January 9, 2025 - As reported back in April 2021, the introduction of Zero Emission Zones (ZEZ) in 14 Dutch cities became effective January 1, 2025 with the aim of cleaning up emissions in the urban freight distribution sector.
According to Business.Gov.NL, “Certain company cars will not be allowed to enter many inner cities, a zero-emission zone (ZEZ), emission-free area may then apply. You can only enter this area with your van or truck if it does not emit any polluting substances, the goal is to reduce particulate matter and CO2 emissions in cities.” Zero-emission zones will be established in 29 Dutch cities between 2025 and 2030.
To encourage transport organizations to go carbon-free, the government offered grants to help businesses buy or lease electric vehicles including cargo bikes which have increasingly become recognized as a green mode of transport that can offer a logistics solution for moving goods through the ZEZ.
“These users of cargo bikes can be categorized as those making deliveries of fresh produce, specialised retail products, express parcels or those moving to provide a facility and service or working in construction. It is expected that by 2025 more than 9,500 cargo bikes will be used in Dutch logistics, whilst demand is expected to quadruple across the EU, helping to bring the global market value for cargo bikes to € 2.4 billion in 2031,” claims the Dutch Cycling Embassy.
Read more here (Business.Gov.NL) and here (Dutch Cycling Embassy).
