Struin – Nature, After-School Childcare and Bikes

Register of Initiatives in Pedal Powered Logistics - RIPPL #10

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“There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”. This is the slogan of Struin, an after-school care organisation located in Nijmegen in the East of the Netherlands.

Their aim is to bring groups of children into contact with nature during after-school sessions. Through outdoor play the children learn how to interact with other kids, develop their creativity and discover nature. There are regularly 170 children in Struin's care, guided by a well trained team of 30 staff split across three locations in Nijmegen.

Struin use bikes to collect the children from school and take them to various local nature spots. Part of the appeal is that children are out in fresh air not only for the session, but also for the journey there and back. After the sessions on the return journey, the bikes act like a bus; parents can choose to pick up their child from various pre-arranged drop off points at fixed times, or at a central collection point.

One of the bikes they use was developed by Struin along with Dutch manufacturer Tolkamp Metaalspecials. They have 10 of these and each one allows a single staff member to transport up to 11 children. Luckily for that staff member, the children join in with pedalling. The organisation has various types of cargo bikes, allowing them the flexibility to handle several groups of varying sizes. These include 8 Radkutsche Trikes, 10 Redding KDV-BSO Trikes and one Nihola Trike.

Innovations: Mobility as a Service, After-School Care Transport

Sources:
Struin on Facebook
Triodos Bank: Struin Buitenschoolse opvang in de natuur (Dutch)

Organisation: Struin

Sector: Private / Commercial

City: Nijmegen

Country: Netherlands

Bike Manufacturer(s): Tolkamp Metaalspecials, De Redding, Radkutsche, Nihola

Basis: Permanent

Website: http://www.struin.nl

Contact: Matthijs de Gruijter / directie@struin.nl

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The Cargo Bike Song

Every year there is an occassion at the International Cargo Bike Festival to sing the Cargo Bike Song.
In 2016 Johan Erlandsson practiced the Dutch version of the song and sang it in DE Vasim riding the Velove Armadillo together with Ron Vervuurt.
Allways a surprise who is going to sing it. Will you this year?

Chair of the Day, Ron Vervuurt, sang the song at the end of the day in 2015.

click on the photo to enlarge

The song as I know it is from 1968 from Egbert Douwe (Rob Out) and it is called in Dutch "Kom uit je bedstee mijn liefste" (Come out of the bed, my darling)

Ron Vervuurt wrote the new Dutch version and he did the translation into English as well.

However the original song is from The Brothers Four and written by Eric Andersen, "Come to my bedside, my darling"

Ron Vervuurt already sang the song at the Cargo BikeFestival 2014, but only few people were in the tent to listen then.

Looking forward to the performances of this year!

Carvelo2go – Cargo Bike Sharing Scheme

Register of Initiatives in Pedal Powered Logistics - RIPPL #9

The RIPPL blog continues at the website RIPPL.BIKE

Carvelo2go, a project established in 2015 and supported by the Swiss “carvelo” cargo bicycle initiative, was the world’s first electric cargo bike-sharing scheme. The more than 2600 users who have already registered can hire electrically-assisted cargo bikes by the hour in a number of Swiss towns, by visiting the carvelo2go website. Currently the service is available in Basel, Bern, Vevey and St Gallen, but in June and July 2017, Zurich, Winterthur, Baden and Lucerne will also be added.

The scheme is operated by the Mobility Academy, part of the TCS (Touring Club Schweiz). Around 60 bikes are hosted by local shops, such as bakeries, pharmacies, book shops or bars. By involving local shops as hosts, where users can pick up the battery and key, carvelo2go provides easy access whilst minimising investment in infrastructure such as charging stations. Users pay in advance at the shop and return the bike, battery, and key once the trip is made. 

Innovations: Bike sharing scheme

Organisation: Mobilitätsakademie des TCS Schweiz / Carvelo2go

Sector: Commercial / Private

Cities: Basel, Bern, Zurich, Lucerne, Baden, St Gallen, Vevey, Winterthur 

Country: Switzerland

Basis: Permanent

Website: https://www.carvelo2go.ch/de/

Contact: Mirjan Stawicki / mirjam.stawicki@tcs.ch

Sources:

https://www.carvelo2go.ch/de/

http://www.carvelo.ch/de/private/pilote/carvelo2go.php

http://federation.cyclelogistics.eu/members/mobilityacademy

https://www.tcs.ch/de/einfach-mobil/data/carvelo2go.php

https://www.nudge.nl/blog/2015/10/05/carvelo2go-zwitsers-deelplatform-voor-e-bakfietsen/

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Ciclolutions – Try Before You Buy

Register of Initiatives in Pedal Powered Logistics - RIPPL #8

The RIPPL blog continues at the website RIPPL.BIKE
 

Ciclolutions is a company which sells cargo bikes and related accessories in Madrid. The business was founded in September 2016 by Alejandro Corroto (owner of bike courier company Mensos) and Willy Sanz (photographer and cargo bike lover); although they were working on the project for 6 months before the launch.

Alejandro and Willy wanted to help their customers make that difficult decision about whether to spend €4500 on a cargo bike they are not familiar with. So they decided to offer new customers a two month trial period to try a cargo bike before they buy. If the customer decides not to buy the bike, they just pay for the period they had it as if it were a rental. However to date, no customers have been willing to part with their new cargo bike.

A major reason behind Ciclolutions' use of this model is that in Spain, delivery by bike has not yet become mainstream. In this way the company has become a catalyst, encouraging cycle logistics in general, as well as generating business for themselves. 

Ciclolutions sells cargo bikes from Danish manufacturer Triobike and also works together with a fibreglass manufacturer to manufacture custom cargo bike boxes.

Innovations: Try before you buy

Organisation: Ciclolutions

Sector: Private / Commercial

Cities: Madrid

Country: Spain

Bike Manufacturer(s): Triobike

Basis: Permanent

Website: http://www.ciclolutions.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ciclolutions

Contact: Guillermo Sanz / ciclolutions@gmail.com

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Sources:

https://www.facebook.com/ciclolutions/

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ICBF Funding

Dear cargo bike friends,

In cooperation with the Dutch Cyclists’ Union (Fietsersbond) we are arranging funding for potential participants of the International Cargo Bike Festival from developing countries or for others who have not sufficient resources themselves to come to the ICBF2017 in Nijmegen from 11 to 13 June 2017.

We have some specific candidates from India and from several countries in Africa. Also a student team from the UK asked for financial assistance to be able to participate at the ICBF.

If you want to support this initiative, please, donate your contribution to the following account number  NL32TRIO0197962688 on behalf of Fietsersbond, Nicolaas Beetsstraat 2a
3511 HE Utrecht, The Netherlands. BIC code: TRIONL2U.
Please, mention: Contribution for the ICBF, Project 260

Any amount is very welcome and highly appreciated!

If you are from a developing country and/or you want to be considered for financial assistance, please send a request to miss Janneke van Klei of the “Fietsersbond” j.vanklei@fietsersbond.nl, and cc to Jos Sluijsmans of the ICBF/Fietsdiensten.nl, jos@fietsdiensten.nl

Best regards,
Jos Sluijsmans
International Cargo Bike Festival

Waltham Forest Council - Christmas Courier

Register of Initiatives in Pedal Powered Logistics - RIPPL #7

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Christmas Courier was a pilot scheme run by Waltham Forest Council employing Cycle Confident, a UK-based bicycle services and training company to undertake retail deliveries in the busy period running up to Christmas. The scheme ran between 12 and 23 December 2016 from a mobile hub on Walthamstow High Street in North-East London.

The mobile hub

The aims of the scheme, which made use of a fleet of cargo bikes as well as an electric van, were to:

• Reduce private vehicle usage and Increase active travel amongst residents
• Reduce traffic congestion on roads
• Reduce CO2 emissions, NOx and particulates
• Increase community involvement in supporting businesses and emission reduction work
• Promote sustainable transport.

The target audience was not just shoppers on Walthamstow High Street, whom Christmas Courier staff would offer to deliver their shopping to their homes, but also local businesses; 20 of which engaged with the scheme. Deliveries from the businesses and onwards to their customers' homes were carried out by Christmas Courier.

The catchment area was clearly defined and spanned neighbouring postcodes

The pilot scheme received a lot of positive feedback and was deemed a success. Customer feedback suggests that the scheme did bring about behavioural changes among high street shoppers, enabling them to buy more items than normal and influencing them to shop locally rather than in central London or online.

Part of the Christmas Courier fleet.

Overall, 1000 packages were delivered in 515 journeys, an average of 43 deliveries per day. A distance of 2636km was cycled, saving 400kg of CO2 equivalent emissions. The Council have secured funding from the Mayor of London's Air Quality Fund to continue the scheme in 2017, albeit with a less festive theme.

Mission Control

Innovations: Air Quality Goals, Christmas Theme, Public Sector involvement as a catalyst

Organisation: Christmas Courier (London Borough of Waltham Forest)

Sector: Government

City: London

Country: UK

Bike Manufacturer(s): Bullitt, Omnium, Christiania, Bakfiets

Basis: Pilot

Website: www.waltham-forest.gov.uk/christmas-courier

Do you want to add your pedal powered initiative to RIPPL? 

Sources:

https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/content/christmas-courier

http://road.cc/content/news/214233-worlds-first-council-run-cargo-bike-delivery-service-christmas-courier-set

http://camdencyclists.org.uk/2016/12/worlds-first-council-run-cargo-bike-delivery-service-christmas-courier-set-to-reduce-emissions-in-east-london/
https://twitter.com/hashtag/christmascourier?lang=en

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Outspoken! Delivery - Heavy Duty Components

Register of Initiatives in Pedal Powered Logistics - RIPPL #6

The RIPPL blog continues at the website RIPPL.BIKE

Established in 2005, Outspoken are a company based in Cambridge which uses cargo bikes and trikes to deliver a number of different services in innovative ways. They are currently the biggest cargo bike courier company in the UK. In 2014, Outspoken couriers rode over 100,000 miles (160,000+ kms), saving 45 tonnes of CO2 emissions. In fact, so innovative and so varied are the methods used by Outspoken that there will be a number of RIPPL posts about the company, of which this is the first.

Over the years, Outspoken have used a number of different brands, models and configurations of bikes and trikes to carry out deliveries. Generally speaking, bicycle components are not designed to withstand heavy loads, this is especially relevant with the e-trikes Outspoken use, which can carry up to 250kgs in one load. With daily use taking a toll on parts, particularly spokes and bearings, repairs are commonplace and preventative maintenance becomes more important.

To alleviate this issue, Outspoken is investigating using components designed for mopeds. In the mean time Outspoken feeding back information to bike and trike manufacturers so that future designs can meet their changing needs. The manufacturers are, to some extent at least, playing catch up with this new trend, indeed you could begin to call it a requirement, towards more and more use of heavy-duty parts in cycle logistics.

Organisation: Outspoken! Delivery

Sector: Private / Commercial

City: Cambridge

Country: UK

Bike Manufacturer(s): 8 Freight, Bullitt, Cycles Maximus, Radkutsche

Basis: Permanent

Website: http://www.outspokendelivery.co.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OutspokenDeliv

Contact(s): Gary Armstrong gary.armstrong@outspokendelivery.co.uk

Innovations: heavy duty parts

Do you want to add your pedal powered initiative to RIPPL? 

Sources:

http://www.cyclelogistics.eu/index.php?id=45

http://www.cyclelogistics.eu/docs/193/Blog_Article.pdf

https://www.camcycle.org.uk/newsletters/113/article20.html

http://www.carplus.org.uk/project_page/outspoken-delivery/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2015/jun/10/why-cargo-bike-deliveries-are-taking-over-the-uks-cities

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