For an online PDF version with pictures please visit: http://www.ecf.com/4423_1
Brussels—May 19, 2011
Would a pension for dinosaurs have prevented their extinction?
Car industry receives massive injection of tax money – neglecting real and existing E-mobility alternatives
With the recent hype surrounding electric mobility, it is often forgotten that the bicycle industry already has a proven and economically viable solution. German Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s decision yesterday to subsidize the emerging Electric Car (E-Car) industry, as well as Shanghai’s recent announcement to provide 20,000 yuan (EUR€2160) in subsidies to buyers is a step in the wrong direction. European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) sees the sustainable transport system of the future lying with bicycles and Electric Bicycles (E-Bicycles) for individual mobility needs in urban areas and with public transport for longer distances.  ECF will be going to the International Transport Forum in Leipzig next week to underline the fundamental role both bicycles and public transport have to play in the search for more sustainable transport solutions.
Recent headlines have prominently featured ‘mobility’ as a key issue, albeit with the magical world ‘electric’.“German cabinet agrees plan to boost electric cars”, “Germany is to go Electric” and “Right of way for E-cars” are but a few of these fresh headlines. Shanghai’s active encouragement of E-Car purchase and Merkel’s recent decision- to provide €2 billion in 2013 for Research and Development to the electric car industry, as well as additional tax incentives for buyers - may appear sustainable on the surface.  After careful analysis however, ECF holds serious doubts about the viability of such schemes.
Merkel’s aim to have 1 million electric cars on the road by 2020 is not as impressive when recalling the 42 million regular cars already on German roads. This means these electric vehicles will only represent approximately 2% of the market share.  What’s more impressive and out of the public eye is that Germany already has about 1 million electric vehicles on the roads: E-Bicycles! Sponsoring the car industry for ignoring trends in which the Bicycle Industry is already active is out of place.
ECF, along with a host of opposition parties, associations and environmental groups-including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), and the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU)-expresses doubts on the E-car’s environmental credentials, viewing Merkel's plans as nothing more than a willingness to inject further government funds into the automobile industry. Even leading national newspaper editors are part of the growing group of critics.
"The decision to provide subsidies makes no economic, environmental or moral sense," notes Dr. Bernhard Ensink, ECF Secretary General, "lack of Infrastructure still remains an expensive barrier, electricity needed to run the car still produces CO2 emissions and they have failed to address the issue of equal access to public space, including pedestrians and bicycles”
Decision makers have ignored the silent E-Bicycle revolution already sweeping across Europe and its cities. According to the ZIV, the German bicycle manufacturers’ association, sales are sky rocketing. 2010 saw sales of more than 200,000 E-Bikes and Pedelecs[1] in Germany alone, and it’s expected to hit 300,000 this year representing a further 50% increase. E-bikes are anticipated to reach a 15% market share in the near future, which translates into roughly 600,000 units a year.
The outlook in the rest of Europe is even rosier with more than 700,000 E-bikes being sold in 2010, a 40% increase compared to 2009 figures. In the Netherlands alone, up to 50 % of the total turnover of a bicycle dealer comes from the sales of Pedelecs. This hard evidence proves that the bicycle industry has already tapped into this trend without financial assistance while generating a considerable economic impact to the national bottom line.
Additionally, both the bicycle and the electric pedal assisted bicycle remains a more affordable solution for consumers.  Average prices for quality Pedelecs are generally between €1700 – 2300. Although this may appear expensive at first glance, the one and only mass produced car to date, the Mitsubishi i-Miev, sells for €34,000, with a Tesla fetching more than €100.000. These figures are without mentioning the expensive running costs that owning a car entails. Pedelecs, conversely, require minimal maintenance and only take a few cents to charge a battery, ranging up to 125km. Current issues of battery life and range which plague the Electric Car Industry simply do not apply to Pedelecs as they can be ridden like normal bicycles once the battery is empty.
Last but not least –E-Cars fail to address society’s need for more ‘Active Mobility’. A Recent WHO ‘Global status report on non-communicable diseases” highlighted more physical activity such as cycling as the best way to tackle chronic diseases. Riding a bicycle or Pedelec means that the rider is out in fresh air, getting physical activity and enjoying an ‘uncaged’ and socially interactive world: an experience that Electric cars simply cannot offer.
At the upcoming ITF forum in Leipzig Manfred Neun, President of ECF and Dr. Bernhard Ensink, ECF Secretary General will be putting regular cycling-with or without the ‘E’-on the global transport agenda. The ITF conference will focus on ‘Transport for Society’: attendees include Ministers of Transport from 53 countries attending. ECF aims to have these Ministers recognise and incorporate bicycles more prominently into their national transport systems. Bicycles should be given as much, if not more, attention than the car industry is currently receiving.
“Regarding energy efficiency and transport, the benchmark on passive mobility is clearly set by the train, the benchmark on active mobility by the bicycle. The German government-even with investments in e-mobility-is creating a tremendous imbalance by prioritizing motorized transport and neglecting the much higher potential of train travel and cycling,” Neun remarks.
ECF will present the “Charter of Seville”, at the International Transport Forum. Representatives from 47 countries adopted this charter at the Velo-city Seville conference in March 2011.  This charter calls upon all Ministers to recognize and acknowledge the documented advantages and benefits of cycling as a daily alternative mode of transportation.
“At the ITF, we’re calling for more public resources and space to be given to the bicycle and for its important role in both mobility and e-mobility to be recognized,’ explains Neun, before adding, “But no matter how the bicycle is powered, with just pure human power or with an electric assisted motor –cycling means happiness, cycling is community building and as everyone can have a bicycle, cycling is democracy.”
About ECF: European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), representing 500,000 active members in almost 40 countries, views cycling as integral to tackling the negative social, health and environmental impacts arising from current dominant transportation patterns. As well as advocating for better cycling policies at the EU level, ECF has a range of programs including the trans-European EuroVelo route network, the academic ‘Scientists for cycling’ network, the “Cities for Cyclists” network and the Presto Project . It also organises the annual international cycling planning conference: Velo-city.
About ECF’s participation at the ITF: ECF will be attending the International Transport Forum (ITF) to put cycling firmly on the transport agenda and to make sure that it is taken seriously as a viable mode of transport.  It will present the “Charter of Seville”, the most recent policy document launched by the ECF at the Velo-city 2011 conference in Seville. This document reflects the voices of cycling enthusiasts, activists, decision-makers and politicians from all over the world. It highlights the benefits of cycling as a daily mode of transport, citing improved health, reduced traffic congestion, significantly cheaper infrastructure, and lowered transport emissions among many other advantages.
As well as having a booth presence at the ITF,  ECF president, Manfred Neun will be presenting at the forum during the plenary session on mobility rights, needs, expectations and costs (Wednesday 25th of May) and at the innovators platform (Thursday, 26th of May)
A media event at the ITF (Wednesday 25th of May) will encourage ministers to add their signature to the “Charter of Seville”, and proclaim their support for cycling policies, cycling infrastructure and to promote the use of the bicycle for transportation.

[1] the usual term used for a ‘PEDal-ELECtric’ assisted bicycle, with a maximum speed of 24.5 km/h

For more information please contact:
Julian Ferguson, Communications Officer
Tel: +32 2880 9281Email: Αυτή η διεύθυνση ηλεκτρονικού ταχυδρομείου προστατεύεται από κακόβουλη χρήση. Χρειάζεται να ενεργοποιήσετε την Javascript για να τη δείτε.
For more pictures of E-Bicycles please visit: http://www.ecf.com/4422_1
For pictures of ‘VIPs’ on bicycles, please visit: http://www.ecf.com/4405_1