Subsidised e-Cargo Bikes in Maastricht

Register of Initiatives in Pedal Powered Logistics - RIPPL #18

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A pilot scheme in Maastricht is allowing entrepreneurs and businesses to try out electric cargo bikes for free. Maastricht Bereikbaar (”Accessible Maastricht”, the city transport authority which is a collaboration between several government bodies, the local Municipality, the Province of Limburg and local businesses with an interest in logistics) is giving local initiatives the chance to test e-cargo bikes for six months.

Maastricht Bereikbaar are preparing Maastrichters for possible disruption when the Noorderbrug closes.

How does it work? Firstly, businesses buy or lease the e-cargo bikes themselves. In order to qualify for 100% reimbursement up to a maximum of €4000, participating businesses must make at least 4 journeys per day in and around the Maastricht area during the six month trial period. To ensure this condition is met, Maastricht Bereikbaar fits each e-cargo bike with a GPS tracker, which also provides valuable data about user behaviour. 

In August 2017 major works which will close the Noorderbrug, one of Maastricht’s main river crossings, so one of the scheme’s stated aims is to reduce traffic in Maastricht in anticipation of the disruption caused during this period. Therefore another requirement is that the e-cargo bike purchased replaces trips that would otherwise be taken by trucks or vans.

LEVV-LOGIC, a research project focussing on using light electric vehicles for freight, will evaluate the GPS data generated as well as the experiences of users, treating the trial as a Living Lab (we’ve covered CityServiceBike, another LEVV-LOGIC Living Lab in a previous post).

No van needed here

The scheme, which runs between July 2017 and March 2018, is open to a limited number of participants and interested parties can sign up here before 30th September. Several similar schemes, in which public sector subsidies are made available to promote cycle logistics, exist in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Cargobike.jetzt has compiled a list here.

Innovations: Public sector involvement as a catalyst, traffic reduction

Organisation: Maastricht Bereikbaar

Sector: Government

City: Maastricht

Country: The Netherlands

Basis: Pilot

Website: https://www.maastrichtbereikbaar.nl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaastrichtBereikbaar

Twitter: https://twitter.com/naarMaastricht
Contact: Mark Luikens and/or Francoise van den Broek / info@maastricht-bereikbaar.nl

Sources:
LEVV-LOGIC July 2017 Newsletter (Dutch)

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