Tasmania is proving to be a hotbed of e-bike enthusiasm where one in four commuters benefit from a boost into the office, Bicycle Network analysis reveals. Other states are showing strong uptake, too.
E-bikes made up 23% of all bike trips recorded in Tasmania during Bicycle Network’s Super Tuesday commuter count in March this year. In Hobart, the figure sat at 25%.
The next busiest state for e-bike use was New South Wales at 16% of all bike commutes, followed by Western Australia at 13% – both well above the national average of 11%.
In Victoria e-bikes made up 10% of bike commutes, and in South Australia, they accounted for 6%.
“It’s not surprising Hobart is leading the way on e-bike use,” Bicycle Network's Tasmania spokesperson Alison Hetherington says. “E-bikes can flatten hills and cut through headwinds so they make it much easier to get around.”
Hobart has a lot of older commercial buildings without showers and change areas so an e-bike is a perfect solution for some workplaces.”
While e-bikes accounted for 25% of the 2853 bike trips logged in Hobart on Super Tuesday, Bicycle Network analysis shows Kingborough, in south Hobart, sitting equal second of the surveyed council areas, claimed 22% of all bike commutes.
“E-bikes have got a head-start here thanks to our mountain bike community and generally older population,” says Hetherington. “E-bikes are popular with people aged in their 50s and 60s, and are popular across the board with mountain bikers as they allow more time on the trails.”
Tasmania was the first Australian state to introduce an e-bike rebate program in November 2023, helping nearly 450 locals onto e-bikes.
E-bikes are also proving popular in certain patches of NSW and are used on 22% of bike commutes in Coffs Harbour, 22% in North Sydney and 21% in Woollahra.
Check out the top 10 council areas for e-bike use below. Note that results in two council areas were drawn from a limited number of survey sites with less than 100 bike trips logged. These smaller samples are denoted with an asterisk.
Bicycle Network’s 2024 Super Tuesday commuter count recorded 135,000 trips around the country, and this year captured e-bike data for the first time.
The data shows showed that women are embracing e-bikes in large numbers and are twice as likely to as men to use one on their commute. Women made up 24% of all riders recorded on Super Tuesday, but comprised made up 36% of e-bike riders – a clear demonstration that e-bikes are eliminating many of the barriers to bike riding.
You can read more about e-bikes on our campaign page, and experience them for yourself at the Bicycle Network E-bike Expo on Saturday 5 October.
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