Delivery by cargo bike in Darmstadt

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Darmstadt’s model project was presented at the Hessian Mobility Congress – it should set a precedent.

Tarek Al-Wazir is not one of those people who has more and more goods delivered to their homes. But the Green politician and Minister of Economic Affairs is watching very closely that more and more people are doing this – especially in times of Corona. The consequences are visible: more delivery traffic including emissions and noise, vans parked in the second row – and at the same time the danger that the inner cities will become deserted because shops have to close.

According to the minister, delivery services with cargo bikes can be a solution for the “last mile” to customers. As Minister of Economics, he also wants to help “ensure that there is still business in the inner cities,” said Al-Wazir on Friday at the Hessian Mobility Congress, which was only held digitally for the first time. Axel Wolfermann, Professor of Transportation at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, presented a model that could set an example. The university founded Lieferradda.de. Anyone who orders goods from a participating Darmstadt retailer can have them delivered to their home by cargo bike – previously free of charge. “We relieve traffic and support stationary retail,” said Wolfermann.

The model, which began with the delivery of asparagus, has been running for a few months. There are now 16 stores and 150 customers, and the number is rising. Two students have been hired as bicycle couriers.

The project is funded by Al-Wazir’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, otherwise it would not be able to stand economically on its own two feet, admitted Wolfermann. The aim, however, is to stabilize it so that the university can find another operator by the end of the year and withdraw from it. Al-Wazir thinks the model is good. “Actually, it should be rolled out more,” he said.

innovative solutions

Such models are being tested in many places. Environment Minister Priska Hinz (Greens) announced that the Hersfeld-Rotenburg eco-model region was working on a project “Ecological delivery with the e-cargo bike”.

According to the state government, innovative solutions for supply chains are required in many areas. In Corona times, there was a growing awareness that one should not be dependent on individual, distant suppliers, argued Al-Wazir. The state government had painfully felt how difficult it was to order mouth and nose masks, which are almost exclusively made in China.

The FDP also thinks that logistics must be rethought. “Cargo bikes alone will not help us there, even if they can be useful in the city,” warned the FDP transport politician Stefan Naas. In addition to air traffic, roads and rails, the logistics of the future also include aerial drones, “and we shouldn’t impose any restrictions on thinking when it comes to air taxis,” he added.

There must be enough roads for delivery services. “That is why we are Free Democrats for closing the gap on the A49,” affirmed Naas. The highway is supposed to run through the Dannenröder forest, which is why environmentalists are protesting against it.

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