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.
The nationwide German Bike Monitor 2021 survey, which occurs every two years, has highlighted shifting attitudes towards cargo bikes within the population
The definition for a cargo bike used in the survey is as follows: “The cargo bike is a bicycle that is used to transport loads or people. Depending on the intended use, the basket/box is in the rider’s field of vision or in the rear area of the bike. Depending on the design, these bikes are equipped with two or three wheels.”
From this, participants were quizzed on various aspects of the cargo bike market. The representative survey now estimates over eight million potential cargo bike buyers in Germany alone, with double that figure showing interest in cargo bike-sharing services.
Awareness of cargo models has risen from 38% in 2017 to 63% in 2021, clearly indicating the growing market. Additionally, 2% of the population now use a cargo bike in their lives (1.2 million individuals).
An interesting question, newly added this year, regarded second-hand bikes. The cargo bike garnered the most interest of all bike models in this case. 35% of those interested in a cargo bike would prefer to buy pre-owned; for comparison, this figure falls to 14% when averaged between all bike types.
The final and particularly insightful section of the data explores the arguments against interest in cargo bikes; the reasoning for such disinterest was found to cover a range of issues. At 61 percent, having your own car will remain the most important argument against buying a cargo bike in 2021, this was followed by the bikes being ‘too bulky and unwieldy’ (36%), lack of parking/storage space (29%), skepticism about effectiveness (27%), and finally, the high price tag at 24%.
Berlin’s Chief of Police, Dr. Barbara Slowik, unveiled 70 service bicycles and 11 cargo bicycles for road safety advisors at the five local police departments.
Rather than be transported in a radio truck, ‘Road Safety Tips’ documents are now transported on cargo bikes. The 70 service bikes include a lock, first aid kit, multitool, and waterproof luggage bag. Additionally, all riding officers were provided with new, custom uniforms.
The International Cargo Bike Festival (ICBF) will take place in Amsterdam, 27-29 October 2022.
Attendees of ICBF 2022 will find the festival in a special cargo bike-focused area of the wider World of eMobility 2022 event – a hybrid B2B / B2C trade show that saw its debut in 2021. The cargo bike festival will be a unique and innovation-focused affair, including exhibition space, indoor test track, and cargo bike conference.
Discover more via the official ICBF website, here.
The event will take place at Expo Haarlemmermeer, a multifunctional venue surrounded by nature, in the heart of Randstad. The exclusive location has an industrial look and feel and is just a stone’s throw from Schiphol Airport and Amsterdam. The unexpected peace and tranquillity amidst the hustle and bustle of the Randstad, and the striking architecture of the building, blend in perfectly well with the lush nature surrounding it.
A ‘pandemic bike boom’ has catapulted the German and wider European cargo-bike market towards an estimated growth of 40-50% in 2021
As European cities continue to grow in size and density, road space has become increasingly scarce. In tandem, online shopping has become the new norm, so it is unsurprising that in locations such as the UK, van traffic has seen a 71% increase over the last 20 years; for comparison, car traffic saw a 13% growth in the same period. More vans equate to more congestion, more pollution, and slower delivery times. In Germany, the cargo-bike is powering onto the scene with such ferocity that leading magazine Bike Europe stated that the bikes have quickly “[changed] the look of streets” in many cities.
Six years ago, in 2016, annual German cargo-bike sales stood at 15,000, in 2020 sales reached 100,000; today, the pandemic induced ‘bike boom’ has led to manufacturers estimating they experienced growth of 40-50% in 2021. When discussing modern city planning Walther Ploos van Amstel, a professor of city logistics at Amsterdam University, argues that “trucks… need to become smarter, cleaner, quieter, smaller and safer.” to remain viable – electric cargo-bikes already fulfill all of these criteria.
This spike in interest correlates to businesses begining to identify the range of benefits that electric cargo-bikes may bring to their operations in urban areas. In many cities, trips made by cargo-bikes are often more efficient during both travel and delivery procedure (parking, unloading, etc.). Consequently, policymakers are further accelerating the electric cargo-bike trend on a local and national scale, offering subsidies, trial schemes, and rebates. Cargo-bikes make up a crucial step in the marathon that is transforming European cities into climate-neutral locations.
Eurobike 2022 is reporting a record number of registrations.
Expanding the concept and explicitly integrating the topics Future Mobility and Urban Mobility in all their facets is perfectly complementing classic bike topics. Working hand in hand with competence clusters from politics, administration, and business, as well as experts from research and practice, Eurobike is actively advancing the transformation of transport from the viewpoint of stakeholders in the bicycle industry. Two established Eurobike features, namely the Start-Up Area and Cargo Area, are moving into Hall 8 – the new flagship for alternative mobility solutions on the exhibition grounds.
The green transformation in transport policy is gathering pace. Even though it currently remains to be seen what priority the new Federal government will assign to the issue of transforming mobility, development – above all in urban areas – is already overtaking what is commonly being discussed as forward planning. Through bicycles, e-bikes and electrically assisted small vehicles such as e-scooters and sharing services, the transition to micromobility is already taking place, while the space required and CO2 footprint per user are falling. The new Eurobike is both a driving force and a catalyst in this development; it is showcasing new products and innovations while also offering mobility stakeholders a platform, networks, concepts, and contents extending beyond the bicycle and e-bike. The nucleus and epicenter of Future Mobility will be Hall 8 on the Frankfurt Messe exhibition grounds with a connection to the Demo Area.
In order to extend the concept towards urban mobility, the organizers of Eurobike have augmented the team with powerful reinforcement from a range of different disciplines. MotionLab.Berlin with its founder and leading light Christoph Neye, who sees support for Eurobike as a logical consequence of his commitment to new mobility: “As co-initiator of MotionLab.Berlin, I have been able to experience the potential for new mobility every single day. The bike segment, in particular, which is being increasingly supplemented by light electric vehicles (LEVs) in urban applications, is witnessing the emergence of new technologies and services capable of changing our mobility for the better in the long term. It is therefore also a matter of personal concern for me to support and advise Eurobike as it pursues this path. And, as a proponent and supporter of the hard-tech start-up scene, I am delighted by this opportunity to introduce exciting and unique innovations to a large public at the leading trade fair for future mobility.”
Cargo bikes – guaranteeing the switch to greener transport
Future mobility is inconceivable without cargo bikes. Only if we succeed in moving cargo over short distances in a safe and environmentally aware manner will we manage to transform transport policy. The cargo bike will also be finding a new home in Hall 8 “Mobility of the Future”. Eurobike Show Director Dirk Heidrich explains: “Since 2018, the Cargo Area has been a meeting point for the dynamic cargo bike sector. Through the choice of Frankfurt, we will be offering the product a fitting territory, a real laboratory, the right setting, and a connection to the subject matter.” Community events such as evening cargo bike excursions both with and into the local cargo bike scene will be just as much a part of the program as cargo bike races on the Festival weekend (16 and 17 July). The all-inclusive stand offers as well as direct access to the Demo Area with ideal opportunities for testing as well as proximity to the topic areas of Start-Ups, Urban Mobility, Sharing as a Service, Infrastructure and the like all combine to produce a nicely rounded package.
The Eurobike organizers are now extending their cooperation with the Berlin-based think-and-do tank cargobike.jetzt, which acts as a supporter and driving force in this field. “Eurobike is the place to be for the cargo bike sector,” says Arne Behrensen, founder of the undertaking. “Frankfurt Messe is a top international address. And in the streets of the city, the cargo bike revolution is in fact already in full swing.” Cargo bike-sharing is set to play a tremendous role in the future as well. For many city-dwellers, this now represents the first option to really live without a car. After all, the easier it becomes to borrow a cargo bike for specific needs, the more matter-of-fact it will become to manage without a car.
It is quite clear that the changing mobility needs new traffic infrastructure. Rapid cycle paths are under construction – direct, flat, junction-free routes for bikes and pedelecs that link A to B and then lead on to C and D. They too are a major step towards alternative (bike) commuting. Eurobike will be highlighting the development and projects also in conjunction with exhibitors from the field of infrastructure and planning. An atmosphere of change prevails in all areas of the new mobility,” says Show Director Dirk Heidrich. “And we are already looking forward to reproducing precisely this atmosphere.”
The 30th edition of Eurobike runs from Wednesday 13 July, to Sunday 17 July 2022, from 09:00 to 18:00 each day, and is open to the general public on Saturday and Sunday.
Over 2021, a total 386 funding applications were submitted in Saxony by clubs, companies, municipal and special-purpose associations.
Since March 2021, Saxony has offered a subsidy of up to 500 euros for bicycles and up to 1500 euros for pedelecs. Organizations can apply to have up to five companions sponsored each year, with a further 700,000 euros available in 2022 to continue building on the scheme’s success. Economics Minister Martin Dulig (SPD) shared, “The continuously high number of applications shows that there is a great need for such means of transport. Especially in urban areas, the cargo bike has great potential as an agile and environmentally friendly means of transport.”
While there has been minor criticism of the program as it finds its feet, there is no denying the transformative effect it is having on communities in Saxony. Highlighting the massive potential of green transport methods.
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