Riding towards a greener future

Costing just pennies to run and with no tailpipe emissions, now is the right time to add electric motorcycles to your fleet, writes the Motorcycle Industry Association

One of the greenest forms of transport is the electric motorcycle. There are no emissions at point of use and they are quiet, reducing noise-pollution.
    
There are significant environmental and cost saving benefits to be achieved by adopting an electric motorcycle, so this could be the time to add them to your fleets or consider them as an alternative.

MOTORCYCLES VS CARS
Choosing a motorcycle over a car has many benefits and one of the most important factors in the current economic climate is cost-saving. Recent increases in fuel, insurance and tax is creating an environment where car travel is becoming increasingly prohibitive.
    
The financial benefits are very impressive. It costs as little as a penny per mile to run an electric motorbike. The duty paid on electricity is substantially lower than the duty paid on petrol. The bikes are exempt from road tax and the London congestion charge. What’s more, there are many places where you can park for free in London and in some Boroughs you can even park on the pay-and-display meter parking for free.
    
Motorcycles can be savers when it comes to fuel costs. With motorcycles  benefitting from greater average mpg figures than cars, commuters on two wheels are making dramatic savings on weekly petrol costs. Some 125cc models are returning over 130mpg including the Honda CBF 125 which can average an astonishing 160mpg.
    
Riding a 125cc motorbike or scooter only requires a day’s training and you could be on the road for as little at £60 per month. With road fund licence at only £15 a year and fuel economy at 100+mpg the savings you make on two wheels will soon mount up. 

GREEN CREDENTIALS
Bikes are actually less polluting than cars when they are in use, especially when using smaller capacity commuter bikes. Bearing in mind that you don’t see bikes sitting around in traffic jams and stuck in the stop-start cycle of rush-hour traffic, they are more likely to be moving at a constant speed then a car.
    
The average CO2 is 110g/km for fleet cars compared to 70g/km for smaller bikes. Motorcycles have a clear advantage over cars in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the smaller machines that dominate the urban/commuter sector tend to have CO2 emissions per kilometer of less than half those of the average car due to their far greater fuel economy (Government’s Motorcycle Strategy of 2005).

A GROWING MARKET
The Motorcycle Industry Association has just published a new report aimed at encouraging the government to recognise the place of electric powered two wheelers (e-PTWs) as part of its low carbon transport strategy.
    
The report was written in response to the omission of e-PTWs from the recent electric transport initiative called the Plug in Grant. As the media spotlight has followed the Grant and focussed on electric cars, the electric motorcycle sector has been left in a public awareness black hole. For a sector that has terrific growth potential and can offer a key component in strategies to reduce Co2, this is not good news and something that the MCI is keen to see change quickly.
    
The report outlines how e-PTW’s can be included in the phase two roll out of the Plug in Grant and also how through strategic support of the sector, the UK can position itself as a world leader in electric technology and development.  
    
Many of the e-PTW sectors leading voices and experts contributed to the writing of the report. This included existing major motorcycle brands, who are developing new technologies and also new market players and key individuals such as Victoria Atherton of Love2scoot, Alex Bamberg of Charge Point Services and Danny Tendler of E-City Wheels.
    
The MCI recognises that with the appropriate support, the UK e-PTW sector can become a strong and influential player in the development of a UK wide low carbon transport strategy, and that it is important that the sector develops its own voice and identity within the wider industry.

PRODUCTS AND MANUFACTURERS
The Motorcycle Industry has a number of members who are selling electric motorcycles including Zero, E-City Wheels, Escoota and Gnewt Scoot. Major manufacturers including Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki are also involved in this field and are working on developing new fuel technologies as they continue to push for greener credentials
    
Zero have just announced a new produce line for 2011 that is composed of exceptionally high quality electric motorcycles that balance performance, range, weight, affordability and availability.
    
Also, for the first time on an electric motorcycle, riders can now take advantage of J1772 public charging stations by using an optional accessory. This offers riders greater mobility by giving them access to a rapidly growing network of charge stations a key factor in expanding this market.

COMPANIES ON BIKES
When it comes to using bikes in fleets, Zero commented: “It’s still early days for Zero in the UK, but in the USA where the bikes are manufactured, they have been purchased by the Scotts Valley Police Department in California, to assist with local patrols and traffic enforcement.  It makes an interesting story and shows that electric vehicles can directly replace vehicles across all industries.”
    
E-City Wheels commented that the majority of their customers are private customers who use the electric scooters to commute. However, they do have once client who has en eco-friendly courier company called Gnewt Cargo, that use electric cargo bicycles.
    
With all the current talk of the environment and our need to reduce emissions, now is the perfect time for companies to plug in to the electric evolution and go green.
    
An electric scooter makes the perfect addition to any company’s fleet of vehicles. With their low maintenance and re-charging costs, their economical benefits will leave more than just the environment better off.
    
Electric scooters are a cost-effective solution to city congestion and commuting needs. Best of all they are a fun and efficient way for you and your staff to get around town.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the MCI’s manufacturers and their products and everything else about two wheels go to the industry’s website www.mcia.co.uk