Salzburg offers free cargo bikes to boost sustainable mobility

The city will provide the first 14 bikes, but private citizens will have the chance to volunteer their own two-wheelers to grow the urban cargo fleet

Yesterday, authorities in Salzburg announced that they will introduce seven cargo bikes that will be available to citizens for free. The idea behind the move is that the ride-sharing economy in the city has yet to take off, but city officials still want to promote sustainable transportation.

The first seven bikes will be available at Salzburg’s seven citizen service locations, spread around the city. The only thing people need to do to gain access would be to register at the service centres themselves once. Then they will have a code, with which they will be able to rent the bikes through an app for a maximum of two hours.

According to City Councillor Anja Hagenauer, many residents lack the space and money to use a car or have their own cargo bikes. She is convinced though, that the city’s current offer would help to change the situation proving useful for many.

Expanding the cargo bike offer in the future

The seven cargo bikes that Salzburg installed in the city are just the first step of the municipality’s agenda to accelerate the mobility turnaround. According to an official statement, the free cargo bikes will double by this autumn.

The expansion will cost the local government 45,000 euros and as Provincial Councillor for Transport Stefan Schnöll put it, that is a small price to pay for offering citizens the opportunity to transport loads in an environmentally friendly way.

Private individuals will also have a chance to take part in the mobility turnaround by offering their own private cargo bikes, along with the municipal ones, through the rental app.

Martina Berthold, City Councillor for Construction, underlined that an important point of Salzburg’s new initiative is to warm local residents to the idea of sharing resources, along with having sustainable cargo transportation.