Hamburg to encourage greater use of portable bicycles

Hamburg, Germany, has announced its cooperation with urban transport specialist, Tern, to encourage greater use of portable bicycles within the city’s public transport network. It is the third major German transit authority the urban bike maker has partnered with in the past year and the fourth worldwide.

“Mixed modal transport is the best way to leverage existing public transport systems and portable bikes can play a key role in this,” said Joshua Hon, Tern Vice President. “Instead of investing a lot of money and resources into building a network that reaches everywhere, cities can promote the use of bikes, which can bridge the gap between your house and the nearest bus/train/subway station. You can easily take a portable bike on public transport and use it when you get off to ride to your final destination.”

Tern is offering a special-edition Link D8 bicycle at a promotional price for use in an initiative by the Hamburg Transport Association (HVV) and the Hamburg branch of the ADFC Cycling Association. The goal of the programme is to encourage use of portable bicycles on the HVV transport network, including trains, subways, buses, and ferries, to help alleviate bicycle parking congestion in front of stations and the crowding of carriages with regular bicycles.

Participating Tern dealers throughout Hamburg will offer the special-edition bike through various purchase plans tailored for the project. The bikes will be allowed on all HVV public transport without charge, even during peak travel times, when bicycles are typically not allowed.

“With our offer we will be addressing those HVV passengers who want their bike on the go,” explained Lutz Aigner, Managing Director of the Hamburg Transport Association. “During peak traffic hours, the vehicles are often very crowded, so we can only allow the carrying of folding bikes.”

The Tern Link D8 is a low-maintenance, everyday bicycle that comes fully equipped with an 8-speed derailleur, rear rack, mudguards, dynamo hub, and lights. The bike folds in only 10 seconds into a compact size for easy carrying and storage on a bus, train, or subway car.