Mobility of the future: Commuting with the cargo bike

According to its own statements, the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport would like to press ahead with the National Cycling Plan 2020. The goal is environmentally friendly, intelligent mobility in German metropolitan areas. In order to achieve this, both the cycling infrastructure and the environmental network of public transport, walking and cycling must become more attractive.

Daily commuter traffic accounts for a large part of our urban mobility. Heilbronn University is currently investigating how difficult it is to persuade commuters to switch to cycling with the research project „PendlerRatD“ headed by Professor Jana Heimel. The aim is to make daily commuting easy by simply switching to the bike. In two test phases, around 270 employees were provided with an e-bike free of charge for an initial period of four weeks and then seven months. In addition, incentive concepts - bonuses or vouchers provided by employers and sponsors - were implemented in an app. The results show that the satisfaction of the bike commuters was higher than that of other road users with regard to the environment, time, health or daily costs. The vast majority - around 51 percent - would like to continue commuting by bike. These results of the study are also remarkable: the test persons covered a total distance of about 120,586 kilometres by bike. That is roughly equivalent to cycling 2.8 times around the world. On average, each of the participants commuted about 34 kilometres per day. In the process, around 19 tonnes of CO2 were saved.

The results prove that commuting by bike can contribute to environmentally friendly mobility. Cargo bikes in particular are a practical alternative to a car in everyday life - and also to public transport, because who likes to carry crates of drinks on the bus. A cargo bike can be used for weekend shopping, transporting children or materials. A multi-track electric cargo bike can carry up to 300 kilograms.

They are not only practical, but also have a radiance. "Cargo bikes are not only a means of transport," says Managing Director Thomas Herzog. "They also stand for a basic ecological attitude and a responsible lifestyle. After all, society is currently also questioning the ecological footprint of long-distance travel, installing solar panels on roofs or investing in investment funds with a positive CO2 balance."

The next phase of the project PendlerRatD, which will run nationwide until mid-2024, will show whether the population's willingness to commute daily by (cargo) bike is growing. Parallel to the new project, the app will be revised in terms of design and usability and expanded to include a ticketing and reporting system - for example, for showers or changing rooms.

Would you like to commute by bike more often? Try out our cargo bikes and contact the organisers directly here.

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