Understanding Electrically Assisted Bike Usage

The next speaker at ECREA 2012 is Frauke Behrendt, whose interest is in the use of mobile media for sharing bike riding information as generated by electrically assisted bikes. Such bikes are now also being introduced into the UK, and Frauke's research in Brighton is interested in using mobile media to monitor the use of such bikes and enable riders to provide feedback. Brighton is a useful test case as the hilly and windy environment means that electrical assistance for pushbikes is especially welcome.

This is a thoroughly interdisciplinary project, involving media studies, transport research, computer science, and other disciplines, as well as university, industry, and government partners. It works with a number of different bike models which are equipped with monitoring boxes which are used to track he bikes' movements and usage. People can see the information collected by logging on to a Website which tracks these activities.

Test subjects include some 40 employees of an insurance company, whose rides' GPS data as well as surveys and interviews have been collected; the researchers have also conducted ride-along research sessions (which are exactly what the term sounds like). Key themes emerging from this are the problems of mobile media commuting (90% of users use mobile media during their commutes, but doing so on a bike is problematic and puts users off riding); an obsession with riding stats and an influence of such stats on bike use (also mirrored by the overall rise of lifestyle apps which track other personal activities, from exercise to diet); social media sharing of activities (to connect with other riders and encourage them to ride as well); and the need for more auditory interfaces (rather than visual interfaces which distract from the riding rhythm and overall experience). Electrically assisted bikes may also enable a further integration of mobile technology as it enables a greater range of enhancements which require electricity.