BAQME introduces app for booking electric shared cargo bikes in Rotterdam. The Dutch start-up predicts that electric shared cargo bikes will make short car trips in the city redundant.
On 16 February 2021, Dutch start-up BAQME introduced an app for electric shared cargo bikes. With the app, users can easily book an electric cargo bike in their neighbourhood. BAQME offers a sustainable alternative for short car trips in the city and will expand the sharing concept to other Dutch and European cities later this year.
Not only for transporting kids
A 'bakfiets' is a familiar sight in the Netherlands. For parents, this is often the safest way to transport small kids, without having to drive a car. However, a cargo bike is not only suitable for transporting children, but also for big shopping trips, delivering parcels to the postal service or making purchases at the garden centre or DIY store.
The box can hold two children and a dog or two shopping bags. And for those who want to drop off packages, move stuff or make big purchases, BAQME with a maximum load of 80 kg is also a solution. You pay €0.15 per minute with a minimum of €0.50 per ride. Pausing a ride costs €0.05 per minute.
BAQME's sustainable vision
Every day, many unnecessary car journeys are made within city limits. More than half of all car trips are shorter than 7.5 kilometres. These trips are often frustrating because of traffic jams and the difficulty of finding an expensive parking spot. BAQME aims to offer an alternative. Electric cargo bikes are a faster, cheaper and more sustainable alternative for car trips within the city.
Berenice van Gessel, COO and co-founder of BAQME: "Cities are currently too much designed for cars instead of people. Cars stand still 95% of the time and take up a disproportionately large share of public space. We hope to offer Rotterdam residents an attractive new transport solution and an alternative to the (second) car that is often used for short trips around the city."
Dutch start up BAQME introduces electric shared cargo bikes in RotterdamHow does it work?
You download the BAQME app and use it to find the nearest cargo bike. Then you can drive around the city. The maximum speed with pedal assistance is 25 kilometres and with a full battery you can cycle about 40 to 50 kilometres. And even without electric propulsion you can get around, because all BAQME bikes have at least 7 gears.
If you have dropped off the children or run an errand, park the electric cargo bike and end the ride via the app so that another user can take it on the road again. Unlike other cargo bike providers, BAQME's bikes do not have fixed parking spaces, but so-called parking zones. At the end of a ride a parking check is requested. The user takes a picture of the parked bicycle via the app and can then exit.
Because the cargo bikes are shared, users only pay for their personal use of the vehicles, which makes the concept more economical than purchasing a similar electric cargo bike. Moreover, BAQME takes care of the e-bike maintenance and regularly charges the bikes.
Dutch start up BAQME introduces electric shared cargo bikes in RotterdamDutch start-up
BAQME was founded in August 2020 by Souren Arakelian and Sven Velthuis. Berenice van Gessel recently joined as one of the co-founders and as an investor. Until recently, van Gessel worked at Uber where she was, among other things, responsible for the JUMP operations in EMEA and before that had operational responsibility for Uber in the Benelux. BAQME starts off in Rotterdam and aims to expand into more cities in the Netherlands and Europe, as an alternative for short car trips.
