Two organisations that organise home care visits in the region of Twente, in the east of the Netherlands, have been trialling e-bikes for employee mobility.
55 home care workers from Livio and Zorggroep Manna took part in the eight month pilot project, in which trips by car to visit patients were instead carried out on e-bikes. The trips were logged using a smartphone app. The aim was to find out if it was practical and achievable to carry out care visits on bikes.
The study concluded that care workers saved time due to not having to sit in traffic or find a car parking space, meaning that they were late to appointments less frequently. The organisations also saved money on mileage, parking fees and administration associated with the use of cars.
Between November 2015 and June 2016, 69% of the participants used the e-bike for more than three-quarters of their trips. Cars were still used when distances were too great, or to attend appointments at night. The care workers gave the e-bikes an overwhelmingly positive review: 94% wanted to continue using them after the pilot had ended.
Twente Mobiel, a mobility organisation which is part of the province of Overijssel, facilitated the pilot project and have subsequently been holding webinars to help more organisations make the switch to e-bikes.
Innovations: care
Organisations: Livio, Zorggroep Manna and Twente Mobiel
Sector: Private / Commercial
Cities: Enschede and the region of Twente
Country: The Netherlands
Basis: Pilot
Website: www.livio.nl, www.zorggroep-manna.nl, www.twentemobiel.nl
Sources:
Twente Mobiel: “Switch to the e-bike” (Dutch)
RTV Oost: “Twente home care workers now on the e-bike” (Dutch)
Verkeersnet.nl: “Twente home care workers switch to e-bike” (Dutch)
TV Enschede: “Twente entrepreneurs encourage employees to get on the bicycle” (Dutch)
RTV Oost: “Twente home care workers now on the e-bike” (Dutch)
Verkeersnet.nl: “Twente home care workers switch to e-bike” (Dutch)
TV Enschede: “Twente entrepreneurs encourage employees to get on the bicycle” (Dutch)