A close-up view of the motor mounted on the back of an e-bike, behind the rider's seat.

Can Incentivizing E-bikes Support GHG Goals? Launching the New EV Incentive Cost and Impact Tool

Jun 25, 2020

Authored by Mike McQueen and John MacArthur, Portland State University

Electric bikes (e-bikes) are quickly becoming common in U.S. cities and suburbs, but we still have a ways to go compared to our neighbors across the Atlantic.  In recent years, e-bike sales have steadily increased with unprecedented growth in Europe, especially in the Netherlands. Can the U.S. catch up? E-bikes offer a cheaper alternative to car travel and also provide physical activity. Riders with limited physical ability find that e-bikes...

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E-bikes

Love Your E-Bike? Join a New National Sustainability Study

Mar 09, 2020

MOBILITY BY E-BIKE STUDY

Share your trips with transportation researchers to grow knowledge about e-bike mobility and sustainability.

We're seeking e-bike users from all over the U.S. to join a new research project led by John MacArthur of Portland State University and Chris Cherry of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. They're looking at the sustainability effects of e-bikes and utilitarian travel behavior of e-bike users, including origin, destination, route, time, speed, mode replacement, and trip purpose. Passively share your trips with us - just plug in a dongle, download our app, and ride like you normally do. The study is open to U.S.-based participants who ride an e-bike with a Bosch onboard computer, and use an iPhone.

Questions? See our Frequently Asked Questions. To learn more and participate, visit the Mobility By E-Bike Study project website.

HOW DOES THE STUDY WORK?

1) Instrumentation

Researchers developed a low-impact instrumentation platform that leverages and merges the unique capabilities of e-bike and smartphone sensors. This technology relies on communication between the e-bike and...

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Student Spotlight Video: Mike McQueen on Expanding E-Bike Incentive Programs

Feb 06, 2020

Mike McQueen is a second year PSU masters in transportation engineering student working with John MacArthur and Kelly Clifton. A two-time Eisenhower Fellow, and the 2019 YPT National StreetLight Fellow, Mike researches e-bike travel behavior, and in this video he describes his work on How E-Bike Incentive Programs are...

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Portland State University Releases Evaluation Of Bike Share Equity Programs

Jul 25, 2019
Photo credit: Ian Sane
John MacArthur and Nathan McNeil, Portland State University

This article was authored by Stefani Cox of the Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP), and cross-posted from BBSP News.

This week, Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) releases a new research report comparing equity-oriented programs across several U.S. bike share systems. The research finds a variety of methods in place, ranging from affordability to internal hiring practices and beyond. The report is assisted by Toole Design...

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Two people ride e-bikes off into the sunset

The E-Bike Potential: Addressing Our Climate Crisis by Incentivizing Active Transportation

May 23, 2019
John MacArthur and Michael McQueen, Portland State University; Christopher Cherry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
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Biketown Station

BIKETOWN Bike Rides Now Free to PSU Students

Jul 12, 2018

This article was authored by Kurt Bedell of Portland State University Media and Public Relations, and cross-posted from Portland State University News.

Portland State University students may now ride Portland’s iconic bright orange BIKETOWN bikes for free.

Thanks to a new agreement between PSU and BIKETOWN, Portland’s bike share program, current Portland State students may now ride any available BIKETOWN bike up to 90-minutes per day at no cost by signing up for a student membership online.

BIKETOWN is Portland’s city-owned bike share program, which provides 1,000 shared bikes at over 100 stations across downtown and several neighborhoods. The PSU campus is now considered a Super Hub Zone, which means that BIKETOWN bikes may be parked in any public bike rack on the PSU campus without penalty. Previously BIKETOWN bikes could only be parked and locked in BIKETOWN stations and other designated areas or riders would incur a $2 penalty.

“Portland State is already among the top five most bicycle-friendly colleges and universities in the nation,” said Clint Culpepper, PSU’s transportation...

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The Fun of Biking With the Ease of Driving: E-Bikes Offer Both

Apr 05, 2018
Principal Investigators: John MacArthur, Portland State University; and Christopher Cherry, University of Tennessee
Learn more about this education project by viewing the Executive Summary and the full Final Report on the Project Overview page.

If more drivers switched seats to a bicycle, there would be immediate and tangible benefits on the road. Widespread adoption of bike commuting could improve public health through increased physical activity and reduced carbon emissions, as well as ease the burden on congested roads. However different lifestyle demands, physical ableness, and varied topography create an unequal playing field that prevents many from replacing their car trips.

Electric bicycles (e-bikes) are a relatively new mode of transportation that could bridge this gap. If substituted for car use, e-bikes could substantially improve efficiency in the transportation system while creating a more inclusive biking culture for people of all ages and abilities.

A newly published NITC study by John MacArthur of...

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The Research Continues for More Equitable Bike Share

Feb 12, 2018
Principal Investigator: Nathan McNeil, Portland State University
Learn more about this research by viewing the Summary Report, related publications and the three Final Reports from each phase of the research on the Project Overview page. Hear firsthand from the researchers by watching the August 2017 webinar.

The third and final phase of our bike share equity research project has been published, with new findings from a survey of bike share users.

Riders targeted for equity-focused outreach efforts—lower-income individuals and people of color—were most likely to cite cost savings or discounted membership as reasons why they joined, while higher-income and white users were more likely to cite the convenience of using bike share. Lower-income riders were also more...

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Survey Insights Could Help Underrepresented Residents Reap the Benefits of Bike Share

Jun 26, 2017
Principal Investigator: Nathan McNeil
Learn more about this research by viewing the Summary Report, related publications and the full Final Report on the Project Overview page.

Also check out this series of articles about the project from our partners at Better Bike Share Partnership:

Evidence has...

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Operator Survey Illuminates Barriers to Bike Share Equity

May 29, 2017
Principal Investigator: Nathan McNeil
Learn more about this research by viewing the Summary Report, related publications and the full Final Report on the Project Overview page.

While bike-sharing systems become increasingly common in American cities, questions about the equity of such systems are making their way to the forefront of the conversation.

Bike share can provide a cheap and healthy means of transportation, but many systems are not serving the lower-income and minority populations who, arguably, could benefit most from having the additional travel option.

A survey of 56 bike share system operators in the United States offers an overview of how these equity concerns are being addressed.

The survey is part of a larger research effort, Evaluating Efforts to Improve the Equity of Bike Share Systems. To gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities involved in providing more equitable bike share, TREC and NITC teamed up with the Better Bike Share Partnership: a collaboration between PeopleForBikes, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), the...

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