Leading micro-mobility firm Dott has fitted some of its its rental e-bikes with a frame the size of a car, in a bid to showcase how dramatically switching to pedal power could free up space on city streets.
Dott recently launched its rental e-bike service in Hammersmith and Fulham, which complements the e-scooter rental fleet in runs in London.
In the build-up to World Bicycle Day on June 3, Dott fitted some of its London e-bikes with a frame the size of a car, with rides then taking to the streets of Hammersmith. The firm said the initiative, which it repeated in Paris and Brussels, is designed to show how single-occupancy car journeys take up the same room on the road as at least four cyclists.
Data suggests that single-occupancy car trips make up 65 per cent of all journeys. Dott has calculated that if 20,000 car users in London – just one per cent of the 2.64 million registered cars in the capital – switched to a bike or e-bike, it would free up around 55 miles of roads, which is enough room for 80,000 bikes.
Dott cites figure from the Mayor London’s office that says two-thirds of car journeys in London could be cycled in less than 20 minutes. As well as reducing congestion, Dott highlights the environmental benefits of people switching from
Henri Moissinac, Dott’s co-founder and boss, said the publicity stunt was designed to “highlight the absurdity of single drivers hogging the capital’s roads, when other forms of transport are openly available and so much better for both the individual and the community.”
He added: “It’s time we reimagined how we travel across our cities, which is why we’re here to unlock London with clean rides for everyone.”
Dott said that it is currently in talks with other London boroughs to expand its rental e-bike offering in the coming months. And don’t worry, the car-size frame is absolutely not standard on the firm’s bikes.
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