An electric bicycle which has been added to the Cape's crime-fighting arsenal will make it easier for metro police officers to arrest “bad guys”.
|||Cape Town - An electric bicycle has been added to the City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security directorate’s crime-fighting arsenal to make it easier for metro police officers to arrest “bad guys”.
Metro police and city traffic and law enforcement officials had a chance to test the Greyp Electric Bicycle – which is a hybrid between a mountain bicycle and a motorcycle – in the parking area on Table Mountain, just off Kloof Nek Road, on Friday.
The idea was for the officials to use the innovative electric bicycle to patrol mountain terrain and to test it along the beachfront and coastline.
It is set to be used for these purposes once the city has budgeted for more of the bicycles.
Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said: “We used it under very specific circumstances. The electronic bicycle can be used as a motorcycle and a bicycle. It is a lot more movable because it is lightweight (the electronic bicycle weighs 48 kilograms).
“It is cheap to run and charges in just 60 minutes. It is also silent so metro police officers can easily creep up on suspects.”
The bicycle can go up to 120km/h, has a minimal amount of noise, the least amount of air pollutant emissions when compared to metro police vans and cars, and a very low running cost, Smith added.
The electric bicycle is fingerprint activated, ensuring that metro police officers are the only people who are able to unlock it with a finger scan.
According to the Greyp Electric Bicycle’s website, the bicycle rider’s thumb can activate “street mode” while their middle-finger can activate power mode.
Electronic bicycles are also fitted with a rechargeable battery that has a capacity of 1.5 kilowatts.
gadeeja.abbas@inl.co.za
Cape Argus