#WirLiebenDarmstadt (“We Love Darmstadt”): Rental cargo bikes help regional retailers
16.06.2020 | Business
With its #WirLiebenDarmstadt campaign, Riese & Müller is enabling restaurants and retailers to try out E-Cargo bikes free of charge. A campaign by Darmstadt residents for Darmstadt residents – as the company’s management, consisting of Markus Riese, Heiko Müller and Dr Sandra Wolf, have a very close bond with the region. Three partners of the campaign relate their experiences here.
Corona has turned everything upside down. But this kind of “upheaval” can also open up new prospects. And this is urgently necessary: after all, the temporary nationwide closures of businesses called for a great deal of creativity and flexibility from retailers and restaurants.
An ad hoc delivery service has proved to be a promising answer for many businesses. And transporting goods over short and medium distances, in particular, is a perfect application for E-Cargo bikes. In light of the high demand, Riese & Müller has set up a permanent rental option for cargo bikes: introducing the Riese & Müller RENT programme. To date, a total of 160 Packster and Load bikes have been rented out in 11 countries.
3 cargo bikes – 3 portraits
“You launched your #WirLiebenDarmstadt campaign at just the right time. We were banned from opening the doors of our bookshop due to pandemic-related restrictions, and so we delivered all orders instead. Deliveries by car were not an option for us, for two reasons: to help protect the environment and avoid searching for parking spots. However, the Darmstadt urban area felt bigger than ever before with a conventional bike. With our achy cycling legs at the end of the day and the carrier of our trusty old bike needing to be screwed on tightly again, we felt an increasing desire for an E-Bike.
The changeover from a conventional bike to an E-Cargo bike was extremely simple. After ten metres everything was fine, even riding through tight spaces at high speed. The Packster you provided us with is the right size for our book boxes. Its range – even in turbo mode – is fantastic. We estimate that we covered around 50 kilometres a day during the lockdown weeks.”
“In March, we had to close our business due to the corona measures. We then set up a pop-up shop online within six days. It was no problem at all making deliveries within a range of up to 20 kilometres with the Packster. During lockdown, we were out and about with the cargo bike almost every day and fell in love with the bike a little bit (or perhaps a lot…).
During this time, I also helped out a young asparagus farmer to harvest her crops in Weiterstadt, and for four weeks I rode to Weiterstadt in the early morning hours to cut asparagus. Without an E-Bike I wouldn’t have biked in the first place. I did volunteer work for the “soliDArisch” campaign, sewing SV98 face masks for care workers and social care establishments, and I also distributed the masks in Darmstadt using the Packster.”
“Our guests love my home-made quiches, tarts and cakes. I was able to deliver orders quickly and climate-neutrally, thanks to the Riese & Müller cargo bike. My customers and I are totally enthused. I am out and about several times a week throughout the entire city, from Eberstadt to Arheilgen. My team and I also like to use the cargo bike for shopping.
The handover in Mühltal went perfectly. After a short introduction, we headed to Darmstadt. I was totally won over on the way back. The cargo bike is really fun and the troublesome hunt for a parking space in Darmstadt’s Martinsviertel district is now a thing of the past.”
More information on #WirLiebenDarmstadt
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Riese & Müller provided around 25 Darmstadt retailers and restaurants with cargo bikes to try them out for a period of three months free of charge.
Riese & Müller is supporting local retailers with the promotion. In addition, the initiative shows that E-Cargo bikes are a sensible alternative to cars to make deliveries quickly and climate-neutrally.
#WirLiebenDarmstadt was the starting point for the launch of Riese & Müller RENT. -
- aniko Coffee Roasters | aniko-kaffee.de
- Büchergilde – Buchhandlung am Markt | buechergilde.de
- Buchhandlung Lesezeichen | geniallokal.de
- Die kleine Landmetzgerei | www.diekleinelandmetzgerei.de
- Dr. Petra Haust-Woggon | www.ihre-hausaerztinnen.de
- eigenart | www.eigenart-modedesign.de
- einFach | einfach-darmstadt.de
- Firma Heckmann | www.heckmannstore.com
- Gourmetdelivery.de | www.gourmetdelivery.de
- Greyhound Exclusiv | Tel. +49 (0)6151 293429 | Schulstr. 14, 64283 Darmstadt
- HENSCHEL | henschel-darmstadt.de
- Hotel Adler | www.hotel-adler-gg.de
- le café bleu | www.le-cafe-bleu.de
- Menschenskinder – Werksatt für Familienkultur e.V. | www.menschenskinder-darmstadt.de
- Merlau´s Hofladen | www.merlaus-hofladen.de
- Metzgerei Jung | Tel. +49 (0)6150 84483 | Verdistraße 27, 64291 Darmstadt
- Salm | www.salm.de
- Sieben Kinder | www.siebenkinder.com
- Sonnenhofladen | Tel. +49 (0)6257 3694 | Darmstädter Str. 23, 64404 Bickenbach
- Spargel Merlau | www.spargel-merlau.de
- Timo Bartel Gesundheitscoaching | www.timo-bartel.de
- Vinocentral | www.vinocentral.de
- Wellnitz Café & Bar | wellnitz-bar.jimdofree.com
- zu Tisch | www.gottfriedpacher.de