Where in Zuidas
Test riders can sign up for an e-bike at ebiketryout.nl. ‘The only condition is that you must work in Zuidas’, says Maud de Vries from BYCS. It is up to the test riders themselves to decide how often they use the bike during the two-week period, but, of course, it is best if they use it to cycle to work. ‘We want to find out about people’s experiences. This means we would also like to know when people opt to use a different mode of transport to get to the office and when they don’t. And if they do cycle to the office, what they think of it. Otherwise, there are no strings attached – you just get an obligation-free offer at the end of the try-out’.
Especially now
The initiative is the brainchild of the Green Business Club Zuidas and BYCS, both of which have always been committed to cycling. According to a survey, a quarter of all commuters who travel to Zuidas from up to 10 km away opt to use the car. This is despite the fact that this distance can easily be covered on an e-bike. An e-bike is a particularly good prospect at this time, believes De Vries. ‘Of course, we’re currently seeing fewer people going to the office in Zuidas and many are working from home. But transport use is also picking up again, making it important to think carefully about how you travel to the office. An e-bike has numerous advantages: it gets you outside and on the move, you can leave the car at home and you don’t need to use the increasingly busy public transport. Besides that, it’s easy to keep at a distance of 1.5 m on an e-bike.’
Sign up
You can sign up at ebiketryout.nl. A member of staff will contact you and discuss which e-bike will suit you best. The normal e-bike reaches speeds of approximately 25 km/h, but the speed pedelec from QicQ can reach up to 45 km/h and is ideal if you are travelling further than 10 km from Zuidas. The bike can then be collected in Zuidas and the two-week test period will then start. The pilot was launched on 5 September 2020 and the number of e-bikes is strictly limited. De Vries: ‘After the pilot, the testers will have been able to try out an e-bike free of charge for two weeks and we will have a better idea of what we can do to encourage people out of their cars and onto e-bikes. It’s a win-win situation.’ Previous try-outs have proved a success, with over half of participants ultimately opting to purchase an e-bike to commute to work.
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