How Much Can You Save With an E-Bike?

E-bikes are a great way to get around, with benefits not only to your health by keeping you active, but also to the environment by reducing your carbon footprint.

There’s also another benefit to commuting with an e-bike and that’s your wallet. With no fuel required other than your own muscle power, investing in an E-bike can save you a lot of money spent driving around.

If you’ve read our E-bike Buyer’s Guide article but still need some extra convincing about whether or not to buy one, the article below outlines another added benefit of owning an E-bike: more money in your back pocket.

Commuting Costs with a Car

Before we look at how much money you can save commuting with an E-Bike, first we need to look at how much it costs to commute in a car.

As of 2015, the average New Zealand commuter paid $11,852.98 per annum in car ownership and running costs.

Kiwis spend a large part of their days driving to and from work and this involves not only the cost to purchase a car, but the gas to fuel it up for your journeys, eventual maintenance costs with wear and tear, parking and other administrative costs. If the commuting route is through a high traffic area, the cost to commute in a car becomes more unjustifiable - money spent to sit in traffic barely moving!

Save Commuting Costs with an E-Bike

If you were to leave the car at home and use an E-bike instead, you could expect to quickly save the money otherwise spent commuting in a car.

E-bikes can range in cost anywhere from $1,500-10,000 depending on how much you're willing to spend based on make, model and features. The average entry point for an e-bike is roughly $2500 currently.

Upkeep and repair costs for your E-Bike may still cost a few extra hundred dollars a year, but when this pales in comparison to the money spent driving a car around.

Skeptics and detractors might point out that an e-bike still costs to be refuelled as well. However, based on charging a typical 400Wh battery, cycling a 20KM route, 5 days a week for a year would barely cost $20.

Also, not only can you expect to save money for transport, but the added health benefits of being active with your daily commute could mean less money spent on a gym membership or going for visits to the doctor.

If we compare the two options of driving or riding an e-bike for your daily commute, it’s clear that the cheaper option is the e-bike. E-bikes cost a fraction of the total annual cost of running a car, meaning more money saved for you and a step towards a cleaner, greener commuting option.

Interested to know more about e-bikes? Have a look at our blog for regular write-ups on e-bikes, electric vehicles and more.