Electric Bikes - How to solve the "last mile" problem in traffic

hey,

I am currently working on an innovation research project on how to solve the so called "last mile" issue in traffic at the Vienna University of Business and Economics. The "last mile" issue is the fact that it's often difficult and inconvenient to get from the public transport station to your home or office without using a private car.

I thought that the bicycle community might have some great ideas to bridge that gap faster, more efficiently. We are looking for innovative ideas, new home grown bike adaptions, new types of e-bikes, that make it easier to choose the bike and in a second step the public transport as means for traveling.

What could be a good solution? Do you know a person who is very active in that field and maybe has already developed some technical solutions or interesting concepts?

I'm looking forward to your replies.
Thanks and best wishes from Vienna!

Sebastian

. Folding bikes
. Bike sharing/rental programs
. Secure lockers near train stations for bicycles and commuting supplies
. Circulator buses that will pic up at the train station and drop off at or near home
. Safe walkways (1 mile is a short walk really)
. Protected walkways (example: Crystal City in Arlington, VA- buildings are all connected by underground tunnels that double as retail and restaurant space)

If I could get to within a mile of my home and my workplace with mass transit, I don't think I would ever drive.

Is that supposed to be 2.7 pound instead of 27 pound?

http://www.yikebike.com/

Is that supposed to be 2.7 pound instead of 27 pound?

2.7 pound e bike would be pretty awesome! I think battery + motor usually weighs about that even for short-runners.

This problem is not new, ergo there's a multitude of
individual answers depending on the specific needs of
the commuter. Solutions may come in the form hardware;
folding bikes, racks on buses, etc. or policy. Allowing bikes
on trains, allowing employees to bring their bikes in w/
them, etc.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6226/6346859260_e19b403a4c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/44332608@N03/6346859260/)
PRIORITY (http://www.flickr.com/photos/44332608@N03/6346859260/) by 1nterceptor (http://www.flickr.com/people/44332608@N03/), on Flickr

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6096/6346108321_909cc7de3d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/44332608@N03/6346108321/)
DUTCH POLICY (http://www.flickr.com/photos/44332608@N03/6346108321/) by 1nterceptor (http://www.flickr.com/people/44332608@N03/), on Flickr

a-bike, or any other folding bike.

1 mile isn't much though...I'd just run it =D

What if you installed an electric hub generator on the front wheel, and have two batteries on your bike with two-two way switches? So, when you're using one of the batteries, the other is charging as you roll down the road???? Not sure if this would work or not? I don't know if you could have one battery and charge it at the same time that you're discharging?

You may already have a generator, in an ebike hub. Most motors are similar electrically to generators. If hey are designed to do so, energy can also be extracted from them during downhill coasting or I would expect, the electrical equivalent of slowing via emf.

Regenerative braking, storing the energy from motor-emf braking, could make a lot of sense if you do a lot of braking or slowing your vehicle down.

How much, would depend on the motor/generator, and the amount of time it was running..and how often the slowing was done.

Of course, we can only hope to store energy when something besides the motor is putting that energy into the system. (otherwise, why take it out to begin with)

Any electrical generation process its not as efficient as we would hope, either. (varies how much) Each time you convert energy from one form to another, there is loss, wasted energy.

Electric vehicles are pretty good in relative terms, however, compared to combustion engines, which waste a HUGE amount of their energy as heat!


What if you installed an electric hub generator on the front wheel, and have two batteries on your bike with two-two way switches? So, when you're using one of the batteries, the other is charging as you roll down the road???? Not sure if this would work or not? I don't know if you could have one battery and charge it at the same time that you're discharging?