‘They weren’t looking for cops on bikes’: Police ebike trial deemed a success
By Hamish McNeilly, Stuff.co.nz, July 20, 2022
Photo: Dunedin police trial using ebikes for road patrols in early 2020. Hamish McNeilly.
Some officers trialling ebikes found they could get to jobs quicker than their colleagues in vehicles.
Police in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin took part in an ebike trial in early 2020, while police in other parts of country followed suit later that year.
The trial was part of a road safety programme funded by Waka Kotahi, and was later evaluated by police in a report that has now been released under the Official Information Act (OIA).
The 47-page ‘Officers on Ebikes Insights Report’ includes interviews with officers involved in the trial.
It concluded that ebikes allowed officers to travel more efficiently, increased community engagement, and were viewed as “another tool in the toolbox” for police.
“A few times I left the station the same time as an i-car and I got there first,’’ one officer said.
“We were often the furthest away than others when the job came in, and we were still first there. We were quicker on the bikes,’’ another said.
Others noted the ebikes helped break the monotony of foot patrols, while some said they opened up parts of the cities that were not usually that accessible to officers, such as Wellington’s Mt Victoria and the Dunedin Town Belt.
Officers in Tasman also used ebikes to keep an eye on trails with a history of arson issues, and Dunedin officers found them particularly useful during the first week of the Covid-19 level 4 lockdown.
“People get quite surprised when they see you on a bike in the middle of nowhere,” one officer said.
Another noted how useful ebikes were during busy periods, such as school drop-offs.
“In eastern Hutt one school has three crossings and two drop-off points, we could get around the whole thing in minutes and move parents on who were double-parking,” they said.
While the feedback was largely positive, one officer said they felt “vulnerable” on the open road.
“It is not like the city where cars are travelling at slow speeds and there are a lot of pedestrian and bike traffic already.”
Another said: “We couldn’t take our bikes through the mall when foot patrolling, someone would have to wait with them otherwise seats would get nicked.”
The public was also mostly positive about the initiative, but there was the odd negative comment, such as “oh police not buying cars any more, on ya bikes now hahahaha”.
One officer said someone told them they “can’t respect a cop in shorts”.
The ebikes were winners on police social media channels, with comments from the public including “this looks like a scene out of 21 Jump Street, kinda cool”.
Not everyone noticed the officers on bikes though.
One officer said motorists would be looking out for regular police vehicles or mufti-cars.
“I’d pull them over and more often than not they would say ‘where did you come from’.
“They didn’t see us coming. They weren’t looking for cops on bikes.”
Another noted: “I issued 12 tickets from the bike, and it was fantastic for cellphone and seatbelt compliance in heavy traffic.”
The ebikes also meant officers were able to take “the same shortcuts offenders will take”.
Officers recommended that future ebikes be branded, and one noted: “I wanted to flick on sirens, but I couldn’t.”
One participant ran out of power after five hours of riding, and said the ebikes were “heavy and cumbersome to ride afterwards (when the battery has run out) as we are pedalling on 28kgs”.
The uniform was also a source of contention, with an officer noting: “You get back hot and sweaty, and then you’ve got to get changed back into regular uniform, you need to have a shower and all that.”
Limitations with the ebikes included being unable to carry much gear, unable to transport detainees, and unable to pull over speeding vehicles.
The report concluded that while the trial was run by the national road policing centre, there was a strong view amongst participants that ebikes could be used by the whole police force.
“There are a lot of pros and cons for all modes of transport but the ebike fits in the middle and fills a gap,” one officer said.
In the OIA response, national road policing centre acting director Inspector Peter McKennie said “further potential investment in ebike capability” was under way.