Walking and Cycling

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Transport is already the most significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the ACT. It is also fast becoming the major contributor in the rest of Australia as the electricity sector is increasingly using renewable energy. 

I have three major strategies for reducing my greenhouse gas emissions related to transport:

  1. Prioritise walking and riding a bike – to assist this, I purchased an electric bike
  2. Buying an electric car – this is shared with my partner
  3. Limiting flying for long distance travel

I discuss the first in this blog post. I will discuss the second and third in my next two blog posts.

In order to limit emissions from transport, I adopt the following strategy for moving around Canberra:

  • Use online communication (e.g. Zoom) to avoid traveling at all. One of the lasting benefits of COVID is everyone’s willingness to embrace using online communication.
  • Walk or ride an electric bike if the destination is within about 2 kms e.g. My local shops is about 1.5 kms away and I am seen regularly walking the path to the shops.
  • Ride an electric bike if destination is within about 10 kms e.g. when I was working, I had a 10km bike ride to get to work. Many of the activities I undertake are within the 10 kms.
  • Use buses. This does not happen very often and typically only arises if my partner and I both have activities at the same time. Currently, Canberra buses are not electric which means that riding on a bus contributes directly to greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Drive an electric vehicle, which my partner and I share.

Buying an electric bike has enabled me to make a significant drop in my greenhouse gas emissions related to transport. It has meant that I have no need to purchase a second car. My partner and I share an electric car and that is the only car we have. 

I totally enjoy riding the electric bike, although it can be challenging in the rain!

Costs

I purchased an electric bike in 2017 for $2,200.

It has meant that I have not purchased a second car, which is a significant financial saving in both initial purchase and ongoing costs.

Benefits

Buying an electric bike has lots of benefits beyond reducing my emissions, including:

  • I am exercising when riding the electric bike with significant health benefits.
  • It is frequently easier to find a parking spot for an electric bike than for a car. This is particularly true in the Canberra city area.
  • The electric bike means that you can wear normal clothes when riding and you don’t need to change when you get to the destination. This is not always the case if riding a non electric bike.
  • The electric bike allows me to easily ride up hills.
  • It can be quicker to get to a destination on an electric bike than using a car. This is frequently true if I need to go to the Canberra city area.

Challenges

There are some challenges with an electric bike, which require ongoing work:

  • Canberra can be cold and/or wet on the electric bike, especially during the winter months. It is important to have warm and rain gear when riding the bike.
  • Sometimes I need to ride the bike on roads which places me at risk of being hit by a car. I will not ride on the major Canberra roads – they have bike lanes on the side of the roads but there is no protection between bikes and cars. I will ride on back streets where frequently there is very little traffic. I make use of bike paths whenever possible and Canberra has a good (not perfect) network of bike paths.

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