Successful Irish start-up expanding horizons
GreenAer is the brainchild of Oliver Vander Elst and his wife Lisa, who launched it in 2008 initially selling cars, with stores in Dublin and Mullingar. Recently GreenAer opened a new store in Cork.
“Sustainability is at the heart of our business which is about offering products that will last and maintaining these products with the greatest level of service to give them the longest life possible, they offer maintenance and repairs for customers.”
GreenAer website, 2020
The cost to charge the top of the range e-bikes is circa 10 cent over a three to four hours period and the range of an e-bike after the charge is up to 190 km. So the economic benefits of the E-bike go hand in hand with the environmental benefits.
E-scooters are another product sold by GreenAer. Contrary to what you might believe, electric scooters are technically illegal in Ireland and they cannot be insured. Although with the welcome news last week that 360 million euro is to be pumped into green transport infrastructure annually, it is feasible to believe that scooters will also be legal to use in towns and cities around the country in the near future.
Promising steps towards a greener Northern Ireland
Northern Irish policy makers were accused of “missing out on an e-bike revolution” by not updating the outdated law that meant e-bike riders could have faced up to six penalty points on their driving license and a fine of up to £1,000, which is all down to a 1995 UK law that required a motorbike license to ride an electric bike.
“The main objectives of these regulations are to simplify and reduce the legislative burden on those who wish to ride an e-bike, to promote cycling as a mode of transport that has health and environmental benefits, and reduce congestion in our cities and towns.” said SDLP member and former Lord Mayor of Belfast, Nichola Mallon.
“A lot of change has been forced upon us by the challenges of COVID-19, but this can also be the start of a time of change if we choose it. There is an opportunity to build a better future and I believe we should seize it.”
Photo by Boarding2Now — E-Bike Road Marking
