electric boost to make you go faster. They can go to speeds up to 12 mph and can travel 62 miles on a full battery charge. Now, the country has become the world's leading market for these cheap, green vehicles, helping diminish harmful effects of the automobiles that used to swarm the streets. People want more convenient means of transportation but not everyone can afford a car. "Motorcycles are too dangerous, cars are too expensive, public transportation is too crowded and pedal bikes leave you too tired," says Hu Guang, Xinri's deputy general manager. "So people buy e-bikes." Xinri is a leading manufacturer of these e-bikes. In its first year Xinri built about 1,000 bikes. China has about 1 hundred million people riding on e-bikes. E-bikes are a green choice and reduce the fatality rate on the streets. Do you think you should implement these in your country? These futuristic bikes may just be the answer to your traffic problems.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1904334,00.html
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Not only are electric (the title of this blog using electronic is not quite correct) bikes popular, practical & environmentally sound, so are scooters. In many parts of the world, such as Asia and Europe, motor scooters are a popular form of urban transportation due to their low cost and easy driving position. In fact, in many nations in Asia, scooter sales growth outpaces automobile sales growth. Besides, scooters possess other advantages over automobiles such as: low initial cost, low fuel cost, low insurance cost, environmentally sound, easy to fix, easy to park & store. Note: in many Asian & European cities, parking space/garage is an expensive proposition we take for granted in North America.
ReplyDeleteAlong the same line, your team should do similar research on mopeds too! How similar & how different is a moped compared to a scooter?
Anyway, good choice of your mission topic & look forward to hearing strong researches from you guys!
I think e-bikes is a great idea for both school-going kids and working adults. This way, biking to school or work is "no sweat". Maybe, there can be family e-bikes too which will help the countless number of moms dropping off kids in different classes etc., or a quick trip to the grocery store. Where and when can I get one in California?
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