Prague: Implementing cargo bicycle hubs

From Jakub Ditrich

2 minutes reading time

Locations:

Prague (Czechia)

Challenge area:

Multimodality

Pollution Reduction

Sustainable City Logistics

Implementation period:

Started

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