Austrian Ministry Recommends Danish Cargo Bikes

Bullitt cargo bike in Innsbruck

Danish cargo bikes in Innsbruck are on tour with the climate protection initiative klima aktiv of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management. Besides e-bikes and e-cars a nihola and a bullitt cargo bike can tested in the pedestrian zone of Innsbruck.

Nihola cargo bike in Innsbruck

Besides the short exhibition of klima aktiv the vacationer can notice that Innsbruck is a leading cycle-friendly city in Austria.

Early evening cycling in Innsbruck

Early evening cycling in Innsbruck

No Ridiculous Car Trips in Hamburg Anymore - The Role of Marketing

No ridiculous car trips from Martin Lang on Vimeo.

After election in 2008 the new government of the City of Hamburg started to improve the neglected cycle traffic. They promised to raise cycle traffic from 9% up to 18% in the year 2015. First success was the start of the bicycle rent system called StadtRAD in 2009, a project decided by the former government. Next year Hamburg will be European Green Capital.But the image of cycling in Hamburg is not the best. Cycle tracks are very bad, and even the green party as part of the city government fears to give cyclist good cycle lanes if car traffic space needs to decreased.
Cycling starts in the brain. To convince citizens to ride bikes instead of cars it needs some good marketing to change the image of cycle traffic in Hamburg. Munich requests the citizens to cycle with the bicycle capital campaign (Radlhautpstadt). Munich wants to be best city for cyclists. With the cycle campaign the cycle mayor of Munich provokes other cities like Berlin, Hamburg or Cologne. But at the moment Hamburg does not start into competition of being Germany´s best city for cyclists.
Between a good infrastructure and a cycle culture and the certainty to ride a bike even for car drivers must be a well-balanced proportion. Hamburg has to change it´s mind to make it easy building safer and better cycle infrastructure even on car lanes or on one or the other parking lot for and with more cyclists.
Besides Munich Malmö gives a pretty good example for a good cycle culture: No ridiculous car trips (more about Malmö campaign at copenhagenize.com).

Prof. Dr. Monheim, expert on cycle marketing, one of the inventors of the campaign "Radlust", knows how to improve cycle climate with good marketing. Interview with Prof. Dr. Mohnheim, Professor at University of Trier, about cycle marketing in Munich 2010:











What does Prof. Dr. Monheim think about Copenhagen? Here a little example of Copenhagen cycle marketing:

More at copenhagenize.com

Hamburg Bicycle Police will be done away - Mayor Considers Police Orchestra as More Important

Patrolling bicycle officer

Last week the new mayor decided to stop the Hamburg bicycle police this year. In the face of budget cuts Mayor Ahlhaus prefers to save the police orchestra instead of the bicycle police.
The bicycle police started in 1996. In 1999 the project was threatened to be abolished already. Later in 2007 the approved work of the bicycle police was realized in the Bicycle Strategy Paper for Hamburg, fundamental for the transport policy of this government.

The concept of the bicycle police had included:

• Accident prevention
• Mediation of a cooperative transport behavior
• Holistic approach to road safety work 
• Breakdown of old prejudices

Priceless were the experiences as cyclists of the police officers on bikes. Even police officers had to realize that cycling is really hard on odd Hamburg cycle tracks. Some of the officers started to record defects of cycle tracks for the building and transport departments. With the cancellation of the bicycle police the government shows that traffic safety for cyclists is not given preference to.

Bicycle officers often used fairs or events to present themselves

Some years ago the bicycle police started an own campaign. The police appealled to use odd Hamburg cycle tracks.That campaign was one of the dark sides of the work of the cycle officers.

Cargo Bikes Capture Hamburg - The Ultimate SUVs

Lastenfahrräder erobern Hamburg - Die besten SUVs

Nihola tested in Hamburg

 In the last few years cargo-bikes became visible in the streets of Hamburg. Nowadays in certain quarters cargo bikers carry children, cycle for shopping, transport a christmas tree home or can be seen for any other transport purpose. Nienstedten, Othmarschen, Ottensen, Altona, Schanze, St. Pauli, Neustadt, Eimsbüttel, Hoheluft, Eppendorf and Winterhude are the favorite districts of cargo bikes in Hamburg. Cargo bikes are very common in Danmark and the Netherlands, bad German cycle tracks and the bad cycle climate stopped using cargo bikes in Hamburg until now. In the last few years Hamburg cycle tracks became a little wider and meantime a few of them can even be used with cargo bikes. According to the German legislation (StVO) cargo bikers are allowed to use the normal lanes of the streets, if the cycle tracks are too small for them. For some cyclists this might be an additional option to ride a cargo bike - cycling in Hamburg is much easier and less dangerous if not using the odd cycle tracks.

Cargo bike at "Budni" St. Pauli

Cargo bike personalized of St Pauli fan

Shopping at Schulterblatt market with christianiabike

Christianiabike in a store in Ottensen - it is not a drive in. The cyclist feared to leave the little boy outside the store.

Nihola at Großneumarkt

Nihola in Ottensen

Testing nihola on Hamburg cycle tracks
Testfahrt mit Nihola auf "Radweg" in der Weidenallee

In the face of the Bicycle Strategy Paper for Hamburg conditions for cyclists might be improved in the next years and Hamburg is going to expect lots of cool bikes on the streets. Copenhagen and Amsterdam citizens have given up driving cars for riding very popular bakfiets or niholas or christianiabikes. Other cool quality cargo bikes are bullitt, jernhest, smarttrike, triobike or winther kangaroo. 25% of all families with two kids in Copenhagen own a cargo bike or a bicycle trailer. Hamburg has a big potential for green urban and sustainable mobility, if the city promotes using cargo bikes to transport children to kindergarten or playgrounds.

It is a great difference for a child´s perspective out of a bike or a car window. This child might also ride a bike as a grown-up.

SUV-traffic in Frederiksberg

Triobike on Copenhagen cycle track

Jernhest waiting for maintenence

Transport with bullitt in Vesterbro

Kangaroo at Frederiksberg shopping center

Bakfiets at Amsterdam central station

Smarttrike in Amsterdam

Cult bike

Meanwhile cyclists do not have to travel to Copenhagen or Amsterdam to get a good cargo bike. In Munich VELOCOMPANY cycle store at Schwabing is specialized only for cargo bikes, in Berlin several cycle stores have cargo bikes in their repertoire. In Hamburg niholas are offered at Liegeradstudio and christianiabikes can be bought at Flottbike. Hopefully the famous cargo bike manufacturers are going to show their bikes at one of the Hamburg cycling fairs. Fifty christianiabikes are sold per year at Flottbike, but the number is increasing. Hamburg needs more cargo bikes.

Munich is ahead with the offer of cargo bike types. VELOCOMPANY offers the cool bullitts and is specialized for cargo bikes.

Flottbike offers christianiabike

Christianiabike at Flottbike show room in elegant steel frame

Nihola is waiting at Liegeradstudio