“Even though I bought it for the commute, I now use it for leisure too. I see more of the city now than I have before.”

Mats Hedberg, Cork

I’ve had an electric bicycle for about four months now. I got it when I moved house and it was a bit more of a commute to work. It’s to get me to work and move around Cork a bit more.

There are a lot of hills in Cork and a normal bike – or really, I – wouldn’t be able to take them. It makes it easier to get to work and do it quicker. It’s really made Cork much flatter.

I didn’t really get it to be more environmentally friendly. It’s a good silver lining. Everything weighted together, I thought it would be a quicker commute and I’d get a bit of exercise too. In the end it wasn’t that hard a decision to get an electric bicycle.

There’s no petrol. Charging the battery is just a few cents. You don’t need a driver’s license. It helps to be able to park basically anywhere. That saves time in work and in town. The Cycle to Work definitely helps. I basically get nearly a grand off and pay that through my salary.

I pass buses and cars. They all get stuck eventually and I just pass them out. It’s very nice going uphill and not have to struggle like I would on a normal bike.

Even though I bought it for the commute, I now use it for leisure too. I see more of the city now than I have before.

At weekends, I visit friends. I’ve been out to Ovens and Passage West, Monkstown and Ballincollig from the city. The greenway is a very nice cycle. I usually do that once or twice a week.