Berlin’s e-cargo bike subsidy exhausted in one day

An e-cargo bike, Germany. Photo: DPA (Source TheLocal.de)

The Berlin €90,000 budget for individuals to buy electric bikes built to help carry objects or other people has been completely exhausted in one day, the Senate Department for Transport reported. There is a further budget of €110,000 for commercial and community organisations wanting to apply for e-cargo bike subsidies.

The state government wants to win over more road users to make the switch to “environmentally friendly, quiet and space-saving” bicycles. The e-cargo bikes can handle situations where a car previously seemed indispensable. Parcel and other services are also looking for alternatives to stinking, large delivery vans, such as the e-cargo bike.

A desire to go green has been key to the rise of electric and manual cargo bikes in a country where dozens of smog-choked cities are considering diesel driving bans to combat air pollution. Berlin joins a growing group of German cities, counties and federal states that are supporting the switch to environmentally friendly transport options. These include Munich, Heidelberg, Regensburg, Bamberg and Baden-Württemberg.

Read more:
Berlin buyers exhaust EV cargo bike funding in just one day. RenewEconomy, July 10, 2018.
Pedal power: the rise and rise of cargo bikes in Germany. TheLocal.de, May 2, 2018.
European Cycle Logistics Program Symposium in Berlin. April 13, 2018.

See also in this blog: Copenhagen’s bicycle culture.