740 Centering electric bicycles in transport electrification: road safety as key to low-carbon, low-powered, and healthy transport in India

<h3>Background</h3> India’s passenger transportation remains low carbon because of low levels of vehicle ownership and a high share of fuel-efficient motorcycles. However, this mobility regime leads to a significant public health burden. Widespread use of motorcycles in India results in low levels of physical activity. Motorcyclists comprise the majority of those killed in road deaths and contribute significantly to the deaths of other road users. With compact size, motorcycles continue to use roads that are narrow or have modal filters with bollards, which otherwise, restrict movement of cars. This poses a challenge to the commonly adopted measures of traffic calming and restriction measures. <h3>Objectives</h3> We propose that the current policy emphasis on climate change mitigation through electrification of transportation should be seen as an opportunity for a paradigm shift. This shift should include phasing out high-powered, large-size, personal motor vehicles from urban areas. In this study, we are interested in the policy measures that will encourage this transformation for motorcycles. We hypothesize that this could be achieved by placing e-bicycles and other battery-operated micromobility devices at the centre of electric vehicle policy. <h3>Policy Analysis</h3> We used a combination of primary data collection and a secondary review of literature. We conducted exploratory qualitative research interviews with current e-bicycle users and retailers in Delhi and other stakeholders such as manufacturers and a policy analyst in Delhi, India. We are reviewing the regulations and legislations of electric bicycles and micromobility across multiple countries. <h3>Policy Implications</h3> Preliminary results show that there are multiple policy interventions that may be needed to encourage large-scale uptake of e-bicycles including fiscal, infrastructural, and outreach methods. Many countries are allowing e-bike users with a maximum speed of 25 km//h to use bicycle tracks, which indicates that the policies for the safety of conventional bicycles may have high synergy with those of e-bicycles. This also highlights the synergy between the two policy streams- active travel and electric vehicles. <h3>Conclusions</h3> This paper identifies the need for a paradigm shift in current policies boosting the electrification of transportation to target and support large-scale adoption of electric bicycles.