TMR brings freight transport by bike to Lucca thanks to an innovative and ambitious sustainable mobility project, which was inaugurated on March 5 . It is one of very few Cargo Bike Stations systems in Europe.

A true urban freight revolution, implemented as part of the European Life Aspire project, which aims to transform the approach to delivery in the historic center of the Tuscan municipality.

During the inauguration, which was attended by Gabriele Bove, mobility councillor of the City of Lucca, logistics operators, Brt – Lucca branch and Eco City Transport Coop, carried out a demonstration on the use of cargo bikes.

The goal is to promote freight practices that are more appropriate to the historic and artistic conformation of the downtown and closer to the needs of merchants, residents and people in general, whether citizens or tourists.

This is the mission of Life Aspire, a project that TMR is pleased to have embraced and made concrete with Lucca’s bike freight system.

A system that also includes the design, development, implementation, and management of a points system (eco-points) that will allow for the rewarding and incentivizing of those who use more virtuous and eco-sustainable means, systems, and strategies in the delivery of goods in the historic city center. The cargo bikes integrate with the new system of access and egress from the historic center, which has been equipped with Rfid electronic gates capable of detecting the passage of vehicles equipped with special Rfid tag identification.

Each loading/unloading stall has been equipped with special sensor to detect and manage their occupancy, which can translate their utilization into eco-points, based on a reward criterion for transport operators who will use them. As we have always said, in fact, the city administration, with this system, does not want to intercept any infractions and make fines, but to allow the municipality to provide for a reward system, yet to be defined during the experimentation, evaluating different options such as reducing or lowering access permit fees towards those who have optimized their activities and followed the correct directions for distributing goods in the center, so as to decrease the environmental impact. And at the same time incentivize transport operators to adopt more environmentally friendly behavior for delivery/pickup operations within the Walls.

TMR took part in this unique project in Italy by taking care of the installation of 9 cargo bikes in 3 stations, the supply and maintenance of the system, and this is just the first of many other projects that can make a difference in terms of sustainable mobility in the country.

In the current demonstration phase of the project, they are available to freight operators: by downloading the Life Aspire app (currently available only for Android), it is possible to “unlock” the cargo bike from the station, load it with the goods that need to be delivered, and begin the delivery round.

On board the cargo bike, access to the restricted traffic zone will be possible from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., so even beyond the time slots allowed with any other cargo transport vehicle. Once the service is over, the vehicle must be returned to the station from which it was picked up. Next to the stations are stalls for commercial vans, dedicated to loading/unloading operations.

Why invest in a sustainable freight project? In addition to the obvious reduction in emissions and impact on the environment, it is also possible to take care of land preservation. Freight transport is notoriously driven by the principles of efficiency and speed, values that do not have the protection of historic inner-city roads at heart. Thanks to the system designed for Lucca, it is possible to protect the urban environment without sacrificing the outcome or reducing citizens’ opportunities.

We can imagine it for your city too, just contact us!