With the financial backing of the city, hundreds of chimney sweeps in Vienna will be provided with electric cargo bikes to aid in their profession.

Source: The Mayor

Chimney sweeps in Vienna play a critical role in maintaining the city’s heating/energy efficiency/air quality paradigm. The sweeps secure the safety of close to 12,000 Viennese households that run fireplaces as their heating source. This service prevents fires and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide; additionally, well-maintained systems use 10% less fuel.

The wide range of transport and parking options associated with e-cargo bikes, alongside adequate storage for the necessary industry tools, places the bikes as a cost-effective alternative to a car for chimney sweeps working within the city centre.

Cash from the Vienna Green Electricity Fund is being used to support chimney sweeping companies as they switch to e-cargo bikes, having already financed 300 bikes across 260 companies. A further 180 companies are pending approval for e-cargo funding, pushing a total of 440 chimney-sweeping companies towards a greener, and cheaper, method of operation.