Spokes in the wheel

What do I need to know about e-bikes? Well, certainlyasa potential buyer, a lot of the things that Russell Brown’s article (“On your bike”, June 18) covered.

But what about the things I should know as someone who probably won’t be a user but will almost certainly be required to support riders via increased taxation and local body charges?

For example, how far can I expect the average e-bike to be ridden each year and how far would this need to be to justify the carbon emissions produced in its manufacture? What is the useful lifetime of an e-bike likely to be, and is this enough to justify the argument that their uptake will help cut emissions?

Finally, how would this compare with putting the same effort into making walking more attractive and supporting public transport?

I am tired of seeing it implied that the use of electric-powered transport can be considered not to contribute in any significant way to carbon emissions, or to deplete essential resources that are bound to be needed in the future.

Chris Pope (Pine Hill, Dunedin)

Your article on e-bikes covered types of bikes, cycleways and affordability, but did not mention key issues such as security or