Bay of Plenty e-bike demand soars - along with injuries

Dan Wallace from e-bike shop Electrify NZ Tauranga in Mount Maunganui says demand is "through the roof". Photo / File

The number of people riding e-bikes in Tauranga, and losing control of them, has soared in the past five years.

ACC data obtained by the Bay of Plenty Times shows the number of people injured in e-bike incidents has ballooned since 2016 when there were fewer than four e-bike related claims in Tauranga.

That rose to five claims in 2017 and eight in 2018 before jumping to 47 in 2019 and 29 last year.

In the Western Bay of Plenty, there were 14 claims made last year and none in 2019. Fewer than four were made in 2018 and none in the two years before that.

Throughout the wider Bay of Plenty 99 claims were made last year and 74 in 2019. Of these, 75 were caused by riders losing their balance and 49 by losing control of the bike.

Bike Tauranga's Andrew Thorpe said the popularity of e-bikes was a key factor in the figures.

Thorpe runs a social riding group from Welcome Bay each week and said during the same time frame, e-bikes in the group had become the majority.

"In the Welcome Bay Wheelers group there are about 35 to 45 regulars and we saw e-bikes, probably one or two of them, start to appear four years ago. Two years ago [the number of e-bikes in the group] went up to about 10 per cent, and now about 60 to 70 per cent of our group are riding e-bikes.

"It's no wonder we are seeing more data relating to e-bikes."

Bike Tauranga cycling advocate Andrew Thorpe, pictured at the Totara St cycle lane last year. Photo / File

Thorpe said the group had been fortunate not to have had any crashes or injuries involving e-bikes but he understood how easily such accidents could happen.

"There are a lot of people getting on e-bikes who may not have ridden a bike for decades and maybe feel they would never again until e-bikes came along. Suddenly they have more power at their disposal and they are going faster, so it takes more control than what some people may realise."

Electrify NZ Tauranga franchise owner Dan Wallace said demand for e-bikes had gone through the roof.

"This is the biggest season we've had. All of our European bikes, for example, we have to order 12 months in advance. We are selling out before they arrive in the country."

Wallace said, in recent years, people's attitudes towards e-bikes had changed and e-bikes had definitely become more popular.

"Two years ago [e-bikes] were a pretty new technology in New Zealand. People weren't willing to spend more money on what was being deemed as 'better' because they didn't know if it would continue."

Now, there had been a surge of people keen to spend up on e-bikes.

Tauranga City Council director of transport Brendan Bisley says they have noticed many more people riding due to e-bikes. Photo / File

"Technology has developed, there's such a huge range now. And it's not just the older generation. There are a lot more of a younger generation coming down to one-car families. The council are trying to develop more cycleways, they are getting there."

Wallace said there were more styles of e-bike available now that could better suit a person's preference and ability, and it was important a person had the right bike.

"Sometimes I'd see people riding e-bikes that shouldn't be on them but that's changed a bit now."

He said the importance of getting an appropriate bike was such, he would not sell an e-bike to a person who had not taken it for a test ride first.

Because of the increasing popularity of e-bikes, Wallace said he was not surprised to learn there had been an increase in ACC claims relating to e-bikes in recent years.

Tauranga City Council director of transport Brendan Bisley said they were seeing a lot more people riding "as a result of e-bikes, including more older riders".

While the council did not design transport projects specifically for e-bikes, they applied "a safety first lens" to ensure it would be safer for more people no matter their mode of travel.

Tauranga Hospital emergency department clinical lead Dr Derek Sage said they had not "noticed a large increase in presentations relating to e-bikes and e-scooters coming through the ... doors".

Such injuries could be more of an issue in other parts of New Zealand where e-bikes and e-scooters were more prevalent, he said.