By Janek.
Business reporter with technology.
The image is from Jasmin Minne.
The image caption is.
The cargo bike is bliss, says Grit Paulussen.
The plan was worked out by the couple when they wanted to treat themselves to a rare evening out recently.
The couple booked a babysitter for their two young children, reserved a table at a trendy new restaurant in their hometown, and took their version of luxury transport: a joint ride in their electric cargo bike.
Ms Paulussen says that they could have chosen the tube, cab, or normal bikes. We wanted to celebrate our freedom that evening and it was clear to us that I would sit on the passenger seat and Matthias would ride the cargo bike.
The couple love cargo bikes. In 2020, cargo bike sales in Europe grew by 38%, and are projected to grow by another 34% this year, according to a European cargo bike industry survey of 38 producers.
The cargobike.jetz is the image source.
The image caption is.
Germany is the largest market for cargo bikes in Europe.
Germany is the largest European market with 103,000 cargo bikes sold in 2020.
The European Bike Association says that Germany has 25,000 bikes sold last year, followed by the Netherlands with 16,000 and France with 12,000.
Ms Paulussen loves the things about her bike. It's a green and swift way of getting around, I can chat to my kids who usually sit in the front, and I don't sweat because of the electric motor.
The rising demand for green transport and the technological advances in e-bikes are two important factors driving the trend. According to the survey, almost all of the cargo bike models sold last year were electric.
Philipp Runge is a sales adviser at Ahoi Velo, one of the largest cargo bike shops in Germany. The cheapest electric model in his shop is 3,800.
As cargo bikes become a life-style choice for some people, producers race to build the Rolls-Royce market.
The Ca Go features an electronic gearbox, a crash cushion box, cable steering for tighter turning, and folding seats that absorb shocks. It costs more than 10,000 with all the optional extras.
Mr Paulussen admits that the bike was not cheap. It was subsidized by the city of Munich and it allowed us to do without a car, which would be a lot more expensive.
The European Cyclists' Federation says that Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and Belgium offer subsidies.
The image is from Arne Behrensen.
The image caption is.
Cargo bikes have too many incentives schemes.
Subsidies are often organised in a confusing way. There are more than 100 communal and regional schemes in Germany and Austria.
He says that there are some that are longstanding and well-run. Every city has to design, calculate and administer its own framework, which often runs out after a few months.
The money was used up in less than 30 minutes when it was used to subsidise cargo bikes in the city.
Mr Behrensen says that the same thing had happened in Berlin. The industry is thrown into disarray by the short-lived chaos that causes demand to spike and applicants to put off their bike purchases.
The image is from Ca Go Bike.
The image caption is.
Cargo bikes are getting more expensive.
Mr Behrensen wants to see more efficient national programmes.
When Germany expanded a scheme for cargo bikes in March, more than 2,000 applications for subsidies had been approved, almost five times more than in the whole of 2020.
Philip Runge says that up until a few years ago, commercial customers made up only 10% of his clients. They make up a third of the total. We're opening a second shop in Hamburg that will focus on heavy-duty bikes for commercial clients.
Mr Runge says that cargo bikes are evolving. The first cargo-specific tire by Schwalbe, which combines shock absorption and sturdiness, is one of the tailored components that manufacturers are starting to produce.
Ahoi Velo is the image source.
The image caption is.
Philip Runge is opening a second shop that will sell bikes for the commercial market.
More and more know-how and design elements from the car industry are moving into cargo-bikes.
The Ono, one of the most advanced heavy-duty cargo bikes available for commercial use, has a weather protected driver's cabin, radio frequency identification device (RFID) locks for the vehicle, and batteries that can be replaced within seconds at exchange stations. It has a freight carrying capacity of 200 kilogram.
It is hoped that this type of vehicle - combining van comforts with the ecological flexibility of a bike - might induce the same feeling in delivery drivers as Grit Paulussen has on her own cargo-bike: a sense of unusual freedom and pure bliss.
The image is from Janine Graubaum/ONOMOTION.
The image caption is.
The ONO e-cargo bike is from Onomotion.
Germany.
Transport.
There is a bike
The transport of freight.
