ECF’s cargo bike expert. Dr. Randy Rzewnicki,  is currently in Vancouver at Velo-city. He tells us about meeting some of Denmark’s cycling gurus, and why’s he’s “blown away”.

Troels Andersen (Far Right)

On Tuesday, I attended the most amazing session at Velo-city. I mean there I am, an American guy (OK pretty Europeanized after 20 years in Belgium) and I’m on a panel together with the godfather of Danish cycling, Troels Andersen, and the godmother of cargo bikes in Brussels, Liesbeth Driesen. They were acting all cool and calm, especially Troels. He seems to find it’s the most normal thing in the world to have 40% of the traffic moving around on bikes (in Denmark) and asking, how can we get families to use their bikes still more? In Brussels, if you want to fix up your bike so that you can deliver computers safely, or flowers or whatever – you just pop in for a visit and get expert advice on how to do it on the cheap. They’re helping businesses big and small get around in the European capital city where motorists spend the most time stuck in traffic jams.

Cargo Bikes... The Copenhagen Norm

Those facts alone are amazing, but what got me going was that they were talking about it like it was nothing special. For Troels, it’s just part of everyday life. I find that this is revolutionary stuff but we shouldn’t forget that using bikes to deliver goods has been around for a long time. But, often in the name of progress, they’ve been replaced by motor vehicles. Times are changing and now we’re seeing that a lot of people in Europe who have an excellent quality of life, and are used to getting around when & where they want, and they are moving out of their cars and doing it on bikes. In Berlin there’s a cargo bike sharing system set up. That’s a local citizen’s initiative where people who have a cargo bike rent or lend it for free to others who need it for a period of time. Maybe more remarkable is that the German Federal government published a master plan for the promotion of cycling recently -  and they’re talking about the benefits of cargo cycling. One of my German colleagues says it’s the first time he’s ever seen anything about goods delivery by cycle in EU member country’s cycle plans. 

Before coming to Velo-city, I heard the story of a computer repairman in Brussels. Back in 2005 he stopped using his car and switched to the bike to visit the homes & offices where he’d fix up PC’s & stuff.  He even manages to deliver expensive equipment using cargo bikes. And he hasn’t been happier since.  It’s the usual things you hear all the time: he’s able to get thru traffic, he knows how long it’ll take him to get where he’s going, he can make appointments and keep them as planned and not have to factor in unknown time for the traffic. He has no parking fees, can park at the front door of the place he’s visiting, etc etc. For a small businessman all these things add up. This is what it's all about. 

Perhaps for Denmark, this kind of story is normal, but many European cities, and Vancouver for that matter could benefit a great deal by getting behind the cargo bicycle revolution. 

Troels, I must admit, you've given me so much inspiration. Can't wait to bring back the message of cargo bikes when I return from Canada. 

About the Author

Dr. Randy Rzewnicki is ECF’s Health Officer and Project manager for Cycle Logistics. He  can be reached at randy@ecf.com.

Live Coverage from Velo-city

ECF is reporting this story live fom the world’s largest cycling policy in Vancouver, Canada where nearly 1,000 of the cycling world’s best and brightest have gathered for four days to talk cycling. You can read more stories from our Velo-city live page and tweet #velocity2012 to join in the conversation.