Overview
The German federal government still follows the goal of having one million electric vehicles on Germany's roads by 2020, as concluded in 2009. The funding programme "Show Windows Electro-Mobility" shall demonstrate the readiness, economic advantages and practical usability of electric vehicles in several urban and regional contexts in Germany.
Many commuters in the Stuttgart region use the train for travelling to work, but they use the car to get to the train station. It is precisely because of the region’s hilly topography that pedelecs can offer an environmentally friendly supplement to public transport. However, this requires the presence of rental services or secure parking and charging stations at the railway station. Therefore, in the Netz-E-2-R project innovative e-bike parks, which offer both rental pedelecs and parking spaces for private pedelecs, will be set up at railway stations in the Stuttgart region. These stations will be attractive urban buildings powered by their own photovoltaic systems and a stationary lithium-ion storage system and will be accessible to registered users around the clock. An innovative tariff system and cross-linking between the stations should ensure high usage rates.
Following the successful testing of a pilot project in Bietigheim-Bissingen and within the framework of the project, e-bike parks will be erected at more than 10 railway stations in the Stuttgart region. Access will be possible by means of the mobile pass issued by the Transit and Tariff Association Stuttgart or through registration with the operators of nextbike. The innovative tariff system is tailored to the specific needs of the commuters. Under the attractive evening tariffs, they can take the pedelecs home and then return them to the station in the morning. A large part of the operating costs is to be refinanced by daily guests, e.g. tourists or local companies. To this purpose, cooperation with employers and tourism projects, and the integration of the e-bike stations in the regional and local transport concepts is planned. Furthermore, the various stations will be linked with each other, enabling a checkout and return at different stations. Information as to the availability of pedelecs and parking spaces can be obtained at any time via smart phone.