Results from the North American E-bike Owner
Survey
TRB Emerging Vehicles for Low Speed Transportation
Subcommittee – January 2018
John MacArthur
Research Associate
Portland State University
UNITED STATES E-BIKE
USER SURVEY
U.S. e-Bike Survey
Survey Methodology
• Adapted from 2013 survey
• The survey was distributed
through industry distribution
channels, e-bike blogs &
forums, Facebook pages,
Twitter accounts, & retailers.
• May – June 2017
• 1,790 e-bike U.S. owners
responded to the survey
DEMOGRAPHICS &
PURCHASING DECISIONS
Geography of survey respondents
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Less than $15,000
$15,000 - $24,999
$25,000 - $34,999
$35,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $74,999
$75,000 - $99,999
$100,000 - $149,999
$150,000+
I prefer not to answer
Demographics
Income
70%
29%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Male Female
Gender
85%
4%
4%
3%
3%
1%
1%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
White or Caucasian
Asian
Prefer not to say
Other
Hispanic or Latino/Latina
Black or African American
American Indian or…
Race
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
18 to 24
25 - 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65 or older
Age
Demographic summary
28% indicated that they have a physical condition that
makes riding a standard bike difficult (n=1502)
93% did cycle as an adult with a standard bicycle
n=1501
16%
37%34%
10%
2% 1%0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor I prefer not toanswer
How would you describe your general state of health?
Purchase Decisions80% purchased an e-bike,
while 20% converted a standard bike to electric-assist.
Of the converted bicycles, 60% were newly purchased.
What type of e-bike did you have?
n=1790
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Standardbike
Mountainbike
Step-thru Cargo Trike Folding Other
Pe
rce
nta
ge
%
In which year did you purchase your e-
bike/conversion kit?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
2005or
before
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
80%
How familiar were you with e-bikes before
you purchased yours?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Very familiar Somewhat familiar Somewhatunfamiliar
Very unfamiliar
%
How satisfied are you with your e-bike?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Very satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Unsatisfied
Very unsatisfied
E-BIKE USE
Barriers that Limited Cycling Before
Purchasing an E-bike
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Hills made cycling difficult
Distances to places I wanted to go were too far
I biked enough already
Not physically able
I didn't like to arrive sweaty to my destination
Biking was too slow
I couldn't carry the things I needed (cargo or…
Weather conditions
Other (Please specify)
Concern for my safety
Other people relied on me to take my car…
Difficulty storing or securing bicycles
Top Ranked Choice Top 3 Choices
Motivations for Purchasing an E-bike
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Because I live or work in a hilly area
For recreation purposes
A medical condition reduced my ability
To replace car trips
To ride with less effort
To increase fitness
To ride longer distances to places I…
To carry cargo or kids
T0 start cycling or to cycle more often
It's a cost effective from of transportation
Other
For environmental reasons
To avoid traffic in my car
To be able to keep up with friends/family
To avoid parking hassles in my car
Top Ranked Choice Top 3 Choices
Bike Ridership Rates
4.36.2
19.3
14.7
30.3
25.1
35.6
6.3
18.2
12.4
19.3
8.3
0.9 1.8
5.8
42.3
49.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Pe
rce
nt
of
Re
sp
on
de
nts
Rode Standard Bicycle before Owning an E-bike Ride Standard Bicycle Now Ride E-Bike now
Mode Used for Various Trip Types Made
by Respondents
5.9 5.3 4.9 4.9
29.6
34.0
29.1
18.416.4
44.5
28.2
48.8
35.6
29.1
5.53.0
8.6
31.4
34.0
3.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Commuting PersonalErrands
Visiting Family Entertainment Exercise orRecreation
Pe
rce
nt
of
Re
sp
on
de
nts
Walk Bicycle*
E-bike* Drive alone*
Carpool/passenger/drive with someone else* Public Transit
Taxi/Uber/Lyft Bike share
Car share (e.g. Car2Go, ZipCar) Other
I do not partake in this activity
Last three times you used an e-bike…how
did you use it?0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Commute (work or school)
Entertainment, dining out, orsocializing
Personal errands
To visit family and friends
Exercise or recreation
Other
Ride 1 Ride 2 Ride 3All Respondents
Last three times you used an e-bike...how
would have you gotten there instead0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Walk
Drive Alone
Bike
Carpool/passenger/Drive with…
Public Transit
Taxi/Uber/Lyft
Bike Share
Car share (e.g. Car2Go, ZipCar)
Other
I would not have taken this trip
Ride 1 Ride 2 Ride 3All Respondents
If They Didn’t Have an E-bike: Trips
Replaced by E-bike
Percent of Trips by Mode that Would Have Been Used
Instead of E-bike
Active
Transportation
and Transit*
Automobile**
Would not
Have Taken
this Trip
Other***
Commute (Work or School) 40 46 1 36
Entertainment 8 9 4 6
Recreation or Exercise 29 9 89 39
Personal Errands 19 30 3 12
Visit Friends/Family 3 5 1 1
Other 1 1 2 6
Number of trips 1063 1778 987 69
Mileage/Trip 9 9 14 11
* Includes walk, standard bicycle, and transit
** Includes Drive Alone, Carpool and Taxi
*** Includes Other or not specified
Attitudes of E-bike Users
5.9
9.4
14.1
16.1
20
2
10
6.2
11
16.9
8.1
37.6
24.8
16.1
1.6
12.9
18.7
22
77.2
82.6
48.3
59.1
63.9
96.4
77.1
75.1
67
0 20 40 60 80 100
An e-bike's speed and acceleration is exciting.
My e-bike allows me to go farther than a standardbicycle.
My e-bike allows me to keep up with friends orfamily on bicycle rides.
To ride the same trip by a standard bicycle, Iwould need to shower at my destination.
I consciously conserve battery power when ridingmy e-bike.
I enjoy my overall riding experience on my e-bike
I ride my e-bike more than a standard bicyclebecause it is fun to ride
I would rather cycle than drive a car
It is important to reduce the amount of car trips Itake or fuel I use
Disagree or Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree or Strongly Agree
✔
✔
✔
Do you agree with the following statements?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
I feel safe riding an e-bike.
I feel safe riding a standard bicycle.
On my e-bike, other road usersmisjudge my speed.
On my e-bike, I feel like I go fasterthan other cyclists
On average, I ride faster than I wouldon a standard bicycle.
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
All Respondents
What are the benefits of riding an e-Bike?
What are the issues you have with an
e-bike?
Research Thrust Areas:
1. Market and User Behavior
2. Sustainability and Safety System Impacts
3. Health
4. Urban Freight
5. Shared LEVs
LEVER is a consortium of academia,
industry, government and non-government
organizations aimed to address collective
research needs of e-bikes and other LEVs.
LEVER is lead by researchers at University
of Tennessee and Portland State University
http://LEVresearch.com
Contact Information
John MacArthurPortland State University
Christopher R. Cherry
University of Tennessee
For more information & reports:
http://LEVresearch.com @LEVresearch
Questions