The Rise of Speed Pedelecs: Will Company Bicycles Be the Next Breakthrough?

Can we conclude from these figures that the company bicycle will also make its breakthrough after the company car?

Filip Rylant: “In a sense, yes. Nearly 16,000 new speed pedelecs were registered. That is 283 percent more than seven years ago. Of these, 65 percent are leased or registered in the name of a company. Even though we see that regular bicycles are being leased more, speed pedelecs form a separate category. They are mainly used for commuting, less in leisure time.

“I think an explanation for the success of speed pedelecs lies in the fact that more and more people are gaining access to so-called cafeteria plans. This is a system that companies can optionally implement, whereby employees invest part of their end-of-year bonus or salary in, for example, a bicycle or speed pedelec, but also in PC equipment for working from home, a tablet, extra days of leave, and so on. There is also a tax benefit.”

Who mainly uses the speed pedelec?

“They are especially popular with people who live in the regions of the big cities, in the triangle between Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels, where people can easily use bicycle highways. After all, many people say that they use these faster bicycles to avoid traffic jams on the way to work.”

Do they leave their company car in front of it?

“In some cases, yes. The advantage of a speed pedelec is that you can cover more distance with it. With an electric bicycle you will not be able to cover more than 20 kilometers. Due to the higher average speed, you can easily reach 25 to 40 kilometers with a speed pedelec.

“That is a good thing, first and foremost because less CO2 is emitted. Traffic jams also become smaller. And of course it is good for the health of the people who use the bicycle.”

On the other hand, the question is whether more fast speed pedelecs are not dangerous in traffic?

“The difference in speed with other traffic users, and especially other cyclists, is indeed crucial. If you mix cyclists who cycle at 15 kilometers per hour and cyclists who cycle at 45 kilometers per hour, that is a big difference. It is certainly important that we provide cycle paths that are wide enough to accommodate all traffic.

“Although we also have to look at the regulations. Can we no longer separate slow and fast cyclists? This is already the case in some places, because speed pedelecs are not allowed on the cycle path and must use the track. Then the question arises again: is it a good thing that they drive among normal traffic?

“I think a large part of the solution lies in awareness among cyclists. Someone who rides a speed pedelec knows that it is best to reduce his speed if a dangerous situation presents itself. But it is also the other way around, that someone on a normal bicycle realizes that someone on a speed pedelec will continue to pedal if he gets the chance to do so. In recent months there have been some reports of people boiling over and fighting because they did not take this into account.”

The number of people who simply bought a speed pedelec, without leasing it, fell by 33 percent compared to 2022. Why is that?

“In addition to breaking the cafeteria plan, I think that the maintenance costs of such a speed pedelec could be an explanation. On the other hand, there remain 5,500 people who bought a speed pedelec themselves. Perhaps this will increase again, now that the fiscally interesting bicycle allowance is 0.35 euros per kilometer instead of 0.27 euros per kilometer.”

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2024-01-04 17:30:46
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