The DLR cargo bike and light vehicle project, whose results were presented in Berlin on Thursday as announced, has yielded an extremely rich collection of assessments and experiences regarding the use of cargo bikes and electric light vehicles in city logistics.

Data from over 100,000 kilometers driven by companies and transport providers using these vehicles were analyzed. The result, according to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and more than 40 companies from the trades, commerce, and logistics sectors: The vehicles, including the electric light vehicles (LEVs), are cost-effective and environmentally friendly – ​​if used correctly.

Adjust the frame

The researchers identified six key factors that were, and still are, crucial for success in practice. A checklist for implementation and a tool for calculating profitability have also been available online for several days. After a four-year project, the answer was a resounding yes to cargo bikes and light electric vehicles (LEVs). Both economic reasons and benefits for urban dwellers, the climate, and the environment support their use. It is important that the vehicles deployed are adapted to individual operational requirements.

Photos: DLR

The DLR team tracked the vehicle movements with its mobile large-scale facility "MovingLab" and conducted numerous interviews with users. This allowed the researchers to gain detailed insights into when and why the use of these vehicles is successful – and what obstacles exist.

Six points for the switch

“Our data shows that such vehicles can be very attractive for companies from an economic perspective. At the same time, they have great potential to free our cities from traffic noise, harmful emissions, and congestion. However, they are not a guaranteed success and must be individually selected and deployed for each company,” summarizes Johannes Gruber, head of the project at the DLR Institute of Transport Research in Berlin. “For the first time, we have scientifically identified the success factors for permanently integrating cargo bikes and electric light vehicles into company fleets and replacing, for example, cars or small vans.”

The analysis of the driving data and interviews with the companies revealed a clear pattern: companies that continued to rely on cargo bikes and light electric vehicles (LEVs) after the test had similar experiences. Based on these "best practice" observations, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) compiled a six-point practical checklist.

1. Implementation as a transformation project: Cargo bikes and light electric vehicles (LEVs) are new vehicle categories for most companies and require a willingness to change. Many processes need to be adapted, and the transformation must be actively shaped.
2. Defining concrete scenarios: Companies that were successful in the project had carefully considered which trips they would use the test vehicles for – or were creative in discovering new areas of application within their ongoing operations. Analyzing trip profiles helped in this regard: Existing trips could either be directly transferred to cargo bikes and LEVs, or they were cleverly combined with existing vans. (...) The range of eight to 18 kilometers per day was particularly successful.
3. Taking advantage of the benefits: These include bypassing traffic jams, using shortcuts, eliminating the need to search for parking, and shorter walking distances at the destination. The resulting time savings have enabled some of the participating companies to complete more orders per day.
4. Involve all levels: The enthusiasm of the employees for these vehicles was a key factor. To achieve this, they should be involved as early as possible and have a say in the selection of the vehicles. 
5. Test drives in everyday work situations: Whether a specific vehicle model is suitable depends on many factors: for example, the goods to be transported, the battery range, or the driving experience. Suitability can only be determined through test drives in everyday work situations.
6. Calculate the benefits individually: Due to their low operating costs – compared to conventional motor vehicles – cargo bikes are suitable for supplementing an existing fleet, but especially as a replacement for underutilized smaller vans or cars. If an existing vehicle is replaced by a cargo bike, annual savings in the three- to four-figure range are possible.

“What surprised us was the wide range of factors that determined when a usage scenario was a complete success for a company: Some companies used the cargo bike daily with mileages of 30 kilometers or more. Other companies were already completely enthusiastic with four kilometers a day or even just one day of use per week,” says DLR researcher Gruber. 

Online calculator

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) provides companies with comprehensive materials to help them make economically viable decisions regarding the purchase and use of cargo bikes and light electric vehicles (LEVs): An online calculator allows users to compare the costs of cargo bikes and LEVs with those of conventional vehicles. This tool also takes into account differences in speed, operating costs, labor costs, and CO2 emissions.

The long-term study now presented, “I relieve cities 2”, built on the findings of a previous project, “I relieve cities (1)”, which, from 2017 to 2020, was the largest cargo bike test in Europe and collected insights from diverse application scenarios.

www.lastenradtest.de