GOALI: Collaborative Proposal: Novel approaches to model travel behavior and sustainability impacts of e-bike use

Portland State University, Portland OR

Investigators

Abstract

1706939 (Cherry)/ 1706695 (MacAuthur). Electric bicycles (e-bikes) are bicycles with a small battery-powered electric motor to assist the rider. Over 150 million e-bikes have been sold in Europe and Asia in the past ten years--in China's case, truly transformative transportation. This is the world's largest adoption of an alternative fuel vehicle. E-bikes are becoming more important in North America. However, there is little empirical evidence on the behavior of e-bike users and environmental sustainability impacts. The investigator team will refine and deploy a research study, using a combination of emerging hardware and software capabilities, to collect behavioral data from e-bike riders. The collected data will then be used to evaluate how large shifts in e-bike use will affect sustainability. The research in this GOALI project is enabled by an industry partner (Bosch). The first objective of this research is to refine an instrumentation system (physical hardware and a mobile device application) tailored for e-bike users. This system includes a mix of onboard hardware and smartphone software to collect a host of data on energy and other vehicle telematics. The data collected by the instrumentation and mobile application will be sent to a platform with little to no input required by the user. Using that data, the second objective is to assess the riding behavior of e-bike users and the performance of e-bikes in meeting travel needs. The research team will conduct an empirical study, starting with at least 150-200 participants for one year. This collaboration with industry partners will collect vehicle telematics and rider behavior metrics with an aim toward modeling net travel changes between modes (mode shift and vehicle kilometers traveled). This objective will identify how e-bike use behaviors differ from relatively well known incumbent modes. The third objective is to investigate the life-cycle environmental impacts of e-bike ownership and use, relying on the Department of Energy's GREET LCA model. Coupling the behavioral models with LCA models will provide a methodologically novel assessment of the impact of this new mode. This study will inform local and state policy and planning efforts related to the growth of e-bikes and their influence on environmental policy goals. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.