Over the weekend the International Cargo Bike Festival was held in Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and below is our round-up of Tweets from the event.
We usually restrict our news coverage to Irish events and happenings, but in this case we might as well put our weekend Twitter navel-gazing from afar to some good use and share some of what we found.
It’s not news that DHL have been using cargo bikes for the last mile part of their network in some cities, but they are expanding the use of bicycles to transport cargo…
Two types of DHL cargo! #icbf2014 pic.twitter.com/tfdLoi14cl
— Mark Treasure (@AsEasyAsRiding) April 12, 2014
The company claims that their 33 cargo bikes in the Netherlands save them €400,000 per year:
The 33 #cargobike s at #DHL in NL save them €400,000/yr. #icbf2014 #EuropeanCycleLogisticsFederation pic.twitter.com/UmVyybuBIk
— Cycle Logistics (@CycleLogistics) April 12, 2014
Interest is growing in their use in other countries where DHL operate:
#dhl delivers goods by cycle in 5 countries in 4 more There's interest. #icbf2014 #EuropeanCycleLogisticsFederation pic.twitter.com/Hpaq2z9OTy
— Cycle Logistics (@CycleLogistics) April 12, 2014
Arne Melse talks about the way #DHL discovered the cargo bicycle for their city deliveries. #icbf2014 pic.twitter.com/zAT4uCC98b
— Herbert Tiemens (@herbert_tiemens) April 12, 2014
To DHL bikes are more reliable than vans:
DHL: The #cargobike is more reliable than the motorised vehicle, which can get stuck in traffic #icbf2014
— Johan Erlandsson (@Ecoprofile) April 12, 2014
They are serious about cargo bikes and are not just using them for PR reasons given they only take on a new bike if it’s replacing a van:
DHL only implement a #cargobike if it replaces a van #icbf2014
— Johan Erlandsson (@Ecoprofile) April 12, 2014
20 % of DHL vehicles in Amsterdam are now cargobikes #icbf2014
— Johan Erlandsson (@Ecoprofile) April 12, 2014
There’s a range of companies which use cargo bikes but the main types are:
Ronald Jorna "3 types of (cargo) bike delivery companies: logistic, bikecouriers, home deliveries" #icbf2014 #mobycon pic.twitter.com/B4O2Ddj2Ue
— Angela van der Kloof (@AngelavdKloof) April 12, 2014
It’s not just the international players like DHL, companies like these are starting to appear across Europe:
Jord Gali on stage: company with 6 cargo bikes in Barcelona http://t.co/mtLhRTpkwT #icbf2014 pic.twitter.com/C9igb8lT9F
— Angela van der Kloof (@AngelavdKloof) April 12, 2014
It’s not just the bikes, planning is important:
Cycling officer for the city of Nijmegen @Sjors Van Duren explains How cycling infrastructure can help with cycle delivery #eclf #icbf2014
— ECF (@EuCyclistsFed) April 12, 2014
Cycle highway btwn Arnhem & Nijmegen (19km) brings travel time to 45 min, very competitive w/ driving #icbf2014 pic.twitter.com/OvrPm1Y8en
— Ronald Woudstra (@rwoudstra) April 12, 2014
Planning could go as far as designing apartments to get bicycles into them:
@BehoovingMoving: "The ultimate goal is to bring our bikes into the appartment" #icbf2014 pic.twitter.com/iPQszjiMbL
— Angela van der Kloof (@AngelavdKloof) April 12, 2014
Developments with bikes include…
Tilting cargo trikes:
The new kids on the cargo bike block 2014: http://t.co/VE1xIeq9sK nice specs, good ride, cup holder with drain pipe, but it tilts #icbf2014
— rad3 (@rad3de) April 13, 2014
Motorised trailers:
Jort@vanderveen.nl presents motorized trailer designed & business case study Delft Univ tested for PostNL #icbf2014 pic.twitter.com/NSsHxDX2U3
— Cycle Logistics (@CycleLogistics) April 12, 2014
And solar panel-powered electric cargo bikes:
Solar panel option on e-cargo bike & discussion on difference of cost conventional and e-bike delivery #icbf2014 pic.twitter.com/BlRQ8FjMNB
— Angela van der Kloof (@AngelavdKloof) April 12, 2014
You can find more images and more from the following two tweets:
100 photos from #icbf2014 , including cargo bike parade http://t.co/MN7pKffvW1 … pic.twitter.com/Y86knYmrR1
— Johan Erlandsson (@Ecoprofile) April 13, 2014
At the International Cargo Bike Festival? #icbf2014 My notes are here: http://t.co/YzmYFzdZI0
— Steven Vance (@stevevance) April 12, 2014
Sometime in the near future we hope to be working on a story about how cargo bikes are being used by businesses in Ireland — if you have anything to add, drop us a line at [email protected].