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EESTI ELU reedel, 15. juulil 2022 — Friday, July 15, 2022
Eesti in the world press Andres Raudsepp
On the left, the Juna e-bike from Ampler Bikes (photo: amplerbikes.com) and on the right, one of Veemo’s e-bikes (photo: veemo.ca).
Can e-bikes solve our transit challenges? Vincent Teetsov As the local saying goes, “Toronto is an hour from Toronto.” With millions of Torontonians needing to get to work, run errands, and take part in recreational activities with similar daily schedules, dense traffic forms, slowing down our journeys from place to place. According to the TomTom Traffic Index, in January 2020, it took drivers in Toronto 33% longer to travel to their destinations due to traffic, compared to the same trips with clear road conditions. At this point before the pandemic, Toronto had the second worst level of congestion in Canada after Vancouver. These cities aren’t alone, though. It’s likely to affect any sprawling metropolis. The gradually increased use of public transportation is reducing the number of cars on the road, as are high-occupancy vehicle lanes. But among vehicles on the road, would the woes of commuters be lessened if, on inner-city roads, vehicles that were carrying minimal cargo and only one passenger were replaced with bikes? Further more, could this exchange be viable if the movement of a bike was assisted with motors, as with electric bicycles? The e-bikes made by Esto nian company Ampler Bikes indicate that this kind of ex change may be more convenient than you’d think. On March 7th, 2022, Ampler Bikes presented two models from their second generation of e-bikes, all built and tested in Estonia. The Ampler Juna and the Ampler Axel are sleeker and lighter than ever. The Juna has a weight of 16.5 kilogrammes and is usable for riders between 150 and 174 centimetres in height, while the Axel is 16.3 kilogrammes in weight and usable for riders between 170 and 200 centimetres in height. They both have a top motorsupported speed of 25 kilo metres per hour and a battery range of 70 kilometres. The battery, which is hidden from view, is removable from one of the bike’s tubes in case it requires maintenance. Remaining range, charge, and other trip data are viewable through an integrated digital display on the frame of the bike. For added conve-
nience, riders can control pedal assist modes, track the location of their bike, and lock the bike from unauthorized access using the Ampler Bikes smartphone app. For safety and comfort, the bike includes brake lights, front and back lights, and wide fen ders to block water spraying from the ground. Ampler Bikes – founded in 2014 by Ardo Kaurit, Hannes Laar, and Rait Udumäe – grew quickly from a garage-based project into an international operation. In 2021 they had almost 15,000 e-bikes on the road, demonstrated to customers in showrooms from Tallinn to Germany (Berlin and Köln), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), and Switzerland (Zürich). However, despite the speed and convenience of these bikes, a price of 2,590 Euros is prohibitively high if they were to be adopted on a massive scale. What if e-bikes were part of public vehicle sharing system, though? This has been the aim of Veemo (formerly VeloMetro Mobility Inc.), a company in East Vancouver. Veemo’s initial e-bike design featured a “hard body shell” that totally enclosed their three wheeled bike (two wheels in the front and one in the back) and had electric powered windows on the sides to block rain and wind. Since 2021, designs have become more minimal, with sides that are more open to the elements. Still, this bike has many carlike features such as a handbrake, a GPS device with an eight inch screen, headlights, brake lights, turn signals, and a trunk with 60 litres of storage space. To get around, riders pedal like they would with a typical bike and turn the handlebars. Brake levers on the handlebars stop the e-bike and pedalling backwards reverses the vehicle. Kody Baker, the founder and chief technical officer of Veemo, states that these e-bikes “combine the comforts of a car with the freedom of a bicycle.” Baker explains how the battery receives “trickles” of energy from a small solar panel on the roof of the Veemo e-bike. Used batteries can be removed and recharged using a standard wall socket. With a full battery, the e-bike
has a range of 70 kilometres and a top motor-assisted speed of 32 kilometres per hour. Considered a “class 1 pedal assisted electric bike” the e-bikes can go on roads as well as bike lanes. As has been shown in Veemo’s pilot program on the campus of the University of British Columbia, you can adjust pedal cadence settings for every bike you hire through the Veemo app. Baker equates the maximum assistance of 500 watts to two Olympic athletes assisting you with your pedalling. The app also allows you to locate and reserve e-bikes, paying 28 cents for every minute you use the bike. Baker founded the company at the end of 2013, and in 2019, he went on CBC’s Dragons’ Den to pitch his idea, seeking one million dollars for five percent of the company. After Arlene Dickinson of District Ventures Capital questioned that he “just took an electric bike and put a chassis around it”, Baker insisted that the innovative part of his business is making these bikes available in a “dockless bike sharing mode”, so that you don’t have to bring them to a specific point in the city. For instance, they can be parked in the same spots that motorbikes and scooters use. In the end, Arlene Dickinson was the only dragon to be convinced, agreeing to invest one million dollars for 7.5 percent. Integration of the Veemo e-bikes into cities has taken longer than expected, and already, competitors have made their mark elsewhere in Canada. In June 2020, Bike Share Toronto announced the introduction of “300 pedal assist e-bikes and 10 e-bike charging stations” in a pilot programme, with full compatibility between the docking of regular bikes and e-bikes. Bike Share Toronto’s e-bikes have an interface below the handlebars that show the remaining charge of the bike being used. They have a 250 watt motor, allowing for speeds up to 25 kilometres per hour, and also have lights on the front and back. In the PBSC (Public Bike System Company) mobile app, you can find all locations with available bikes. A single trip on a Toronto e-bike costs $3.25 CAD. 24
It is both exciting and satisfy ing to read these days about your “kodumaa”, the land you left as a child in the darkest of times. Suddenly the world wakes up to the fact that there is an Estonia, a country that now merits the world’s attention and respect. The issues and points of focus connected to the war in Ukraine are of course the main factors in the current situation. I have been impressed by the full-page articles in the Globe and Mail, which have focussed mainly on the Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas. It is historically significant that her family’s background regarding their deportation is brought forward. This demonstrates the inhuman methods used by Russians in dealing with other populations. Another theme that is now brought forward is the large number of Russians being relocated to Estonia in the fifties. These points were also clearly depicted in a June article (author Liz Sly) which appeared in the Washington Post. A friend in the US brought that to my attention. A more recent article also appeared on ethnic Russians in Estonia. This, however, was describing their starting to q uestion Putin’s war. It appeared in the July 3 Sunday New York Times (author Andrew Higgins), to which I happen to be a subscriber. It is one of the best reports reflecting attitudes and convictions in Estonia in that it covers many themes: Russians in Estonia helping Ukrainian refugees, the Estonian Defence League (Kaitseliit) in which half of the members in Narva are ethnic Russians and the process of Estonianization among ethnic Russians. The significant re
hours costs seven dollars, 72 hours is $15, and an annual membership is $99. A $20 deposit is temporarily charged to use each bike; and there’s the catch that you have to dock the bike every half hour, otherwise you’ll be charged four dollars for every additional half hour. In the meantime, Veemo has allowed customers to reserve their own e-bike, with prices starting at $6,395 CAD. In the end, renting an e-bike from Bike Share Toronto is the most affordable way to start riding an e-bike among these three options, but none of them address the challenge of long Canadian and Estonian winters, where snowy and icy roads and bike lanes would render an e-bike an impractical alternative to a car. These bikes would at least need tires that offered better traction in winter. If more companies built and rented out e-bikes with enclosed chassis, storage space for er-
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ference to “Kaitseliit” I had not seen in any Estonian news report. I’m asking my readers to stay with me when I next attempt to list the issues around the war, the first being the Russian attack itself. As it was unprovoked, it establishes as the only burden of guilt for so much loss of life on the attacker, echoing at the same time Russian military attacks in the past – the attack with Germany on Poland in 1939 which, one could say, started the Second World War and the occupation of the Baltic states in 1940. While an immediate issue is the burgeoning refugee problem which calls on other nations for assistance, the quantity and quality of military defence materials many countries are directing toward Ukraine is a major factor to consider. This creates a twofold problem. One is the means of delivery and the other the impression of the helpful countries enhancing the actual war. The issue of NATO suddenly becoming a meaningful organization is probably the most significant factor on the current conflict. This involves increased membership as well as the intensified degree of co-operation that still needs to develop. Throughout the conflict an important factor to consider is the increasing awareness of the previously mentioned guilt factor in terms of the Russian onslaught. More and more Russians are becoming aware that their government is responsible for starting and continuing the bloody conflict and many are leaving their country as a result. These themes are echoed in the articles published through the perspective of Eesti. They certainly reinforce the concept of our homeland being an important player in the current severe situation. I strongly recommend Estonian readers to save these articles for future reference.
Quotes Am I perfect? No. But am I striving to be a better person every day? Also no. • Maybe you should eat some makeup so you can be pretty on the inside too. • I’m actually not funny. I’m just really mean and people think I’m joking. • My brain has too many tabs open. • I don’t even believe myself when I say I’ll be ready in 5 minutes. • You’ll never be as lazy as whoever named the fireplace. rands, and tires that could grip better, it would reduce the amount of inner-city traffic, reduce pollution, and cut people’s transportation costs all at once.
