Nelson engineer Frank Witowski – the designer of the Hybrid E-bike – says if the government is serious about hitting its 2050 carbon zero target, its “got to do a lot more than just subsidising electric cars.”

Witowski – a former solar engineer – knows something about hitting net zero targets. Hybrid's range of bikes are the only E-bikes in New Zealand to be certified “climate positive” – one step up from carbon zero.

The solar power system on his house – which doubles as the Hybrid Bikes HQ - produces more electricity than the business requires and when he’s not riding one of his carbon fibre Hybrid bikes, he can often be seen on the company’s UBCO electric motorbike.

And the evidence backs up Witowski’s claim that bicycles have a vital role to play in decarbonising cities.

A study by Oxford’s Transport Studies Unit found that bikes were 10 times more important than cars in reaching the net zero target.

The University of Oxford’s lead researcher, Dr Christian Brand, said: “If just 10% of the population were to change their travel behaviour, the emissions savings would be around four per cent of lifecycle CO2 emissions from all car travel.”

“Nearly half of the fall in daily carbon emissions during global lockdowns in 2020 came from reductions in transport emissions. The pandemic forced countries around the world to adapt to reduce the spread of the virus,” he said.

The German-born Witoski, was the supreme winner of last year’s NZ Business’s David Awards.

E-bikes important but cost not the main barrier: Wood

Minister of transport Michael Wood says e-bikes have an important part to play in the transition to a low carbon economy, but he’s not convinced there’s a need for a subsidy.

“The fact that e-bike sales are booming is very encouraging, but I do note that this fact does suggest that price may not be a significant barrier in the way we know it has been for other e-vehicles,” Wood said.

And he’s not wrong about the popularity of e-bikes. Last year about 75,000 were sold up from 23,000 in 2017.

Witowski says any subsidy should be limited to bikes that will primarily be used for commuting and not extended to high-end e-mountain bikes that can cost as much as a small car.

Wood says transitioning the transport sector to a low carbon economy is a “central priority” for the government.

He says the Emissions Reduction Plan discussion document - Te hau mârohi ki anamata – Transitioning to a low-emissions and climate-resilient future – noted the importance of making e-bikes more accessible for low-income New Zealanders.

“As a sustainable mode of transport, e-bikes make cycling easier and faster for people, which broadens the pool of cyclists.”

But points out that the document also noted that real and perceived safety risks are the main barrier facing cycling.

“The Government’s primary focus in this area is on creating networks of safe, separated cycleways, as this is the best way to harness the potential of e-bikes in New Zealand.”

“Nonetheless we are looking at all options to rapidly decarbonise our transport system and I don’t rule out policy in this area. I’ll look closely into public submissions on the discussion document before we decide any concrete paths forward.”

Subsidies common overseas

Italy recently announced a scheme that will see citizens of cities with populations of more than 50,000 entitled to a  €500 subsidy towards buying an e-bike.

Munich offers its citizens a €1000 Euro grant to buy e-cargo bikes as family transport.

And similar subsidies are available in Austria, Switzerland, France and Belgium.

The BBC recently reported that when Hamburg dedicated €700,000 to subsidise 33% of any newly purchased cargo bike in the city, the money was used up in less than 30 minutes.

Britain has an eCargo Bike Fund that provides  £1.2 million to local councils promoting the use of eCargo bikes for the transporting of goods.