Amsterdam has refused to grant Cargoroo a new license to operate its shared cargo ebike rental service in the Dutch capital. Instead, it has handed over exclusive operating rights to BAQME, an upstart rival from Rotterdam. The City first announced the decision in January.
However, Cargoroo launched an appeal, which officials rejected last week. Cargoroo’s existing license — which allowed it to run a fleet of 110 cargo ebikes in Amsterdam — comes to an end on June 16th. The startup has until the end of this month to remove all its bikes from the streets of the city.
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Sign up now! Last year, Amsterdam updated its rules for shared cargo bike schemes. Under the new plan, the capital was divided into two “plots” — East and West — with one permit granted to each. A maximum of 375 cargo bikes are permitted per plot — a total of 750 across the city.
The Dutch capital is notoriously tough on shared mobility schemes, having banned almost all of them. To win a permit, potential shared cargo bike operators had to fill out an extensive questionnaire proving how their service would meet Amsterdam’s stringent requirements. The questionnaire The test works on a points system.
Operators get more points, for example, if they promise to remove 90% of broken bikes from the street o.
