Public servant David Alexander expects to shave about 15 minutes off his usual 30-minute bus trip to work with his new wheels.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The ACT government is giving employees the option of leasing an electric bike - or e-bike - through Melbourne company E-stralian, under a salary sacrificing program.
Mr Alexander, a policy officer at the environments directorate, said the e-bikes were a more environmentally friendly transport option than taking his car or a bus, but this wasn't the only incentive for him.
"It's important to have something which is value for money and something which actually is fun, and, by making something fun, you're actually inclined to do it more," he said.
With an e-bike, Mr Alexander said he could get from his home in Belconnen to his office in Dickson in 15 minutes, door-to-door.
On the bus it would take about 30 minutes and about the same if he drove once he took into account travelling from the car park.
E-bikes still need to be pedalled but the electric motor gives users a lot more help, reducing the effort required.
This would mean Canberra won't be beset by a plague of lycra-clad public servants.
"You can wear your suit and ride the bike and you're not sweating at the end of it," Mr Alexander said.
"You don't have to be super fit to bike in from Gungahlin to the city."
He hasn't got his new wheels yet but Mr Alexander said he had been using the government's internal e-Bike fleet to commute between meetings, saving him time and the hassle of finding a car park.
E-stralian director Kent Kavanagh and his business partner believed bike riding should be more accessible.
"The thing about e-Bikes is they help simplify riding a bike," he said.
Mr Kavanagh said his company found the average Australian bike commute to work would be between 10 and 20 kilometres, pointing out the distance between Civic and Canberra districts was about 12 to 15 kilometres.
Sustainability minister Shane Rattenbury said electric cars and bikes would have a low or no carbon impact once the capital reached its target of using 100 per cent sustainable energy by 2020.
He said transport would be the ACT's major source of carbon emissions once this happened.
