UL researchers to explore impact of e-bike use among parents and older people

A STUDY from the University of Limerick shows the impact access to e-bikes could make to overlooked communities and cycling infrastructure in Limerick.

ISCycle (Inclusive e-bike uptake and Sustainable use) is an innovative UL-led research project examining how e-bikes can change transport behaviours to improve health and protect the environment.

With aims to generate evidence for more inclusive cycle access policies and schemes, the project has been examining the impact of e-bike loans in workplace settings since 2022.

It has found that a considerable percentage of those who took part in the study would be willing to purchase their own bike.

The second phase - ISCycle2 - is a four-year project which will explore the effects of e-bike access for parents and older people, while also studying the environmental impacts of rising e-bike ownership in Ireland.

Four workplaces are taking part with employees being loaned an e-bike and cycling accessories for 4-12 weeks.

The research team is working with Limerick Cycling Campaign on the project and Vice Chair Anne Cronin of the local group expressed the importance of overlooked communities in a project such as this “for creating inclusive and meaningful sustainable change in how we move throughout the city and suburbs of Limerick.”

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Mayor of Limerick John Moran launched the ISCycle2 project at the Citizen Innovation Lab in UL’s City Centre Campus.

Speaking at the launch, Mayor Moran said: “The ISCycle2 project is an innovative opportunity for more people in Limerick to try out new ways of travelling around the city and its surrounding areas. 

“By removing the upfront financial barriers to bicycle access, ISCycle2 opens up our active travel infrastructure in Limerick to more people, prioritising social inclusion and participation and will be particularly important in some areas of the city where up to 40% of households do not have a car.”

Kerrie Sheehan, Head of Research, Innovation and Electricity, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), expressed the authority’s pride in being able to provide “wider opportunities for under-resourced communities in Limerick.”

ISCycle2 also aims to involve people who are not positioned to benefit from existing bicycle access schemes such as people who are retired from employment and parents who are at home full-time.

Professor James Green, lead investigator at ISCycle, explained: “The community take-up from the first phase of ISCycle has been amazing, with a number of inspiring stories from people who have not cycled in decades finding that an e-bike enables them to travel by bike in ways they didn’t previously consider possible.”