Status: EXPLORING

CHALLENGE:

Electric cargo bikes or “e-cargobikes” are electric-motor assisted cycles with purpose-built cargo carrying capacity. E-cargobikes are becoming increasingly popular, offering a greener, more sustainable mode of transporting goods than cars or vans.

Some of the obstacles to e-cargobike usage include:

• Storage: E-cargobikes are quite large and some people living in cities in towns do not have access to suitable, secure storage for an e-cargobike.
• Safety Concerns: Some people are concerned about the safety of cycling an e-cargobike due poor cycling infrastructure.
• Cost: E-cargobikes are expensive, making them unaffordable for some people.
• Knowledge: While increasingly popular, e-cargobikes are still relatively uncommon on Irish roads and many people do not know where or how to learn more or test an e-cargobike.

You can read more about these obstacles here.

PROPOSAL AND OBJECTIVES:

Dublin City Council would like to explore the idea of a shared, community e-cargobike scheme. We're aiming to arrange for an e-cargobike to be temporarily located in a neighbourhood for members of the trial to use. 

We would like to learn more about: 

1. Demographics - understand demographic uptake and behavioural change:
   • Why/why wouldn’t people use the service?
   • What can we do to encourage more people to test the service - in particular those who are most hesitant?
2. Locating - identify optimum locations with due consideration for usage and equity:
   • What areas in the city are most suitable for such a scheme?
   • What areas are poorly served?
3. Parking - identify supporting infrastructure requirements:
   • What infrastructure is necessary such as on-street space, locking facilities, lighting, charging etc.?
   • Are there issues with other cycles being parked in the designated area?
4. Cargobikes - identify preferred cargobike models:
   • For what purpose they are used, and patterns around how they are used
   • Usability for the user
5. Antisocial - identify the rates of negative behaviours:
   • What are the levels of theft and vandalism?
   • How frequently are the cycles used as litterbins?
   • Are they returned late, dirty or damaged by users?
6. Usage - Identify usage trends:
   • The frequency of use (both in general, but also on average by each user),
   • trip lengths (both in time and distance),
   • typical destinations, etc.

(Incidentally we will also begin to learn more about the potential scaling model, including areas such as delivery and procurement model, funding, staffing, legals, maintenance, ownership of assets, insurance, planning requirements, branding, what drives growth of the idea, etc.

However these will be specifically explored at a subsequent stage.)

TAKING PART:

We have one of these [insert the 3+ different types] of cargobikes available for members of the trial to use it for a period of a few months in order to be able to give us give us some feedback.

Would you like to help us with this project by taking part? If so please register your details here.

Please note that you'll only be using it for a limited amount of time (for example 1-3 months) and then the trial likely be moved onto another location in order to learn from some other users.

Also, as a concept stage project, any trial will also be fully reversed back to the current scenario following the trial period. 

OUTCOMES:

[We are not yet at this stage.]

DECISION:

[We are not yet at this stage.]

NEXT STEPS:

[We are not yet at this stage.]

RELATED PROJECTS:

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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