David Bosch

Amsterdam is investing heavily in shared transport. Shared cars, scooters and  bicycles make the city more accessible. That last option is healthy, clean and popular. For those who don’t have a bike, or looking for a second bike, we have a shared bike. The city of Amsterdam will receive 1,400 shared bicycles, including 100 shared electric cargo bikes. Some are allready on the streets; the rest will follow from August 15.

Where can you find shared bikes?
At the Zuidas, along the ‘Westlijn’ of the metro, in Oost and Zuidoost. Electric shared cargo bikes can be found in Oost and Zuid. There is a maximum number of shared bicycles per area. It is a 2 year experiment. Then we'll see if we continue.

• FlickBike: 400 shared bicycles along metro stations on the ‘Westlijn’ (from Henk Sneevlietweg to Isolatorweg) and the bus to Westpoort, from 15 June
• Cargoroo: 100 electric shared cargo bicycles in Oost and Rivierenbuurt (Zuid), from 15 June
• Donkey Republic: 300 shared bicycles in Oost, from 15 August
• Soon to be announced: 400 shared bicycles Zuidoost and 200 shared bicycles Zuidas from 15 August

Where do I park the shared bike?
A shared bicycle is a good means of transport for commuters and visitors. The bicycles are usually located near a public transport junction. They have their own parking spaces and must be returned to 1 of the parking spaces of that provider. Only in those places can you stop the rent. The shared cargo bikes have their own parking space, clearly marked on the ground. You can of course park the bike somewhere else in between, but then you will continue to pay. That way the bikes won't roam, is the idea.

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Due to the many working from home, employers are moving away from fixed travel allowances on a large scale and business lease fleets are also shrinking for the first time in years. In order to meet the travel needs of employees in a good way, more employers are switching to shared mobility as a financial solution.

By focusing on shared mobility, you save valuable parking space, offer your employees a flexible mobility solution and possibly save on your CO2 emissions. Research by the Kennisinstituut Mobiliteit (KiM) shows that a car sharer annually emits 175 to 265 kg less CO2 than before he started car sharing. In addition, shared mobility contributes to better accessibility of the region. Shared mobility is therefore booming: in 2020 the number of shared car users rose by no less than 42% to 730,000.

Municipality of Amsterdam is investing heavily in shared mobility
The City of Amsterdam is working hard to make shared mobility a fully-fledged alternative for everyone who wants to move around in the city. Shared mobility is one of the solutions to keep mobility, quality of life, space on the street and accessibility in the city in balance. There are experiments with shared bicycles and scooters on the street and providers of shared cars are encouraged to offer their services in Amsterdam.

Breikers supports employers free of charge in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area
The mobility needs of every company and every employee are different. That is why Breikers provides free and independent tailor-made advice. Our interactive mobility scan is even free to use for Breikers participants! Do you need help developing your plans for the realization? In many cases you can re-enable Breikers to come up with the right solution.

To help you on your way, a white paper (in Dutch) has been prepared with the most up-to-date ins-and-outs in the field of Shared Mobility.

Amsterdammers are a lot more positive about shared transport than day trippers and commuters, and cost savings are seen as the biggest advantage. It also appears that many Amsterdammers have old assumptions with regard to availability and costs. The municipality of Amsterdam has therefore launched a campaign to draw attention to the many advantages of shared transport.

Research
The municipality of Amsterdam has commissioned a survey among Amsterdammers, day trippers and commuters. It is clear that Amsterdammers are much more positive about shared transport (49%), than day trippers (36%) and commuters (32%). No less than 16% are considering replacing their car with shared transport. Cost savings (39%), convenience (25%) and environmental benefits (19%) are the main advantages of shared transport. The arrival of mobility hubs, MaaS (mobility as a service) apps and more insight into current car costs are also reasons to opt for shared transport.

Campaign
The campaign makes it clear to the Amsterdammer that there are many advantages when it comes to shared transport. Do you drive less than 10,000 kilometers per year? Then a shared car is quickly cheaper. And it also results in a lot less hassle. In addition, there is the freedom of choice from a wide range of bicycles, scooters and cars, better accessibility in the city and cleaner air because much of the shared transport is electric. But also more space on the street, because if we share bicycles, scooters and cars with each other, fewer means of transport are needed.

Availability significantly increased
In the past year, the supply of shared transport in the city has increased considerably. The number of shared cars in public space has risen from 1,250 to almost 2000 and it is expected that hundreds more shared cars will be added this year. In addition, you can choose daily from about 750 shared cars of Amsterdammers who share their own car. Since last summer, 700 shared scooters have been driving through the city as an experiment and from 15 June, also as part of an experiment, 1300 shared bicycles and 100 community cargo bikes will be added step by step.

Note from ASC: What are your thoughts on this? Let us know bellow.