Keeping it clean - Hamburg street cleaners trial switch to e-trikes

Register of Initiatives in Pedal Powered Logistics - RIPPL #35

 The RIPPL blog continues at the website RIPPL.BIKE

Photo credit: Radio Hamburg

Stadtreinigung Hamburg (SRH), the organisation responsible for keeping Hamburg clean, have begun using cargo trikes for some of their operations. Two custom-built electric cargo trikes fitted with GPS trackers have taken on work that was previously carried out by light commercial vehicles. In total SRH will pilot ten cargo cycles as part of a research project.

As part of TrasHH, as the 3 year project is called, SRH are working together with a team from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt or DLR for short, which despite the name, also has a department looking at ground-based transport). The DLR team will be analysing the switch to e-bikes and cargo e-trikes and will share the results so that other municipal authorities can follow suit according to the best practices identified.

The DLR team systematically identified which of the many operations carried out daily by SRH, an organisation with 2,600 employees and around 700 vehicles, could feasibly be carried out on e-bikes. For each task, of workers and vehicles were taken into account, as were the distances involved and what needed to be carried. For example, whilst collections of bulky waste such as furniture were deemed out of scope, street cleaning was found to be potentially suitable and was put forward for the trial phase.

The main driver for the project was to reduce emissions, but just as importantly, a need was also identified for public sector organisations to act as a role model in sustainable practices. The project is also looking for economic efficiencies.

The custom built SRH e-bike. Photo credit: DLR/V. Ehrler

The DLR team found that there were significant challenges in applying change to the organisation - especially since the culture has always involved using vehicles. Not insignificant was the challenge of convincing staff and managers that using a cargo bike for an 8 hour shift outdoors during winter was possible and desirable. Employee comfort was found to be a key motivator; because of this the the DLR team are now investigating cargo cycles with closed cabins, to help keep SRH workers warm and dry.

Another issue identified was that the distances involved mean that carrying street cleaning waste to and from SRH depots could be more efficient. In response, DLR are developing a multi-modal solution based on last-mile consolidation centres. The waste is dropped off by bike locally at on-street storage containers, from where it is later collected by a truck.

The first iteration of the e-bike. Custom elements came later in the
second iteration - see the photo above. Photo credit: Adomeit/Veleon

The scheme, funding for which comes from the National Bike Transport Plan (which also provided funding to TINK Bike, featured in RIPPL #26) runs until April 2019.

We’ve written before about a much smaller Dutch municipal waste authority switching to pedal power; click here to read about how Gemeente Waalre approached it.

Innovations: waste, emissions reduction

Organisation: SRH and DLR
Sector: Public/Government
City: Hamburg
Country: Germany
Basis: Trial
Website: DLR.de (German) / DLR.de (English)
Facebook: DLR Facebook (German) / DLR Facebook (English)
Twitter: DLR Twitter (German) / DLR Twitter (English) / SRH Twitter (German)
Contact: Dr-Ing Christian Rudolph

Sources:
Institute of Transport Research, German Aerospace Centre (DLR): “TrasHH - Clean Transport for a Clean City. Applications of Electric Cargo Cycles in City Cleaning”, Christian Rudolph and Verena Charlotte Ehrler. Presented at the International Cycling Conference, Mannheim, 20/09/2017
DLR Institut für Verkehrsforschung: “TRASHH: Technologisch-wirtschaftliche Analyse der Einsatzmöglichkeiten von Lastenrädern in kommunalen Einrichtungen öffentlichen Rechts am Beispiel der Stadtreinigung Hamburg” (German)
Hamburg.de: “E-Bikes für die Räum-Patroullie” (German)
Stadtreinigung Hamburg: “Umweltsenator stellt Elektro-Lastenräder der SRH vor: Abgasfrei für mehr Sauberkeit (17.05.2017)” (German)
Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik - Fahrradportal: “Einsatzmöglichkeiten von Lastenrädern in kommunalen Unternehmen” (German)
ELEKTROFAHRRAD24: “TRASHH: Haumburger abfallentsorgung setzt aud e-lastenrader” (German)
electrive.net: “Hamburger Stadtreinigung nutzt Lasten-Pedelecs” (German)
Hamburgize: “Hamburg: Stadtreinigung setzt auf Cargobikes” (German)
Radio Hamburg: “Durch diese Elektro-Fahrräder wird Hamburg sauberer” (German)

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