22 000 färre dieselkilometer i Köpenhamn – och det är bara början…

Goodbye engine noise and diesel noise. Good morning silence and trampling. In a new pilot project, specially designed electric bicycles will replace vans on the streets of Copenhagen for the benefit of the climate, health and traffic congestion.

Visiting citizens of Copenhagen have their laundry collected and delivered weekly by diesel-powered vans, but in the coming weeks an electric bicycle will be offered.

During the trial period, it concerns 39 citizens in Amager and 35 in Indre By. If successful, DFD, which is behind collection and washing, will replace vans with electric bicycles throughout the municipality – a total of 1,200 mainly elderly citizens.

According to DFD’s calculations, this will mean 22,000 fewer diesel kilometers driven in the municipality of Copenhagen, which in recent years has tried to reduce the number of cars and reduce the CO2 footprint in the capital.

Happy citizen

73-year-old Susan Andreassen has laundry picked up and delivered by DFD every week. After several operations, she can no longer bear the journey from the second floor down to the laundry cellar.

When the bike messenger has parked the bike at the entrance on this day in May, she buzzes him in. In the door to the apartment, bags and smiles are exchanged.

– At the beginning I thought: ’Poor bicycle messenger who has to carry the heavy laundry.’ But I think it’s really good that you can save kilometers in the diesel cars, says Susan Andreassen.

– It’s a good initiative that I hope will continue, says the Copenhagen pensioner.

Susan Andreassen and the other citizens participating in the project should not notice any difference in the service they receive. Delivery and collection take place in the same way and at the same times as always.

Space for one cubic meter

The bikes, developed and designed by the manufacturer Velove, are 3.12 meters long, 1.62 meters high and have a container that holds one cubic meter. But despite their size, they are both easy to drive and not least to park.

In addition to saving diesel and reducing CO2 emissions, there are also other advantages to switching to bicycles, emphasizes area manager in DFD, Lars Vincent Wartou.

– It is difficult to find parking spaces for our cars in Copenhagen, and on the bikes we can stay on the side of the road, so it also facilitates parts of the work flow, says Lars Vincent Wartou and says that it is hoped that two diesel cars can eventually be replaced by three electric bikes .

Sisse Marie Welling (SF) is mayor of care and social care in the municipality of Copenhagen. She sees great perspectives in the experiment:

– Copenhagen must have more green and climate-friendly transport.

– It is quite obvious to investigate whether it is possible to transport more laundry by bicycle – without affecting the level of service for the city’s elderly citizens.

– And the potential of electric bicycles is great and extends much further than the experiment with the laundry. The possibilities are many in a city like Copenhagen. For example. we take out many meals for the elderly every day, says Sisse Marie Welling.

Lars Vincent Wartou notes that the project, which will initially last until the end of May, is in line with DFD’s overall desire to contribute massively to sustainable development. This happens e.g. through the DFD upcy concept, where the ambition is to recycle all customers’ used textiles by 2025 at the latest.