Cargo bike sharing has arrived in small towns
The boom in e-cargo bikes is reflected in sales figures and on urban roads. In rural areas, the cargo bike still has a hard time, as distances are too long and roads are too unsafe for cyclists. However, new findings from Bavaria and Austria show that even small towns are already successfully relying on cargobikes as transportation in the sharing sector: The final report of the pilot project “Rent a cargo bike, relieve municipalities” in Bavaria provides exciting insights for municipalities that also want to introduce cargo bike rental systems. The topic is also current in Austria. With 12 transport bikes, the city of Salzburg shows that the smart rental solutions from Radkompetenz member Radverteiler are well received in the city. The evaluation of the bike rental system in Leonding shows good figures.
Findings from the three-year project in Bavaria
As part of the project “Rent a cargo bike, relieve municipalities – setting up a cargo bike rental system in municipalities”, which was funded by the German State Ministry of Housing, Building and Transport, seven Bavarian municipalities were financially supported in setting up a cargo bike rental system. For the duration of the project from September 2020 to December 2023, the model municipalities provided 133 electric transport bikes at 55 rental stations, which could be rented fully automatically using smart lock systems. The aim of the project was to find out whether the rental systems reduce inner-city traffic. It turned out that 55% of trips with the transport bikes replaced car trips. We summarize the evaluation and the official final report.
Evaluation results show high potential among drivers
The project was supported from the outset by the external company e-fect, which carried out a detailed evaluation of the impact on traffic. The focus was on the impact of the transport bike rental systems and the transferability to other municipalities as well as the environmental aspect: How many car journeys are saved by using the transport bikes? The study began with short surveys directly in the rental apps of Lastenrad-Bayern and Sigo, which collected information on 1,867 journeys. In addition, online surveys were conducted with 657 people in September 2023.
All users stated that they had a car at their disposal, 98% of them in their own household. This reached a target group with a high potential to replace car journeys with the transport bike. The result also shows that the transport bike is not an issue for carless families, quite the opposite: car ownership and cycling complement each other as required.
What about usage?
The e-fect evaluation showed that during the observation phase from January to September 2023, a total of over 15,000 bikes were rented in the seven municipalities, from rural communities such as Lechbruck to cities such as Würzburg, and 95,630 km were covered. On average, 6-8 km were traveled per rental, half of the trips were less than 4 km.
This table (e-fect p. 9) shows the number of stations of the cargo bike rental systems (LMS) in the test municipalities, their utilization and mileage. Interesting are the values for the duration of use in relation to the availability time of the bikes: Lechbruck with 2,800 inhabitants on 3 rental bike stations has a higher share of 9% usage than Würzburg with 128,000 inhabitants on 11 rental bike stations. Rural areas are therefore also happy to accept transport bike sharing.
This survey on frequency of use shows that a third of users use the bikes several times a month. (e-fect p.11)
Half of transport bike journeys replaced the car
The model municipalities were able to demonstrate success in terms of environmental impact: 55% of journeys made with the cargo bikes replaced car journeys. This saved around 34,000 km of car journeys. In addition to these direct effects, awareness-raising through the transport bikes also plays an important role. Their use increases the visibility of bicycles in the modal split and normalizes them. As an alternative means of transportation, they contribute to sustainable, multimodal mobility.
Sigo system rental station in Lindau on Lake Constance
University study confirms result
This is also confirmed in a German study from 2022 and 2023, which was carried out in collaboration with “Commons Cargobikes”, an initiative from 179 mainly German cities. The results indicate that cargo bikes can play an important role in reducing car dependency. Improving infrastructure and transport bike technology as well as favorable social norms for transport bikes could help to exploit this potential. The study was published in an article in the specialist journal “Transportation Research”.
Practical tips from the Bavarian pilot project
Over the course of the project, it has been shown that marketing, constant monitoring and optimizations in the system are crucial for a successful transport bike rental system. The direct exchange with the operators in the municipalities, politicians and users also provides important insights. All of these findings, as well as numerous practical tips collected during the project, can be found in the official final report.
Suggestions for improvement from users mainly related to the roadworthiness and maintenance of the bikes, as well as improvements to the app. Non-users mentioned the lack of stations, lack of demand and unfamiliar handling or rental conditions as reasons. The report points out that this group could therefore be won over more by providing stations and spreading awareness of the rental systems.
City of Salzburg successfully expands offer with Radverteiler
In future, Radkompetenz member Stadt Salzburg will make a total of 12 transport bikes, seven of them with electric motors, available to its citizens via the platform radverteiler.at with smart rental boxes. Six smart rental boxes were installed at residents’ service points (BWS) in 2023, and a seventh rental point is in preparation at the new BWS Elisabethvorstadt. Five more smart rental boxes will be installed at the entrance to the bike garage at the main station for renting the cargo bikes there.
Since the smart rental boxes from Radverteiler were put into operation, the number of rentals has increased significantly: 126 rentals were registered from April to December 2022. From January to November 2023, there was a significant increase to 561 rentals for six bikes after the smart rental boxes were installed. To prevent theft, vandalism and soiling of the bikes and to protect them from the weather, they are stored in special cargo bike garages. The smart rental box includes a key to the garage and a battery with charger. A smart garage solution with direct access via the rental platform is being prepared at Radverteiuler.
On the road with the KlimaEntLaster transport bike in Leonding
Since December 2023, the municipality of Leonding near Linz has had a new cargo bike. This family-friendly Bullit e-cargo bike is part of the “HAUSRAD” project run by the KlimaEntLaster team and can be borrowed free of charge via the smart rental box and sharing software from Radkompetenz member radverteiler. Five regular users were recently interviewed about their experiences. Together with the bike’s GPS tracking, initial data on the success of the transport bike can be shared. The frequency of use is also outstanding in winter:
In the approximately two months since the start of the project at the end of December 2023 until the end of February 2024, the transport bike was ridden on 43 days, i.e. 2 out of 3 days. As a result, 472.4 km were covered, with an average of 13 to 14 km per loan. (TU Vienna, KlimaEntLaster 2024)
Plus points: Proximity, flexibility, environmental protection, cost factor
Users are on average over 40 years old. They have a higher level of education (high school diploma or university degree) and live within a radius of 0.5 to a maximum of 2 km from the rental location. Proximity to a sharing location was also one of the decisive factors for use in the Bavarian project. The people surveyed enjoy using the e-transport bike in everyday life and have fun doing so, appreciating the exercise and environmental friendliness as well as the flexibility compared to a car. “A very pleasant advantage of the transport bike is that you simply don’t have to think about what to take with you, everything just fits in,” says one user interviewed. Shopping of all kinds is also what is most frequently transported by bike. A plus point of the project is its cost-friendliness, as for many people the purchase of a private transport bike is out of the question.
The heat map of the journeys made shows where the transport bike was on the road from December 2023 to February 2024. Routes to the city center of Linz and the connection of the Harter Plateau to the center of Leonding are particularly heavily frequented. (TU Vienna, KlimaEntLaster 2024)
Graphics: From the e-fect and KlimaEntLaster evaluations | Photos: City of Salzburg, City of Lindau | Illustration: Final report Bavaria
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Cargo bike sharing has arrived in small towns
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The boom in e-cargo bikes is reflected in sales figures and on urban roads. In rural areas, the cargo bike still has a hard time, as distances are too long and roads are too unsafe for cyclists. However, new findings from Bavaria and Austria show that even small towns are already successfully relying on cargobikes as transportation in the sharing sector: The final report of the pilot project “Rent a cargo bike, relieve municipalities” in Bavaria provides exciting insights for municipalities that also want to introduce cargo bike rental systems. The topic is also current in Austria. With 12 transport bikes, the city of Salzburg shows that the smart rental solutions from Radkompetenz member Radverteiler are well received in the city. The evaluation of the bike rental system in Leonding shows good figures.
Findings from the three-year project in Bavaria
As part of the project “Rent a cargo bike, relieve municipalities – setting up a cargo bike rental system in municipalities”, which was funded by the German State Ministry of Housing, Building and Transport, seven Bavarian municipalities were financially supported in setting up a cargo bike rental system. For the duration of the project from September 2020 to December 2023, the model municipalities provided 133 electric transport bikes at 55 rental stations, which could be rented fully automatically using smart lock systems. The aim of the project was to find out whether the rental systems reduce inner-city traffic. It turned out that 55% of trips with the transport bikes replaced car trips. We summarize the evaluation and the official final report.
Evaluation results show high potential among drivers
The project was supported from the outset by the external company e-fect, which carried out a detailed evaluation of the impact on traffic. The focus was on the impact of the transport bike rental systems and the transferability to other municipalities as well as the environmental aspect: How many car journeys are saved by using the transport bikes? The study began with short surveys directly in the rental apps of Lastenrad-Bayern and Sigo, which collected information on 1,867 journeys. In addition, online surveys were conducted with 657 people in September 2023.
All users stated that they had a car at their disposal, 98% of them in their own household. This reached a target group with a high potential to replace car journeys with the transport bike. The result also shows that the transport bike is not an issue for carless families, quite the opposite: car ownership and cycling complement each other as required.
What about usage?
The e-fect evaluation showed that during the observation phase from January to September 2023, a total of over 15,000 bikes were rented in the seven municipalities, from rural communities such as Lechbruck to cities such as Würzburg, and 95,630 km were covered. On average, 6-8 km were traveled per rental, half of the trips were less than 4 km.
This table (e-fect p. 9) shows the number of stations of the cargo bike rental systems (LMS) in the test municipalities, their utilization and mileage. Interesting are the values for the duration of use in relation to the availability time of the bikes: Lechbruck with 2,800 inhabitants on 3 rental bike stations has a higher share of 9% usage than Würzburg with 128,000 inhabitants on 11 rental bike stations. Rural areas are therefore also happy to accept transport bike sharing.
This survey on frequency of use shows that a third of users use the bikes several times a month. (e-fect p.11)
Half of transport bike journeys replaced the car
The model municipalities were able to demonstrate success in terms of environmental impact: 55% of journeys made with the cargo bikes replaced car journeys. This saved around 34,000 km of car journeys. In addition to these direct effects, awareness-raising through the transport bikes also plays an important role. Their use increases the visibility of bicycles in the modal split and normalizes them. As an alternative means of transportation, they contribute to sustainable, multimodal mobility.
Sigo system rental station in Lindau on Lake Constance
University study confirms result
This is also confirmed in a German study from 2022 and 2023, which was carried out in collaboration with “Commons Cargobikes”, an initiative from 179 mainly German cities. The results indicate that cargo bikes can play an important role in reducing car dependency. Improving infrastructure and transport bike technology as well as favorable social norms for transport bikes could help to exploit this potential. The study was published in an article in the specialist journal “Transportation Research”.
Practical tips from the Bavarian pilot project
Over the course of the project, it has been shown that marketing, constant monitoring and optimizations in the system are crucial for a successful transport bike rental system. The direct exchange with the operators in the municipalities, politicians and users also provides important insights. All of these findings, as well as numerous practical tips collected during the project, can be found in the official final report.
Suggestions for improvement from users mainly related to the roadworthiness and maintenance of the bikes, as well as improvements to the app. Non-users mentioned the lack of stations, lack of demand and unfamiliar handling or rental conditions as reasons. The report points out that this group could therefore be won over more by providing stations and spreading awareness of the rental systems.
City of Salzburg successfully expands offer with Radverteiler
In future, Radkompetenz member Stadt Salzburg will make a total of 12 transport bikes, seven of them with electric motors, available to its citizens via the platform radverteiler.at with smart rental boxes. Six smart rental boxes were installed at residents’ service points (BWS) in 2023, and a seventh rental point is in preparation at the new BWS Elisabethvorstadt. Five more smart rental boxes will be installed at the entrance to the bike garage at the main station for renting the cargo bikes there.
Since the smart rental boxes from Radverteiler were put into operation, the number of rentals has increased significantly: 126 rentals were registered from April to December 2022. From January to November 2023, there was a significant increase to 561 rentals for six bikes after the smart rental boxes were installed. To prevent theft, vandalism and soiling of the bikes and to protect them from the weather, they are stored in special cargo bike garages. The smart rental box includes a key to the garage and a battery with charger. A smart garage solution with direct access via the rental platform is being prepared at Radverteiuler.
On the road with the KlimaEntLaster transport bike in Leonding
Since December 2023, the municipality of Leonding near Linz has had a new cargo bike. This family-friendly Bullit e-cargo bike is part of the “HAUSRAD” project run by the KlimaEntLaster team and can be borrowed free of charge via the smart rental box and sharing software from Radkompetenz member radverteiler. Five regular users were recently interviewed about their experiences. Together with the bike’s GPS tracking, initial data on the success of the transport bike can be shared. The frequency of use is also outstanding in winter:
In the approximately two months since the start of the project at the end of December 2023 until the end of February 2024, the transport bike was ridden on 43 days, i.e. 2 out of 3 days. As a result, 472.4 km were covered, with an average of 13 to 14 km per loan. (TU Vienna, KlimaEntLaster 2024)
Plus points: Proximity, flexibility, environmental protection, cost factor
Users are on average over 40 years old. They have a higher level of education (high school diploma or university degree) and live within a radius of 0.5 to a maximum of 2 km from the rental location. Proximity to a sharing location was also one of the decisive factors for use in the Bavarian project. The people surveyed enjoy using the e-transport bike in everyday life and have fun doing so, appreciating the exercise and environmental friendliness as well as the flexibility compared to a car. “A very pleasant advantage of the transport bike is that you simply don’t have to think about what to take with you, everything just fits in,” says one user interviewed. Shopping of all kinds is also what is most frequently transported by bike. A plus point of the project is its cost-friendliness, as for many people the purchase of a private transport bike is out of the question.
The heat map of the journeys made shows where the transport bike was on the road from December 2023 to February 2024. Routes to the city center of Linz and the connection of the Harter Plateau to the center of Leonding are particularly heavily frequented. (TU Vienna, KlimaEntLaster 2024)
Graphics: From the e-fect and KlimaEntLaster evaluations | Photos: City of Salzburg, City of Lindau | Illustration: Final report Bavaria