More and more restaurants, cafes and hotels in Germany are starting to welcome e-bike tourists with the promise of a no-hassle battery recharge while they relax. — dpa
The year 2023 is set to be a milestone in German mobility. For the first time in the country’s bicycle history, e-bike sales are set to overtake the sales of classic bicycles.
Germany’s switch to e-bikes, like the one seen in countries around the world, means a change in regional tourism, as people now have the option to cover greater distances with less effort.
As the issue of sustainability becomes more and more important to travellers, e-bikes also offer the potential for an environmentally friendly and sustainable holiday.
From effortless exploration and accessibility for all to sustainable travel options and the freedom to create individual itineraries, e-bikes are changing the way we travel,” says Oliver Kasties, the head of the local hotel and restaurant association in the German state of Hessen.
E-bikes have unlocked a new travel option for many travellers. — Photo: Uwe Zucchi/dpa
Restaurants and hotels are recognising this wave of e-bike tourism and are gradually adapting to this target group, Kasties says.
Many catering establishments have the needs of e-bike riders in mind, especially on cycle-tourist routes, says Ansgar Hegerfeld, from Germany’s ADFC bicycle club.
Above all, this means easily accessible charging facilities. Restaurants, cafes and hotels try to welcome e-bike travellers with the promise of a no-hassle battery recharge while they relax.
If your battery runs out mid-trip, you’ll usually find somewhere to recharge, Hegerfeld says. “In our experience, it’s generally no problem to ask in a shop if you can briefly charge your battery or mobile phone,” he says. “And if in doubt, leave a tip, then everyone benefits.”
Most new e-bikes have batteries that are powerful enough to handle a full day of heavy cycling, and modern pedelecs (pedal electric cycle) have a range of 70km and more, says Catrin Müller from the Hesse Transport Ministry. “That is usually enough for a day trip.”
For cycling, she says, public charging stations are less significant than for motor vehicles. With most pedelecs, the batteries can simply be removed from the bike and charged at a socket.
In cycling as a whole, the trend is clearly towards pedelecs, explains Hegerfeld, citing new figures pointing to more e-bikes being sold than non-supported bicycles.
However, the new desire to cycle sometimes leads to space problems. Since there are too few cycle paths in Hesse, which are also often too narrow, conflicts are on the rise, observes Hegerfeld. “The problem is also that we have a wide range of speeds on the cycle paths.”
In cities, too, e-bikes (and e-scooters) for hire have changed the way tourists get around, offering an alternative means of sightseeing, while increasing the need for bike lanes.
Hegerfeld still sees great potential for e-bikes in rural areas – where the distances are often somewhat greater. But it is precisely there that cycle paths are rare. The vast majority of Germany’s rural roads still require cyclists to cycle together with cars, meaning an unpleasant experience of constantly being overtaken.
There are currently about 8.5 million e-bikes in Germany, or about one for every 10 people in the country. Most of them have a maximum speed of 25km/h.
“Since the advent of e-bikes, and especially thanks to the pandemic, the use of e-bikes in leisure time and on holiday has increased significantly,” says the spokesman of the ADAC Hessen, Cornelius Blanke.
These are increasingly used on day or weekend trips and taken on holiday, says Blanke. “Weekend trippers on the busiest cycle routes in particular have caused some bottlenecks, as I know from my own experience.” – dpa
