Keystone-SDA
Quick electric bikes regularly exceed speed limits in residential areas. According to a study on data from Zurich cyclists, they regularly reach speeds of more than 30 km/h.
(Keystone-ATS) A research team from the Zurich Federal Polytechnic School (EPFZ) analyzed data from more than 17,000 trips of 351 cyclists in the city of Limmat.
According to the authors, the results provide a detailed image of the speed at which the different types of bikes are effectively moving into urban space, and where this leads to objective conflicts with infrastructure and traffic rules.
“This can provide indications on the places where existing regulations and infrastructure could be questioned or specified,” said Larin Maurer, principal author of the study, in Keystone-ATS.
The study distinguishes three types of bikes: classic bikes, electric bikes with assistance up to 25 km/h, as well as fast electric bikes with yellow license plate which can reach 45 km/h.
Different behavior
The latter reached an average of 27.9 km/h. They therefore rolled on average 8 km/h faster than bicycles without assistance, the average speed of which was 19.9 km/h.
The average speed of electric bikes without license plate was, with 21.9 km/h, closer to that of conventional bikes than that of fast electric bikes. These average speeds refer to road sections; If we consider the entire door bike tower to door, all types of bikes were slower.
According to Larin Maurer, the data suggests that fast electric bike users behave differently in traffic than other cyclists.
In addition, electric bikes stop longer at the crossroads than conventional bikes. While the conventional bikes awaited on average about 9 seconds per fire, the electric bikes stopped for 14 seconds and the electric bikes for 13.5 seconds.
According to the study, this could be explained among other things by higher speed and therefore more frequent stops or by using more frequented roads with more lights. These results were published in the specialized journal Cycling and Micromobility Research.
