RLVD Study: Significant Climate Protection Potential with Commercial E-Cargo Bikes

The relief of traffic through fewer delivery vehicles will only be possible if at least 30 percent of deliveries in German cities are made by cargo bike by 2030. This is the finding of a recently published brief study by the Radlogistik Verband Deutschland e.V. (RLVD) on the climate protection potential of the last mile. Parcel volumes in Germany are expected to continue to increase in the coming years. At the same time, the parcel industry is striving to deliver CO2-neutral in the medium to long term, according to the initial findings. This goal is to be achieved, among other things, by the increasing use of cargo bikes and trailers on the very last mile in cities. Some experts estimate the potential here to be between 30 and 50 percent of urban deliveries, according to the association.

"We can clearly see from the results that without a high proportion of cargo bikes, CO2 emissions on the very last mile in cities will not come close to being reduced to zero in the next 10 years," summarizes Chairman Tom Assmann.

According to the assessment of the Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU), prompt implementation in the next ten years is necessary to still adhere to the 1.5°C target. The study compared the use of conventional vans with parcel delivery by cargo bike. It is also assumed that no combustion engines will be used from 2029 onwards for the vans. This switch is expected to roughly halve CO2 emissions. What happens after that is crucial, however. If the expansion of renewable energy and the use of cargo bikes continue to lag, rising parcel volumes would push CO2 emissions back up, the warning says.

"Those who do not want to become dependent on the lagging energy transition should ideally make an ambitious switch to bike logistics now. This ensures that CO2 emissions are permanently reduced. This also brings many commercial benefits," says Jonas Kremer, Political Head of the RLVD.

A particularly surprising interim result is that the increasing parcel volumes generally lead to an increase in vehicle use. To ensure that cargo bikes not only compensate for the growth but also relieve the streets of vans, more than 30 percent bike logistics will be needed by 2030, Tom Assmann clarifies. This is a relevant result, especially for municipalities already concerned about increasing delivery traffic. The CO2 reduction potential cited through cargo bikes on the last mile of parcel delivery is low in Germany as a whole.

"That's why it's important that in the future we don't just look at the tip of the iceberg, the parcel market. In commercial traffic, such as with craftsmen, care services, and many others, around 2 million tons of CO2 can be saved per year with similar bike logistics shares," emphasizes Jonas Kremer.

Here, local to national politics is seen as having a duty to create fair market conditions, expand and utilize the scope for sustainable logistics and economy in order to promote a traffic transition instead of just a propulsion transition, warn the bike logisticians.

About the Radlogistik Verband Deutschland

The use of modern cargo bikes and trailers in logistics offers great potential for climate protection, air quality, urban quality of life, and efficient multimodal logistics systems. The Radlogistik Verband Deutschland (RLVD) aims to promote the use of modern cargo bikes and trailers in logistics and represents the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises that are pioneers in bike logistics. Radlogistik Verband Deutschland e.V. was founded in September 2018 in Berlin and is registered as an association based in Berlin.