Adopting 2011 EU regulation for electric bicycles and Pedelecs

In Europe new 250 watt pedelecs regulations in 2011 will,  reduce urban pollution,  provide sustainable mobility of  young and elderly riders and contribute to a more liveable future.  

Summary 

The  250 watt  “pedelec” is the safest electric bicycle. Designed in Japan and mass produced in Europe and China in the last 3 years. 250 watt electric bicycles and pedelecs have been banned in Australia since  2001. It offers a simple, healthy and viable alternative to much motor vehicle travel in  urban areas. The New 2011 EU regulations  and Australia should  adopt  them for 7 reasons.

1. In 2008 pedelecs were considered safe and used in countries with overall low road death rates per 100,000 population: Netherlands and  Sweden 4.0, Japan 4.7, Germany 5.4 and China 5.7.  All lower than  Australia with  6.8 in 2009.

2. pedelecs make productive use of  public  transport by enlarging PT catchment areas and making  cross suburban travel much easier across radiating rail and express bus networks. 

3. Riding a bicycle uses the ergonomic ‘mechanical advantage’ of pedalling over walking to go 3.5 times as far, making tenfold more  homes accessible to railway stations.  Pedelecs are even better and free up car marking space. Five Pedlecs can be parked in one car parking space.   

4. Millions of the  elderly  find walking and driving too stressful. In 1990 Japan conducted research which found that elderly cyclists needed  bicycles with  auxiliary  motors that  took 50% less effort to pedal, and contributed to their own overall wellness and mobility.

5.  pedelecs look similar to bicycles( see figure 1) with male, female,  fold up and tricycle frames;  have wheels 20 to 28 inches; weigh 15 kg  to 25 kg.; have automatic start by ignition key; cutting out  at 25 Km/hr;  and use EU  approved lithium batteries. 

6 pedelec designs  with regenerative  braking when slowing or going down hill extend  the life or range of batteries. They can also be charged during the day from solar cells.

7. At night pedelecs could be  charged with off peak  mains electricity or from  “back up batteries” in pedelec 'stables' at  places of work, study, shop or play,. 

The “back up batteries” would be charged from roof top solar cells during the day.  In future  pedelecs have the potential to reduce peak hour loads on power stations. 

1. History of electric bicycle legislation in Australia 

The regulatory framework in Australia is complex.  Due to having a  Federation of States and Territories each of which had its own road traffic  rules until the year 2001 when national uniform traffic laws were adopted by the Australian Federal Government, known as “The Model Australian Road Rules”. They were initially approved by the states’ Transport Ministers. By 2010 they had all failed to  create uniform road rules for  electric  bicycles (E-bikes) and electric scooters (E-scooters) in their home states. At this time National Bicycle Committee is attempting to deal with this problem. 

As the time of writing  Australian consumers are constrained  from buying the best and  safest pedelecs on the world market. This is so because Australia does not manufacture electric  bicycles and bans the importing of  E-bikes and pedelecs with electric motors of  250 watts, which are  fitted to nearly  all  potential imports. The States’ bicycle importers, assemblers, wholesalers,  retailers, and some transport researchers have been advocating an upgrade of the road rules in 2011 by   increasing the current 200 watt limit to 250 watts. Also needed  in 2011 is compliance  with EU safety standards for  ion lithium batteries and E-bike parts.

In  2010   the European Twowheeler Retailers’ Association (ETRA) was given an opportunity to explain in detail to the European Parliament why the European Union’s (EU)  new  2011 regulations for the review of the type-approval for two- and three-wheel motor vehicles is not well adapted to E-bikes and E-scooters and creates even more confusion than the previous  legislation, In the individual EU countries. . Therefore a  Member of European Parliament, Wim van de Camp, invited the ETRA  to make a submission to the EU. The ETRA  submitted a proposal based on two main principles applying to E-bikes and E-scooters.

1. Exclusion of all cycles with pedal assistance up to 25 km/h in order to allow the EU  to amend EN 15194, the current  standard. This would exempt these vehicles from the type-approval procedure and they would be classified as bicycles. As a result they could be used In the EU without helmets, drivers’ licences or insurance. 

2.  E-scooters  with pedals,  up to 45 km/h cycles that can be propelled  by the motor itself,  would still be subject to type-approval but the procedure would be adapted to suit so that unnecessary requirements would not apply. Australia has no mechanism of adapting to this EU requirement.

Clearly  a planning opportunity exists for the Australian Commonwealth Government to give consumers  and importers what they want  by adopting  EU E-bicycle and pedelec regulations, with the exception of compulsory helmet wearing. Indeed China is a major Australian trading partner and can mass produce safe pedelecs to EU standards for the Australian  market  at  low  cost.   

However  there are some planning and political constraints to be overcome.  Like the US government,  the Australian government is holding office by the slimmest of margins. 

Furthermore, Australia has a new  Federal Government  with a reshuffle of government departments, new advisory groups  and the need to implement new election promises.  Added to this, like the rest of the world, Australia has been struggling to deal with the global financial crisis and the need to adapt to climate change and future oil shortages. Pedelecs are a case  where the devil is in the detail and may be ignored by the bigger issues even though pedelecs in the long term may  contribute to dealing with these bigger issues and making our cities more liveable 

Alan Parker