Dott riders have taken to the streets wearing a specially designed ‘car frame’ to highlight the space saving potential of e-bikes.
The e-bikes were ridden around London, Paris and Brussels to show how single occupancy car journeys take up room for at least four cyclists.
Reducing the number of cars on London’s roads by just 20,000 cars would free up more than 88km of roads, according to the operator. That is equivalent to more than the length of the north and south circular roads combined and enough space for another 80,000 bikes. This would be a modest target, equal to under 1% of London’s 2.64 million registered cars.
One of the big issues is the high number of car-trips with just one person. Data from the Department for Transport (DfT) reveals that 65% of all trips are single occupancy. This means a modest switch from car trips to cycling could substantially decrease congestion across the capital.
James Taker, one of Dott’s volunteer riders who wore the frame on his e-bike, told Zag Daily: “We hoped to show that our streets can become more open and pleasant places if just a small percentage of car users switched to cycling. There was a lot of curiosity when we took to the streets, and we found that passers-by and motorists were supportive of our message to encourage sustainable travel.”
According to the Mayor of London’s office, many journeys in the capital could easily be completed by bike. It found that two-thirds of London car trips could be cycled in under 20 minutes.
Taking up micromobility modes of transport would not only alleviate pressure on London’s roads, it would also improve air quality too.
Transport for London (TfL) said the volume of road traffic now means 100% of Londoners live in an area where pollution exceeds the latest recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Road vehicles are the single biggest cause of London’s air pollution, producing nearly half of all nitrogen oxide.
“Our latest project highlights the absurdity of single drivers hogging the capital’s roads, when other forms of transport are openly available and so much better for both the individual and the community,” said Henri Moissinac, Co-Founder and CEO of Dott.
“It’s time we reimagined how we travel across our cities, which is why we’re here to unlock London with clean rides for everyone.”
Following Dott’s launch of 250 e-bikes in Hammersmith and Fulham, it is now looking to expand its fleet across the city to help more people make the switch.
