Urban mobility transitions are crucial for mitigating climate change and enhancing urban quality of life. Cargo bikes (CBs) offer a sustainable alternative to motorized vehicles thanks to their lower carbon footprint, space efficiency, and ability to reduce air and noise pollution. Cargo bike sharing (CB-sharing) promotes adoption by eliminating purchase and maintenance costs, though individuals with strong environmental awareness primarily embrace it. Barriers to broader adoption stem from urban infrastructure, personal mobility preferences, and the design of cargo bike sharing organizations (CBSOs).
A recent paper examines strategies for scaling up CB-sharing—expanding its reach to a broader audience and transforming urban mobility. It presents a comparative case study of two CBSOs: Grätzlrad in Vienna and LastenVelo e.V. in Freiburg. Data was gathered through an academic and grey literature review and 15 semi-structured interviews with CB-sharing stakeholders and experts. The analysis applies strategic niche management, framing CB sharing as an emerging innovation within the urban mobility system.
The study deepens understanding of CB-sharing, CBSOs’ interactions with key stakeholders, and their potential for scalability. CBSOs should focus on increasing cargo bike availability while minimizing the effort required from users. Exploring new models, such as integrating CB sharing into shared mobility hubs, could enhance accessibility. Municipal authorities are pivotal in upscaling CB sharing and ensuring it reaches a diverse user base.
The article focuses on capturing and categorizing a diversity of pathways to upscale community-based CB sharing. Still, it does not delve deeply into any specific pathway, providing only brief descriptions and examples. Niche upscaling depends on niche dynamics, broader socio-institutional context, and regime processes. This research addresses this by analyzing the upscaling of CB-sharing through transformation and emphasizing the need for infrastructural, political, socio-economic, and cultural changes to build more sustainable urban mobility systems. Such systems would embrace CB-sharing in cities and challenge the current regime of car ownership.
CBSOs hold a niche position within the urban mobility landscape but maintain strong relationships with various stakeholders, particularly municipal actors—an essential factor for scaling up. Regardless of a CBSO’s structure, municipal support is critical. City mobility managers influence CBSOs through regulations, funding, information sharing, and infrastructure planning. They may act as niche managers, leading CB sharing initiatives (as seen with Grätzlrad), or as intermediaries between CBSOs and the broader urban mobility system (as with LastenVelo e.V.).
While municipalities may be reluctant to provide long-term financial support for citizen-led CBSOs, they share the goal of transitioning urban transport systems. Instead of direct funding, they can foster CB-sharing through favorable legal and structural conditions. If CBSOs move toward commercialization, municipalities play a key role in ensuring social equity and accessibility by offering subsidies, mandating citywide CB distribution, and adapting services to diverse user needs.
Furthermore, networking and collaboration—both among CBSOs, such as through the Union of the Commons Cargobikes, and with other urban mobility stakeholders—are vital for expanding CB-sharing initiatives and integrating them into the broader mobility ecosystem.
