E-cargo bike

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Electric cargo bikes (also e-cargo bikes or transport pedelecs ) are bicycles that are moved by people with the assistance of an electric motor . These vehicles have large luggage boxes and are intended to gradually replace car delivery traffic in city centers.

UPS cargo pedelec in use in the city of Hamburg

history

The starting point for the development of light vans powered by muscle power and electric assistance is the rapidly increasing delivery traffic due to the booming online mail order business in the early 21st century. Statistical information and forecasts about small delivery traffic prove the need to try out new and environmentally friendly delivery options: The number of parcel deliveries in Germany is expected to almost triple from 2018 (3.5 billion parcels) to 2028.

In Germany, at the instigation of the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control, an ordinance was passed at the end of 2017, which came into force retrospectively on November 29, 2017. On request, it provides companies with funding for the development and production of heavy-duty bicycles, which would be inconceivable without motor assistance.

In the state of Berlin, major delivery services such as DHL , DPD , GLS , Hermes and UPS deployed around 90,000 mostly diesel- powered small vans in 2019 . The Senate Department for Transport , especially its member Julius Quantity, supports companies that are developing e-cargo bikes and setting up a suitable infrastructure to reduce car delivery trips. The parcels first have to be transferred from the huge distribution centers to smaller distribution centers, known as microdepots. In the summer of 2018, the Senate set up a trial micro-storage facility in Eberswalder Strasse ( Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg district ) , from where e-cargo bikes take over the goods and bring them to the addressee within a radius of around three kilometers. By the summer of 2019, eleven e-cargo bikes had procured 160,000 parcels, which translates into 28,000 van kilometers or around 4,140 liters of diesel fuel.

Studies indicate that in future around 50 percent of small goods traffic in European cities can be handled by e-cargo bikes. Proponents see further potential in the fact that smaller businesses in the inner city could use such environmentally friendly and parking space-saving bicycles. In 2019, the startups Citkar and ONOmotion as well as other small companies are active in this field in Berlin .

Developers and providers (selection)

In Germany

Citkar

The startup Citkar in Berlin has been working on the production of an e-cargo bike, which is known as a Loadster , since 2013 . It is a four-wheeled cargo bike and should go into series production from 2020. The assembly is contractually agreed with the VfL workshops , a facility for people with disabilities in Berlin-Neukölln . 200 vehicles are planned for the first year of production, and 20 supply contracts have already been signed. (A price has not yet been named; as of October 2019.)

ONO

ONOmotion in Berlin, founded in 2016 by Murat Günak (car designer ), Beres Seelbach ( business economist ) and Philipp Kahle ( vehicle technician ) as a startup , presented the prototype of a three-wheeled transport pedelec in 2018 , which was named ONO pedal box and equipped with a Exchange box is equipped. Since then, two vehicles have been tested at Hermes, Liefery and GLS. In this phase, the Brillux company also supplied its painting businesses in Berlin with these vehicles. The demand from interested companies is constantly increasing. - Citkar and Onomotion are based in the Alt-Treptow district (Bouchéstraße) in two old warehouses and together form a Motionlab .

14 employees and an investment volume of around two million euros ( crowdfunding and silent partners) are available for the development of the new vans. In 2020, a large German automobile manufacturer will take over series production. - The ONO concept does not pursue the direct sale of the pedal boxes, but aims at a service package with maintenance and battery management. The fee for the monthly leasing of a pedal box is set at around 600 euros. The annual production should amount to 200 bikes in the first year and increase to over 5,000 bikes.

At the same time as this operational phase, the developers are already working on designs for other small vehicles on the ONO chassis, such as work cars for the BSR or the district green space offices, and rental vans for construction and furniture stores. An extension to two seats or the construction of a glass trailer instead of the parcel box with the aim of using a short-haul taxi are also already planned.

Description of the ONO pedal box :

The three-wheeled transporter with pedal crank and electric assistance that can be driven by one person is limited to a speed of 25 km / h and can therefore be moved without a driver's license. Its purpose, in addition to improving inner-city small delivery traffic, is to greatly reduce the costs of delivery services by using the ONO. - The ONO is about two meters long and has a front track wheel. A cabin sits on the chassis with a transport box that can be removed or folded back. The box is designed for a quantity of around 50 packages (average size and weight); if it is empty, i.e. all parcels have been delivered to the recipients, they can be exchanged for an already filled box in city ​​depots or city ​​hubs (yet to be set up) . It works like the big container terminals. The battery should be able to be used for a long time but at the same time can be easily exchanged for a charged one. The driver can get in comfortably (“glides standing on the saddle”) and sits upright like a Dutch bike . The motivation of the developers is that parcel carriers do a backbreaking job and deserve a cool vehicle. The new type of transport vehicle can be recognized by a large hexagonal window on the left-hand side, referred to by the young entrepreneurs as "Die Spange".

Pedal power

The Berlin company Pedalpower began its activity in 2001 with the development and production of tandems and leg-powered cargo bikes. In 2016, the employees also started manufacturing electric cargo bikes. These include the "E-Harry cargo" and the heavy-duty bike "Grizzly".

eMammoth

The auto supplier Brose presented its own electric cargo bike under the name eMammut at the IAA 2018. Otherwise, its optimized electric motors are also used by other e-bike manufacturers.

VW

At the Mikromobility trade fair, the car manufacturer VW also presented two motor-assisted cargo bikes that did not convince sufficiently in the practical tests.

In the Netherlands

Babboe

The Dutch company Babboe from Amersfoort produces cargo bikes (since 2009) and family / children's bikes with a powerful Yamaha mid-engine.

Urban Arrow

The Dutch manufacturer Urban Arrow from Amsterdam has been producing e-cargo bikes since 2010 and sells them in Denmark and Germany.

In the USA

UPS cargo bike

Since the 2010s, the US parcel service UPS has also been using self-developed cargo bikes with e-motor support under the name UPS cargo bikes : in Hamburg (see introductory picture ) and in Switzerland, among others.

Funding & supporters

In Austria

The municipality of Graz offers business owners purchase premiums for e-cargo bikes.

In Germany

The auto supplier Schaeffler calls on all vehicle manufacturers to do their utmost to promote the new transport segment together with the bicycle industry and to include it in the purchase bonus for e-cars; there is enormous potential for development, "a million eCargo bikes are feasible by 2020".

In France

The city of Nantes is offering purchase premiums for e-cargo bikes.

Public recognitions

Pedal power

In 2016, a large ExtraEnergy cargo bike test took place at Eurobike , which the Long-Harry-e-Cargobike won.

Ono

In 2018, the promotion company Wiwin initiated a prize for the “best German start-up” for the first time. Initially, anyone could suggest a company or product online, which resulted in five finalists. A 12-person jury chose Home Power Solutions (HPS) as the winner (integrated systems for storing and using solar energy for single and multi-family houses). In front of around 200 guests, the winners received their awards, including Ono a WIWIN award on his pedal box.

In June 2018, the OHLF ( Open Hybrid Lab Factory ) awarded the pedal box an innovation prize.

The NRW -Verkehrsminister Hendrik Wüst convinced himself during a visit to Onomotions early October 2018 place the level of development of cargo bikes.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Jochen Knoblach: Diesel replacement traffic . In: Berliner Zeitung , October 18, 2019, p. 6 (print edition).
  2. ↑ Small series heavy duty bikes. 2019, accessed October 18, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Johannes Reichel: City-Logistik: Tretbox goes into the test phase as ONO , Logistra , July 2nd, 2018.
  4. ↑ Onomotion homepage , accessed on October 18, 2019.
  5. ↑ Tandem - cargo bike - e-bike. 2019, accessed October 18, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Failure with VW Cargobike , accessed on October 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ Story of Babboe. babboe.de, accessed on October 18, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Homepage Urban Arrow , accessed on October 18, 2019.
  9. ↑ UPS express delivery - e-cargo bike , accessed on October 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ a b One million e-cargo bikes by 2020. cargobike.jetzt, accessed on October 18, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Test winner Long-Harry-e-Cargo , accessed on October 18, 2019.
  12. ↑ Website for the award for best start-up and best sustainability , accessed on November 29, 2018.
  13. ↑ Ono (Tretbox) awarded innovation prize from open hybrid Lab , accessed on November 29, 2018.
  14. ↑ minister of transport visits Ono (English) , accessed on 29 November 2018th