The electrically assisted bicycle (VAE) is “the missing element that would solve the equation of sustainable mobility”, according to Équiterre. This mode of transport could replace up to 25% of trips currently made by car in Greater Montreal, according to a report from the organization published Wednesday.
The conclusions of the document, produced in collaboration with the Mobility Chair of Polytechnique Montréal, stem in part from of the Vélovolt experience. As part of this, which took place over the last three years, more than 1,000 people from 50 organizations across Quebec were able to participate in VAE trials.
Their mounts were equipped with GPS trackers, thus making it possible to measure the distances traveled. The data from this study were subsequently combined with those from larger surveys, explains Marilène Bergeron, deputy director of educational programs at Équiterre.
“In the year following their trial, we surveyed those who had been part of the project and 37% of them said they had reduced the use of their car for their home-work journeys,” underlines Mme Bergeron.
However, the electrically assisted bicycle is still too “little known”, she laments. However, it is the “missing piece” to the puzzle of sustainable mobility, she believes.
Indeed, “through its capacity to democratize the use of the bicycle and to increase its spatial reach, the VAE contributes to diversifying sustainable transport options and complements public transport and active modes”, maintains Catherine Morency, professor and holder of the Mobility Chair at Polytechnique Montréal.
Act “on all fronts”
In order to encourage the practice of electric-assisted cycling among the population, it is necessary to act “on all fronts”, underlines Marilène Bergeron. “We must increase the number of formulas like BIXI which provide self-service VAEs in Greater Montreal. »
“It could be a service offered at the scale of an MRC where several cities come together, or even in the industrial sector where companies come together to offer VAE services to their employees,” she says.
Financial incentives for the purchase or rental of VAEs should also be introduced, according to the report.
To increase the number of fans of electric-assisted bicycles, cycling infrastructure remains “the crux of the matter”, believes Mme Bergeron. We need to establish more, particularly outside major urban centers, she specifies. “There is all this concern about being able to move between more distant neighborhoods or between different cities. »
Further details will follow.