On any given day on a drive around, you might see someone moseying along the side of the road on an electric bike, and those sightings are going to become even more frequent as the popularity of the bikes continues to grow. Retailing for between $ 70,000 and $ 150,000, the bikes cost significantly less than conventional motorcycles, and because of their ease of operation, they become a real mode of transportation ok for many. Egbert McCoy, 64, bought his first electric bike Tuesday from the Phillips E-Bike Shop on the corner of George and Durban Streets. “I was just curious and I need it for my grandchildren. It’s easier to handle, you don’t have to have a helmet to cross with and you can carry it around easily, ”he said of his reason for joining the electric bike. McCoy, who had never ridden an electric bike before, was planning to ride home with his new purchase. He thinks his experience with riding a bike would be enough to help him learn to navigate electric bike operations.
Co-owner of Phillips E-Shop, Melisa Phillips, said McCoy would not be the first customer to just buy a bike and learn to operate it properly within minutes at first.
“It depends, because you have to turn on the keys, re-look the trigger; he has no gear or anything, ”he explained.
The business has been retailing the bike for a few months now. Phillips averages that the business sells anywhere between 15 – 20 electric bikes a month. The bike that McCoy bought has a top speed of 38kmph, and when fully charged, it can go for five hours. When drained, the bike would take about six hours to recharge, Phillips said.
He said ease of maintenance was also another reason the bike was fast becoming popular with consumers.
“The battery has to be serviced every nine months; you have to water it. People could come back or they could do it themselves, ”he explained.
Devon Stuart has also recently become involved in the business of selling the bikes and has been encouraged to become a retailer given the growing demand for the bikes.
“For me, it’s just more comfortable,” he said as he described why he thinks the bikes are becoming as popular as they are.
However, how the bike’s operations are monitored is not clearly understood. Because it is mechanically driven, the bikes are legally classified as a motor vehicle. However, the bikes do not come with a license plate. Most users do not use a helmet and cyclists rarely hold a driving license. The bikes also do not use a motor vehicle road service license or a Certificate of Fitness for a motor vehicle. Cyclists are generally allowed to operate the bikes unhindered and appear to do so carefully in the corners of the roads, as most bikes have a top speed below 50kmph. Head of Traffic, Ramesh Ashram, explained that cyclists are not required to wear a helmet for bikes at 49BC and below. The electric bikes do not come with an engine. Ashram noted that it is a matter for the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to register the vehicles and put in place a system of the requirements that would be required for the bicycle operations. “They are mechanically driven, so it’s a vehicle. Registration is a matter for GRA, but these bikes do not have a chassis and engine for them. They are [GRA] the bicycle importers must be contacted and registered, ”said Ashram.