Cape Town to use electric bicycles to fight crime

Cape Town to use electric bicycles to fight crime

The City of Cape Town appears to be leading the way when it comes to electromobility in South Africa. Not only are they adding electric busses to their MyCiti fleet, they are also using electric bikes to fight crime around Table Mountain and other parts of the city, reports My Broadband

The electric bikes can reach up to 70kmh and have a range of up to 120km, the battery takes 80 minutes to fully recharge.

Robbie Robberts, Director of Law Enforcement in the City of Cape Town, told Cape Talk that the area around Table Mountain is suffering from criminal activities. It is a massive area to patrol, and to make it easier the City of Cape Town is using e-bikes to assist law enforcement. “The bicycles are a mixture between a motorcycle and a normal bicycle,” said Robberts. He said it is a cost-effective way for the city to increase its patrolling capabilities, and to fight crime around Cape Town.

This sounds like a great idea. Electric bikes are smaller, lighter and cheaper to run than motorcycles. If they're using them off-road, which it appears like they are, then it should be quite easy to pick it up and lift it over obstacles. Also because it's electric it will be almost silent so their is less chance it will alert the crooks before the police get close enough to apprehend them. Police can also use them to patrol crowded areas without assaulting pedestrians with noise and air pollution.