‘E-bikes are ideal for island, but we need more cycleways’
A LOCAL bike shop owner wants politicians to respond to the surge in the popularity of electric bikes by providing better cycling infrastructure.
At Ian Brown’s Cycle Shop nearly half of the shop floor is now dedicated to electric bikes, to reflect the growth in demand.
During 2018 the shop saw a 300% increase in electric bike sales following the introduction of a States-subsidy scheme.
When that scheme closed it was expected that sales would level off, but in fact they increased again last year by a further 44%.
A traffic survey in the latest review of the Integrated Transport Strategy recorded a significant increase of people on bikes, with more and more islanders swapping a regular bike for an electric bike.
The survey also found that it is often faster to travel by electric bike around the island, compared to other types of transport.
For instance, a typical commuter journey from the Bridge to Town, departing at 8am, took 30 minutes and 16 seconds in a car, and on an electric bike it was 16 minutes and 26 seconds.
Ian Brown would like to see the island respond to shifting habits by creating segregated cycle routes.
‘Maybe turn some back lanes and some routes into St Peter Port into cycleways. There’s enough ways to get into Town in a car, but, for instance, St Jacques or the Gibauderie or somewhere like that could be a two-way cycleway, rather than having all routes into Town just clogged by cars.
‘If we get more people onto bikes it will mean those main highways like the Gravees and the Grange will be less dense with cars.
‘People use it if it’s provided – that’s a fact, that’s an absolute guarantee, if you provide cycle facilities people will use them.’
During his 40 years of working in the industry Mr Brown has seen it all.
In the 1980s BMXs were the rage, then in the 90s mountain bikes became popular, and, more recently, road bikes have become popular.
One of the main pluses of electric bikes is that they open up cycling to people who might not have considered it before.
Mr Brown said electric was the future, and he has sold e-bikes to everyone from teenagers to octogenarians.
‘I think they’re perfect for Guernsey because the island is 25 miles round and no destination is further than five or 10 miles away and that’s the perfect range for an e-bike, so they lend themselves perfectly to Guernsey’s topography.
The Guernsey Bicycle Group has also called for more investment in cycling infrastructure, to challenge the ‘car is king’ mentality, which they believe still exists on island roads.
