Commuting by an Electric Bike to Work Everyday
Editorial team • 31 July 2020
The experience:
Andrew Shikongo is a 27-year-old supervisor at a popular grocery store located at centre of Windhoek.
For years, Andrew has been thinking about a transport alternative to the taxi to work on a daily basis. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, his employer was forced to adapt to the crisis and his salary was cut. Additionally, the cost of taxi went up to N$14.
Andrew searched online for a bicycle company and eventually found our website. He then visited our Workshop and shared his interested in acquiring our bike. He also openly shared the fact he got a salary cut.
Through Nedbank’s bicycle financing plan, he pays N$500 every month (for three years to pay for the bike’s cost of N$15.000 plus the bank interest) for his E-bike.
Today, Andrew commutes for around 25 km per day travel to work and back. Using a taxi, he used to spend an average of N$36 per day and 720 monthly. Today he is able to use the same amount to cover his bicycle payment and still saves N$220.
In addition to using the E-bike to commute to work, he also uses it during weekends to visit his family, and buy groceries for his family.
Andrew is very happy with his change in lifestyle and how he is able to support the environment. He saves not only on money, but is also a contributor on reduction of CO2 emissions.
A taxi emits about 75 grams of CO2 per km, and an average of 375 kilograms every month, this represents 4.5 tones yearly.