Riding practices of e-bike riders after the implementation of electric bike management regulations: An observational study in Hangzhou, China

• Published in: Heliyon 2024-03, Vol.10 (5), p.e26263-e26263, Article e26263
• Main Authors: Xu, Jue, Ji, Cuirong, Li, Biao, Jiang, Peng, Qin, Kang, Ni, Zhimin, Huang, Xuyun, Zhong, Rongwan, Fang, Lian, Zhao, Ming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electric bike; Helmet; Observations; Safety practice
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26263

This study aimed to understand the riding behaviors of electric bike (e-bike) users in Hangzhou after the “Regulations of Zhejiang Province on the Administration of Electric Bicycles”. The study consisted of two parts, including a questionnaire survey of local e-bike users in Shangcheng District and Jiande County in Hangzhou City, and a cross-sectional observational study of 16 intersections. A total of 789 e-bike riders participated in the questionnaire survey, and the riding behavior of 99,407 e-bike users was observed. The main purpose of using e-bike was work and daily life, 46.0% of them used e-bikes more than 5 days a week, and 58.5% used e-bikes for less than 30 min each time. A vast majority (81.7%) of e-bike riders believe that the implementation of Zhejiang Regulations has significantly improved the safety level of e-bike riding in the region. The field survey found that the correct rates of helmet wearing by e-bike riders and passengers were 78.83% and 42.27%. The main violations were invalid/non-helmet wearing (21.17%), followed by carrying passengers and running red lights (7.94% and 4.26%). The rates of invalid/non-helmet wearing and running red lights were significantly higher during non-morning rush hour, weekends, and roads without separate non-motorized vehicle lanes than in other conditions (all P