Kat McCarthy writes in the Bay Post this week about two local residents who use their electric bikes to commute around Eurobodalla. Clare Lovelace commutes 20kms from her home in Broulee to her business in Batemans Bay. “…. with an e-bike, the ride is so much easier – you pedal with help up the hills, then get to coast down the hills. The more hills the better! It takes me about 40 minutes each way, it’s fast and enjoyable, keeps me fit and is really fun.”
Moruya Bicycles is reporting a surge in purchase of e-bikes – more than 50 percent of its total sales now attributed to e-bikes, against around 4 percent just two years’ ago.
“In the last few years (e-bike sales) have gone crazy,” Angus Murphy from Moruya Bicycles said. “In 2016, we had three types of e-bikes for sale and maybe sold 12 in the first year. “In 2020, we’ve sold about 300 e-bikes.”
Visitors are taking advantage of an e-bike rental service run by Moruya Bicycles in partnership with volunteer group Southcoast Health and Sustainability Alliance (SHASA) since 2018. Mr Murphy says the response to the hire service – offering e-bike trials for a modest fee – has been overwhelmingly positive. “A higher percentage use e-bikes for recreation, but some for commuting, shopping, visiting friends or going for a coffee,” Mr Murphy said. “Many riders do 80 percent recreation and 20 percent commuting trips.”
SHASA President Kathryn Maxwell – who uses her multi-purpose e-bike for commuting and shopping, as well recreational mountain-biking – says innovation benefits cyclists. “I’ve been riding e-bikes for the past 10 years and have seen significant improvements in their comfort and operation. I can ride around Moruya for three weeks on a single charge,” she says.
Recently, SHASA has formed an Electric Transport Committee to further increase awareness and uptake of electric and active transport in the Eurobodalla. Read the full article from The Bay Post here.