citkar E-Cargo Bike: IoT Trackers Optimize Last Mile

To maximize the e-cargo bike’s reliability, citkar was on the lookout for a way to digitize it. For this task Deutsche Telekom provided the right system based on the Internet of Things (IoT). A key citkar requirement was predictive maintenance. Loadster defects must not first come to light when the vehicle suddenly breaks down. Instead, the time for maintenance should be individually and reliably predictable. In addition, the startup wanted to record maintenance work centrally and digitally on the Internet in order to improve quality assurance.

Initially, the quest for a suitable system was a tough assignment. The solutions were frequently designed for e-bikes and mainly to protect them from theft or to activate them for bike-sharing services. Then Deutsche Telekom launched Drive & Track. Loadsters are equipped with IoT trackers that collect data about mileage covered, speed etc. and send it via the cellular network to the Internet of Things and the Cloud. The connected Fleet Complete system and its online portal enable citkar to access and manage all data. The combined solution is the basis for a more cost-effective, less resource-hungry and altogether eco-friendlier last mile.

The smart sensors and the software solution enable citkar to maintain a constant overview of the performance of its e-cargo bikes. In addition, the system maintains a digital service record for each cargo bike. Dealers who carry out repairs or maintenance work on the e-cargo bikes record all the details digitally. As a result citkar can, for example, analyze the reasons for maintenance and defects and, if required, replace defect-prone parts. The outcome is optimized quality assurance and a sustainable improvement in the reliability and operational readiness of its Loadsters. citkar and Deutsche Telekom have thereby solved one of the greatest problems with cargo bikes: their high failure rate. That is an important advantage for delivery services and other transportation and logistics enterprises that rely on smooth and trouble-free processes and optimal time management.

To further increase customer satisfaction citkar issues weekly reports. They contain details of not only the mileage that Loadsters cover but also their CO2 emissions, which compared with those of cars, including EVs, are remarkably low (see chart). An automobile with a combustion engine emits around 2.93 tonnes of CO2 over a distance of 10,000 kilometers. EVs are easier on the environment with 0.67 tonnes but nowhere near the Loadster’s 0.03 tonnes. To make these figures clearer, about 293 trees would be required to offset the conventional automobile’s output of greenhouse gases, 67 for that of an EV and just three trees for that of a citkar e-cargo bike.

Sustainability is in any case the smart, eco-friendly cargo bike’s motto. Customers are notified automatically ahead of scheduled or unscheduled maintenance dates. If a Loadster travels at high speeds especially often the system will schedule an earlier service date. Inadvertently forgotten dates area thing of the past and sudden outages are much less frequent.

Customer feedback about the new system has been extremely positive, not least because the Loadster combines green logistics and a substantial cost savings potential. At today‘s high fuel prices a car costs around EUR 1,120 a year to run, assuming a mileage of 10,000 km. EVs perform better but still cost EUR 410, whereas citkar’s smart e-cargo bike makes do with a mere EUR 70 or so.

A further advantage is that the solution is scalable and thus future-proof. The Loadster will soon be able to use the automobile industry’s CAN Bus interface to read and record even more detailed motor and electronic data. As the e-cargo bike is already equipped with trackers citkar customers can easily make use of additional Fleet Complete services such as dynamic route planning. So drivers will always be able to take the fastest route to their destination because the solution analyzes traffic and suggests alternative routes as required. For one, that can further improve the efficiency of last-mile delivery. For another, the Loadster’s CO2 footprint can be further reduced because drivers no longer need to make unnecessarily long detours.

What Deutsche Telekom’s Internet of Things technology combined with the software solution and, of course, the citkar Loadster can achieve was demonstrated during the International Cargobike Race in Berlin on June 26 and 27, 2021. In a sporting endurance test the trackers and the software provided non-stop information about the route and the condition of vehicles. With the race and the Loadsters already in use around Europe citkar demonstrates not only what last-mile delivery but also what urban traffic in general could look like in the future: practical, green, reliable – a win-win situation for companies, people and the environment.