Prague successfully implements cargo bicycle hubs to reduce freight congestion in the inner city
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Connect with:
Jakub Ditrich
COO at ekolo.cz s.r.o.
Active MobilitySustainable City LogisticsMultimodalityPollution Reduction
last-mile logistics, cargo e-bikes
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Find out Implementation budget of this Best Practice
Start of operations
Year 2020
Scale of operations area
Metropolitan Area
Duration
Permanent
Application Locations
Prague (Czech Republic)
Best Practice essentials
The Challenge
Delivery vans occupy the historical centre of town
Bicycles are not very well used in the city and cargo bikes were almost unheard of by citizens before this scheme
The terrain in Prague city is hilly and there is a lot of traffic which creates a perception that it is unsafe and impractical to cycle
The winters in Prague are very cold with snowfall
There has been a very steep rise in the number of fast delivery grocery shops and use of e-commerce
There are currently no restrictions on delivery vehicles in the centre of town
The challenge was to show that cargo bikes are a viable solution for last mile deliveries – local businesses did not think it was possible before the scheme
The location for the proposed depot was an underbridge parking lot and needed to be cleaned up and converted into a depot with appropriate facilities installed
The Solution
Trialling e-cargo bikes in the city to raise awareness of this mode
Depots for e-cargo bikes were installed to showcase a new method of last mile logistics in the city as a sustainable alternative to polluting delivery vans
The depot in Florenc, Prague was agreed and developed within 5 months after City Council support was acquired
The depot includes facilities for couriers including showers, toilets, a kitchen and break room. It also has 24/7 security and access restrictions
Involving logistics providers and city officials was an important part of the scheme
The scheme was independently funded and did not receive EU subsidies, this helped to ensure it would continue as the operation
The City government runs the scheme and Ekolo hold the confidential data and statistics
End user involved
Type of end user: Customers, local businesses, couriers / logistics providers
Find out more about End user feedback, Impact and Lessons learnt of this implementation