The latest market studies by major electric bicycle associations clearly show steady growth in the e-cargo bike sector, which will continue to increase in the coming years. LEVA-EU member Bafang is responding to this with the launch of the M620 mid-engine.
In particular, the segment of heavy, commercially used e-cargo bikes (payload between 500 kg and 1 tonne) give many engineers a headache when choosing the most suitable and sustainable drive concept. Bafang is working intensively to develop solutions to meet the demands placed on these last-mile transport vehicles, which in turn help to meet global requirements for reducing CO2 emissions. Through exchange between the R&D department, users and manufacturers, Bafang has gained knowledge and insights for the effective research and development of its new technical milestone.
Integrated differential, smooth reverse drive function
Bafang has opted for a solution that is specifically aimed at use on chain- or belt-driven heavy-duty tricycles. Bafang creates entire systems that work in synergy for this application, for example, the powerful mid-engine M620, with a new 3-speed automatic gear hub, plus an integrated differential grid, and reverse gear. According to the Chinese manufacturer, these form the ideal system solution in combination with a powerful and reliable mid-mounted motor.
The e-bike rental service Henry Mobility (Berlin), which previously specialized in the commercial sector, is now also aimed at end customers. The subscription service under the name ‘Cycle’ starts in Berlin.
Rad Power Bikes have paired up with Cycle to provide two cargo bikes for the pilot project: Radrunner and Radwagon. The subscription will be priced at EUR 79.90 per month, with a choice between monthly rentals or a cheaper annual contract.
Compared to other cargo bikes, Rad Power’s offering may seem small, but with their robust luggage racks at the front and rear and the high payload of 136 and 156 kilograms, they offer significantly more transport options than conventional bicycles.
Included in the service are maintenance, insurance, and workshop appointments – all available via the smartphone app. Having previously only catered to B2B clients, the service’s launch in Berlin is a new B2C venture, with the potential to expand into additional European cities.
THEO is the name given to a self-driving robot delivery method, or ‘bot-as-a-service trike’, that operates on the bicycle path.
The vehicle was developed in Germany and during testing has delivered its test orders to a closed university site. THEO is primarily designed to undertake fast, same-day delivery of goods and last-mile deliveries by logistics companies.
The robot’s maximum speed is 20 km/h, with a trolley that can carry a maximum of 100 kg, in 8 individual compartments. THEO is 70 cm wide and 168 cm long.
The designers describe THEO as a semi-autonomous trike, optimized for cycle paths. Semi-automatic means that THEO’s actions are monitored from a central control room. “If cycle paths are not available, [the robot] is also fast, light and agile enough to drive on conventional car lanes without causing congestion.”
THEO is registered with Mobilitylab, a partnership between several provinces to get startup pilots off the ground in the field of mobility. The intention is that these startups will test their innovative solution in the regions of Rotterdam, Noord-Brabant, Limburg or Utrecht.
Starting June 27, six cities across south-western Germany are set to host commercial e-cargo bike testing opportunities, promoting uptake among local businesses.
Berlin transport change agency Cargobike.jetzt is behind the operation, offering a variety of LEVs for testing. These include various e-cargo bikes and trailers, supporting up to 200kg of cargo. The scheduled dates and locations are:
Monday, June 27: Ludwigsburg | Rathaushof | 1pm-6pm
Tuesday, June 28: Stuttgart | Karlsplatz | 11am-4pm
Wednesday, June 29: Karlsruhe | Old Slaughterhouse 35 | 12pm-7pm
Thursday, June 30: Darmstadt | HWK Frankfurt-Rhine-Main | 11am-4pm
Friday, July 1st: Mainz | Mewa Arena | 11am-4pm
Saturday, July 2: Wiesbaden | Palace Square | 9am-7pm
Prague remains a key location for cargo bike urban integration, having opened two city center depots. After operating for a sustained period, the success of the scheme can now be evaluated.
Prague’s two cargo bike depots opened in 2020 and 2021 respectively, being recognized by the 2021 Eurocities Awards as a low-carbon alternative to last-mile van delivery. The principal is simple, a van drops off packages at the central depot, which are then delivered across the city via cargo bike. In Prague, hilly terrain leads to a preference for e-cargo bikes, allowing riders to tackle tougher terrain with ease. Thus far, each depot has delivered approximately 7,000 orders per month, with each location housing up to eight companies.
Successful collaboration between public and private sectors
Operating companies pay a small fee to cover depot running costs, and hence, the city administration does not have to contribute a stake in the project outside of the initial construction cost. For a relatively low price, the depot helps to achieve Prague’s long-term vision to promote cycling and change its citizens’ attitudes to this means of transport. The depot also contributes to the city’s pledge to lower its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2050.
The project is a good example of cooperation between different actors. The pilot project was approved by the city council based on a study by the Prague Institute of Planning and Development. It took only three months to execute the proposal. Ekolo, the company setting up and running the depot, attributes this success to intense cooperation between the logistics firm and city-run companies.
Domestic firm (Dámejídlo, Zásilkovna, Rohlík or WEDO) and international firms (DHL, Dascher, GLS) both profit from the innovation. Twelve enterprises use the two depots at present, but Adam Scheinherr, mayor’s deputy for transportation, is in talks with companies that could not be accommodated in the first depots. A representative of Ekolo started helping with similar cargo bike projects in London, Copenhagen, and Lille.
Potential to inspire future action and lessons learned
As the largest depots of their kind, Prague’s cargo bike scheme offers both a point of inspiration and a case study from which to learn. Of course, it is commonly accepted that electric cargo bikes are an optimal delivery vehicle; speedy, quiet, low polluting, cheaper, accessible, etc. however, new insight can now be utilized to further improve customer and driver experience.
The key lessons learned for future projects were:
More depots are required: This will minimize driver distance and reduce delivery times.
Unsustainable trends must still be recognized: Overconsumption and the negative impact of deliveries and packaging are still prominent issues for the majority of parcel lifetimes. More localized production is required.
Worker experience must be improved: One recent example concerns an online grocery store, Rohlik.cz, one of the companies using the depot. The firm reduced the couriers’ wages (despite having almost doubled its profit last year), sparking public concern. Other difficulties of this job came to light, namely long working hours, lack of social security, and uncertain wages.
Any Italian company or business activity that invested in the purchase of a cargo bike for its daily activities in 2021 will now be able to receive up to 30% of the total expense. According to a decree published in the Italian Official Gazette, the incentive will be “in the form of a tax credit” and is up to a maximum of €2,000.
The Italian government has allocated €2million to the scheme, which applies to the purchase of cargo bikes and power-assisted bikes. An online registration is soon to be created with a deadline for submissions to obtain the credit set at 20th June 2022.
Cargo bikes are being championed by manufacturers around Europe and their numbers are set to expand. Companies are using cargo bikes for first- and last-kilometres deliveries, while families are encouraged to replace their second cars with cargo bikes and similar modes of transport. The subsidies do only apply to businesses and not personal use, however.
Elisa Gallo, the president of the FIAB Torino Bike Pride – the Italian Association of Cycling Friends (which recently organised a cargo bike day), and newly elected national councillor of the Italian Environment and Bicycle Federation, commented on the news to RivistaBC: “It is certainly useful to invest in cargo bikes. Italians are beginning to be interested in cargo bikes, however, much more needs to be done. Delivery companies are also more sensitive to their environmental impact. It is certainly desirable for the incentive to be renewed also for 2022.”
The National Association for Cycle and Motorcycle Accessories (ANCMA) remarked that the incentive is still far away from contributing to reach the environmental objectives or the ecological transition and that more are needed to encourage cycling. However, considering the current energy crisis, this could potentially favour a radical change in the way people and goods move, particularly inurban areas.
For more information check the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition (MiTE) Gazzetta Ufficiale
A forthcoming Rotterdam-based e-bike campaign means that it will soon be possible to borrow a cargo bike free of charge.
A forthcoming Rotterdam-based e-bike campaign means that it will soon be possible to borrow a cargo bike free of charge. In a city where almost anything is possible by bike, the trial period will pave the way for the transportation of bulky waste, further promoting fitness and sustainability.
The trial period will offer electric cargo bikes free of charge, in which items such as large garden waste or second-hand items can be deposited in environmental parks and certified locations. Here, the items will embark on a new journey and become useful every day goods for others in the city.
The Municipality of Rotterdam announced the new initiative only last week in an effort to encourage residents to embrace the opportunity to increase their recycling quota and cut down on incineration. The public will be able to reach environmental parks in this favored transportation alternative by reserving a cargo bike or trailer from multiple locations and using it for part of the day to transport voluminous waste.
The trailer is an open cart of 2 x 1.1 x 0.34 meters, and the size of the electric cargo bike is 1 x 0.5 x 0.6 meters, ideal for household waste that does not fit into underground containers or garbage bags. Examples of this waste include furniture such as sofas and cupboards, and large electronic items such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners, all of which can take on a new leaf of life by being transported to a recycling plant. In addition, trailers can also be attached to a car for ease of use.
The trial period will remain in place until the end of October when the authorities will evaluate the usability and the usefulness of the new service. A discussion about extending the service permanently from 2023 will address the success and the uptake of the environmental campaign. At this time, only residents of Rotterdam can adopt the service, with businesses unable to apply.
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The European cycle insurer that has disrupted the consumer and commercial insurance market
LEVA-EU member Laka, the European cycle insurer that has disrupted the consumer and commercial insurance market, is now working with cargo bike subscription giant DOCKR to bring their fresh, entrepreneurial model to the e-mobility market. As part of their DOCKR subscription, thousands of DOCKR clients in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands now benefit from Laka’s award-winning insurance and fleet management system.
Laka’s appeal to clients is its ability to quickly adapt its unique, tech-based insurance model to provide tailored, cost-effective insurance cover for clients’ specific requirements across Europe. Laka and DOCKR both bring a modern and flexible model to their retrospective industries. Notably, outdated insurance companies are known for locking clients in for long periods with expensive get-out clauses and charging for policy changes. This is where Laka and DOCKR are changing things to better serve the business market. With DOCKR, clients pay via an all-inclusive flexible subscription model, whilst Laka offers flexible insurance contracts that allow daily policy changes; which are more suited to the changing needs of growing delivery fleet companies.
Both companies also maximize revenue opportunities for their clients. Laka has its own in-house customer services team, who provides award-winning fast service to get riders back on their bikes (41 minutes is the quickest settlement), and DOCKR’s secret lies within its subscription, which includes regular service at the customer’s location and backup vehicles when necessary, thereby maximizing uptime for its users.
DOCKR is the most recent addition to Laka’s commercial client list, which features Decathlon, Randstad, EAV, Zapp, and Santis Global to name a few, proving that Laka is now uniquely positioned to provide a comprehensive, cost-effective, and versatile commercial insurance model (covering e-cargo bikes, delivery riders, and cycles), across Europe and the UK.
Tobias Taupitz, Laka CEO said “We listened to clients’ pain points with traditional insurance to develop a product that challenges the outdated insurance model. Laka provides tech-driven flexible policies to better suit their needs; whether they are a global company or a fast-growing (and fast-changing) start-up. DOCKR is one of those fast-growing companies. We are delighted to work with the DOCKR team, who are aligned with Laka’s disruptive approach of rebelling against outdated models to do things differently, to do them better.”
Nadine van der Hoorn, Managing Director at DOCKR said ”At DOCKR we look for innovation and customer-focus in all partners we work with. These are key drivers for us and our partners to grow with the disruptive DOCKR Model. When starting conversations with LAKA we’ve found a partner who will work with us (instead of against us) to offer our customers the best possible cargo solution in inner cities. This requires courage from both of us to embrace the unknown.”
Van der Hoorn goes on to explain that, every day the inner cities become more congested with traffic, and CO2 emissions continue to rise. That’s why DOCKR is on a mission to make the inner cities a better place. DOCKR delivers flexible all-in subscriptions for electric cargo vehicles because they believe mobility should be easy, accessible, and sustainable. DOCKR helps its customers with their logistical challenges so they can focus on their core business. Whether your company is big or small, there is an ideal DOCKR for everyone. No big investments upfront and no long-term commitments. With DOCKR’s service and preventive maintenance, they ensure that your vehicle is always on the road to guarantee you maximum uptime.
DOCKR is growing rapidly and they want to conquer the European market with their all-inclusive subscription. To make this rapid growth possible, they are looking for new investors so that they can make the city center a better place, not only in the Netherlands, Belgium & Germany but in all of Europe!
For further information about Laka visit the Laka website at www.laka.co For further information about DOCKR visit the DOCKR website at www.dockrmobility.com
A 12-month trial sees vans servicing Bristol Royal Infirmary replaced by cargo bikes for urban journeys
Run by West of England Combined Authority, the trial will take place for a full year, beginning June 2022. E-cargo bikes will be used as direct replacements for vans previously utilized by the Bristol Royal Infirmary, with GPS tracking measuring how this change impacts delivery performance.
The £920,000 of funding from central government seeks to deliver substantial change to the way in which UK transport systems operate. As outlined by the Future Transport Zone, “The zones will provide real-world testing for experts, allowing them to work with a range of local bodies such as councils, hospitals, airports and universities to test innovative ways to transport people and goods.”
A comparable study by Pedal and Post, an Oxford-based cargo bike provider, found medical delivery times to be halved when using cargo bikes in comparison to vans in urban areas. The results for Bristol will become clear in a year’s time.
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