Why Do German-Speakers Ride Cargobikes More Than French-Speakers In Switzerland?

“The French-speaking [population of Switzerland] cycle much less than the German-speaking one,” said Patrick Rérat, co-author of a new academic study on cargobike use.

There are several reasons for this, but the main one, believes Rérat, is safer streets for cycling.

“In the German part of Switzerland, they have taken measures to calm traffic, such as 20 kilometers or 30 kilometers per hour speed limit zones, and did so earlier than in the French-speaking parts. And the German-speaking part also tends to have more and better cycling infrastructure.”

Rérat is a professor of geography at HEC Lausanne at the University of Lausanne, and co-director of Observatoire universitaire du vélo et des mobilités actives (Observatory for Cycling and Active Mobilities), or OUVEMA.

Along with colleagues Dimitri Marincek and Virginie Lurkin, he co-authored The Potential of Cargo Bikes, a research project on the adoption of load- and child-carrying cargobikes as well as the attitudes of new, existing, and would-be users.

Cargobike usage has “strong effects on reducing car trips,” reports the study, but usage “remains fragile due to the cycling environment.”

In congested cities, cargobikes represent an efficient, cheaper alternative to a car for families while offering more carrying capacity than a standard bicycle yet offering the same speed, which, in many cities, is faster than traveling by motor vehicle.

Cargobikes can use cycleways and shortcuts not available to motorists. They are also zero-emission, and more widespread use of cargobikes could help cities improve air quality.

One of the reasons city dwellers use cars is to transport children. Research by the Brussels Institute of Statistics and Analysis found that 71% of households in the Belgian capital with two or more children own a car, against 49% of households without children.

While child-carrying cargobikes and trailers have been popular in cycling cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen for many years, there has been a steady increase in their numbers in other European cities over the last decade.

“In Dutch and Danish cities, we know that cargobikes have been very popular for a long time, but in Switzerland, this is something new,” said Rérat.

One of the reasons for the recent uptick in sales of use of cargobikes in Switzerland and elsewhere, is the addition of power, with EU-compliant electric cargobikes boosted with pedaling assistance.

“90% of those using cargobikes in our survey said they had electric cargobikes,” said Lurkin.

“In Switzerland, we have some steep streets, so without electrical assistance, it would be hard to ride a non-electric cargobike with children or groceries on it.”

Many of those now ferrying children on electric cargobikes in Switzerland have reduced the number of their car trips.

“Some respondents said that by buying a cargobike, they renounced the idea of buying a second car or even owning a car at all,” said Lurkin.

Half of those interviewed for the study were fully car-free. In Switzerland, only 21% of households don’t have access to a car or van. And for those with children, only 7% of Swiss households are car-free.

While most cargobike owners—and sharers— in Switzerland tend to be affluent there are signs that ownership and use are spreading to other demographics.

“15% of the households [in our survey] bought a secondhand cargobike,” said Rérat.

“So if there is a secondhand market, prices will go down. Sharing is also a [cost effective] option, and housing cooperatives, for example, have cargobikes that their members can use.”

While cargobikes are relatively expensive, they’re nowhere near as expensive as cars.

“We still compare e-bikes and cargobikes with usual bikes [and that makes them seem expensive], but we should compare them with bus season tickets or what a car costs,” said Rérat.

The research project—funded by the Enterprise for Society (E4S)—was the first large-scale survey of the cargobike sector in Switzerland and will be a benchmark for subsequent surveys.

“It will be nice to see how things have evolved in five years,” said Lurkin.

“Cargobikes were unusual in Switzerland five years ago,” added Rérat.

“Now, you don’t turn your head anymore; [cargobikes] are no longer exceptional.”

But will this growth—from a low base—continue?

“I hope that it will become way more accessible for more people to have cargobikes,” said Lurkin, especially, she added, as they can be part of the effort to reduce car and van numbers in such a motor-dependent country.

Growth in use now depends on policymakers, with Lurkin advising that purchase subsidies and better infrastructure for cycling would be required to see a meaningful uptick in cargobike usage.

“If you want to favor the use of bikes, cargobikes, and e-bikes, then you need to make sure that people feel safe,” she said.

“More than 60% of our interviewees said they adapt their route when they carry children,” added Rérat.

“This shows that [conditions for everyday cycling are still] far from perfect. It’s a limiting factor.”