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The
Speed Bike project was submitted in 1997 to D. G. XVII of the European Commission in the framework of the Save II Programme, in order to receive a financing for the experimentation of electro-muscular vehicles in urban environment.
The City of Modena strongly believed in this project thanks to the widespread use of bicycle among its citizens, a tradition favoured by a flat terrain and a good network of cycle paths.
With a population of about 180,000 inhabitants and a historic centre extending over one kilometre in diameter, much of which with limited traffic access, electro-muscular vehicles are thus the ideal solution for getting around
town. Moreover, the current diffusion of scooters has reached such proportions as to cause serious pollution by aromatic hydrocarbons and noise emissions and has also considerably increased driving hazards on the road. |
