Muhammad Rizwan Azhar, Edith Cowan University, and Waqas Uzair, Edith Cowan University
We hop in the car to get groceries or drop kids at school. But while the car is convenient, these short trips increase emissions, pollution, and petrol costs. Close to half (44%) of all Australian commuter trips are by car – and under 10km. Of Perth’s 4.2 million daily car trips, 2.8 are for distances less than 2km.
Cars, after all, often have only one occupant. You’re expending a lot of energy to transport yourself.
By contrast, electric mopeds and bikes use less energy to transport one or two people. They’re also a lot cheaper to buy and run than electric cars. If you commute on an e-bike 20km a day, five days a week, your charging cost would be about $20 – annually. As petrol prices increase and battery prices fall, the cheaper running costs of electric vehicles and even cheaper running costs of electric mopeds, bikes, and scooters will keep eating away at the oil demand.
