Electric bike is a type of electric vehicle based on a traditional bicycle to which an electric
motor has been added to help propel it. It is an ecological and urban means of transport and its
source of energy is a battery. In the 20th century, electric bikes began to play a more important role
because they were an economic and simple option for urban transport problems and had environmental advantages, especially in highly populated countries. The main advantages of an electric bike are both economic and environmental. Among the economic advantages we can find the total cost per kilometer travelled by an electric bicycle (including the energy, purchasing and maintenance), is less than 0.7 cents, compared to $0.031/km for a gasoline scooter, or $0.62/km travelled by car.
The batteries of the electric bicycles can be recharged by connecting them to a plug or when
pedaling in some gears. In addition, a typical electric bicycle needs 6–8 h to charge the battery
and has a range of travel of 35 to 50 km at a speed of about 20 km/h (depending on rider weight).
This means that, with a single battery charge, it would be enough to go to work, visit friends, and return home on a normal day, since statistics show that about half of the trips and procedures of a normal urban person are carried out within a distance of 15 km from his/her house, therefore within the reach of these bicycles.
From an environmental point of view, for petrol car consumption in urban areas, the emissions
are: HC (Hydrocarbons) 3.57 g/km, CO 3.15 g/km, CO2 1.82 g/km, and NOx 2.29 g/km.
Therefore, the electric bike, as an alternative means of transport to the car, shows that for every
100 km an average of 8.5 L of gasoline is saved, and this pollution would be avoided.