ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on e-bikes, and addresses the full array of Light Electric Vehicles, for example hover boards and modified golf carts. Traditionally, planners consider five major travel and commute options or modes, including walking, biking, driving an automobile, riding a bus, and using rail-based systems. The chapter presents two design vehicles: e-assist bikes, commercially available bikes with speed governors—roughly 250-watt motors and e-power bikes, which are more frequently home-built, have longer ranges, and often have higher average and top speeds. Bike passing lanes allow two speeds of cyclists to coexist without conflict. These designs were originally conceived to simply help faster cyclists separate themselves from slower cyclists. The electric bicycle constitutes a nearly new mode of transportation, a mode between other modes. City leaders, transportation advocates, bike planners, and engineers need to acknowledge and thoughtfully consider middle modalism in transportation planning and design.
