Cologne: KVB stops cargo bike rental - future of mobility in danger!

Cologne: KVB stops cargo bike rental - future of mobility in danger!

Nippes, Deutschland - by the end of June 2023, the Cologne Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) still have the opportunity to borrow cargo bikes. But that will soon be over, because the rental will be discontinued from July 2023. The pilot project, which was launched in cooperation with Green Moves in December 2022, has proven to be challenging. According to the KVB, the sharing of cargo bikes is more complicated than the rental of conventional bicycles and e-scooters. The user base is smaller and many interested parties have little experience in dealing with these special wheels, explains the KVB. Of the 15 cargo bikes, which were available in the districts of Deutz, Neubrück and Nippes to the loan, the used specimens are to be sold after June 30th. If you are interested, you can contact info@green-moves.de

But while the KVB is setting up its cargo bike, another project is booming in the city. The Donk-EE Initiative has developed rapidly and now offers over 50 e-cargo bikes at more than 50 stations in Cologne. These e-cargobics have established themselves as real alternatives and are very popular. According to emobilitaetblog.de , more than 3,000 Cologne residents already use the e-cargo bikes from Donk-EE that could revolutionize our everyday transports.

The advantages of the e-cargo bikes

The E-Trzen bikes from Donk-EE have a range of up to 75 km and can be loaded with 100 % clean green electricity. They offer plenty of space in their transport boxes, which are designed for up to six beverage crates or two small children. In addition, the system offers a maximum payload of 155 kg, which makes it a perfect solution for families and users with special transport needs. The use is made possible via the KVB app, which also helps to find the nearest e-cargo bikes.

price model and registration

Another plus: The KVB app enables over 550,000 users to use the newly integrated service. The pricing is consistently fair with costs of only 8 cents per minute, 4.80 euros per hour and 24 euros per day. In order to make use even more attractive, new registers can even look forward to a travel credit of 10 euros, which corresponds to 125 free minutes. Also new is the monthly tariff of 149 euros, which enables users to use the e-cargo bikes without stress.

The Sharing-System Donk-EE in Cologne is on the best way to become the largest e-cargo bike sharing in Europe. Since the start, the system has been listing more than 2,000 registered users and constantly demonstrating growth. The KVB and the City of Cologne are now planning to evaluate the experiences from the previous project and to observe future developments in the field of sustainable mobility.

Although the KVB ends with its cargo bike offer, the development of Donk-EE shows that alternative forms of mobility in our city is facing a promising future. Cologne remains in motion - and in an environmentally friendly way with electric cargo bikes that refresh the cityscape.