The CSU and Söder like to mock cargo bikes. But in Bavaria it became clear: you can replace the car. The model project ends now anyway.
Update from April 14th, 8:45 a.m.:
In a recent press release, the Bavarian Ministry of Transport defends that the model project to promote rental cargo bikes in Bavaria is no longer running. “There was no sudden discontinuation of the project or one ordered by anyone,” said Söder’s Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU). The aim of the project was never long-term funding; rather, the Bavarian government wanted to collect findings for other cities and municipalities in Bavaria.
The conclusion of the model project, according to Bernreiter, is: “Cargo bikes offer great potential.” However, if rental systems for e-cargo bikes are to be a success in Bavarian municipalities, they “cannot be permanently dependent on the state.”
The cargo bike project was a complete success in Bavaria - and is now ending anyway
First report
: Munich - The hip latte macchiato mother rides to the organic market on the cargo bike: That's a common cliché of the typical Bavarian Green voter. The CSU also likes to work on this cliché, having identified the Greens as one of its main opponents.
Former Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU), who is currently fighting a conviction for his toll debacle, asked on Twitter in 2021: “Do the Greens really believe that we can solve this with bans even in sports (e.g. kite surfing), singing and cargo bikes the big climate issues?”. And CSU boss Markus Söder wrote online a few months ago: “We stand by the car (…). You won’t get through the winter in rural areas with a cargo bike alone.”
Cargo bike as a political fighting term between the CSU and the Greens – Söder also scoffed
The issue of cargo bikes was also politically charged in the last federal election campaign - and even became a kind of battleground between the Union and the Greens. At the time, Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock called for a nationwide purchase bonus of 1,000 euros for cargo bikes, similar to that for electric cars. Even the Green Party election posters at the time showed a family on a cargo bike. The malice was great. The then CDU general secretary Paul Ziemiak scoffed on Twitter that the proposal was “abstruse and unworldly”: “I’m just imagining construction workers on the way to the construction site. Is there also a tandem cargo bike for the boss and trainee?”
Despite these obvious reservations about cargo bikes among the CDU and CSU, the CSU-led Bavarian Ministry of Transport started a model experiment in 2020 that has now come to an end: seven Bavarian municipalities received money and resources to set up a rental system for cargo bikes. Because, as the current Bavarian Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) emphasized on the occasion of the project: cargo bikes also offer “an attractive alternative to transporting children, shopping or transporting larger items” in rural areas.
Bavaria tested cargo bikes instead of cars - the model project was a success
The Ministry of Transport from Söder's coalition invested 2.4 million euros and covered 90 percent of the costs for the rental systems for e-cargo bikes. The communities of Lechbruck, Lindau, Cadolzburg, Freising, Würzburg, Marktredwitz and Passau took part. 133 e-cargo bikes were made available, 55 rental stations including charging technology were set up and 13 roofs were built. Söder's government wanted to find out whether traffic in municipalities would be reduced if citizens could easily switch to cargo bikes.
The concept worked. The final report from the Ministry of Transport states: “Cargo bikes contribute effectively to reducing car traffic and thus to climate-friendly mobility.” A reduction in car traffic “was definitely the case for us,” said the mayor of Lechbruck, Werner Moll (Free Voters).
Cargo bikes have replaced a lot of car traffic - but Söder is not continuing the funding
Lechbruck, with just under 2,900 inhabitants, was the smallest town that took part in the model project. In just over a year, the people of Lechbruck rented a cargo bike 2,456 times and rode it more than 14,500 kilometers. More than 70 percent said they had used it to replace driving. Mayor Moll certainly sees the cargo bike as a possible replacement for the second car. There is also great enthusiasm in Lindau after the model project comes to an end. In the city on Lake Constance, cyclists covered 13,500 kilometers on rented cargo bikes, 60 percent of which were as a replacement for a car.
All seven municipalities want to maintain the rental system. But: There will no longer be a subsidy from the Free State in the future, the Bavarian Ministry of Transport announced in response to a request from
Merkur.de
from
IPPEN.MEDIA
. “Another funding program for cargo bikes is currently not planned,” said a spokesman.
Söder buries project: Currently no funding for cargo bikes in Bavaria
The Free State currently does not subsidize the purchase of cargo bikes by private individuals. “There is currently no other corresponding financial support in our company,” said the spokesman from Bernreiter’s ministry. He points out that Bavarian communities could still benefit from the experiences of the pilot project.
However, without the funding it could fail due to financing - the final report states: "Without financial support, the way in which rental cargo bikes are procured is an important question."
(smu)