“To compete with vans cargo bikes must match on features,” says Paztir

Tuesday, 4 May 2021 Mark Sutton

//Sponsored content// Paztir

While the tide is turning fast, for cargo bikes to maintain an upward trajectory against motor vehicles it is crucial that fleet operators see some of the very same technologies present in the motoring world immediately apparent on spec sheets.

A specialist in integrating technologies such as smart locking, fleet management and tracking, Paztir has taken feedback from logistics based businesses eying bikes for delivery, finding that each tends to have a very specific wish list.

Leading the requests, customers considering switching to cargo bikes are asking for a single, reliable source for:

The bike fleet
A built-in tracking module to manage fleets on the move
A reliable and ideally keyless smart locking system. (Very often these come from separate manufacturers for the bike and the boxes)
A parking brake for the bike – which is becoming obligatory by law in more and more countries

“The majority of logistics companies don’t have the time nor resources to do all that, so they either don’t do it at all, they do it partially, or they demand that the bike maker sources all the upgrades above. The result is the bikes they use are not a serious competition just a small addition to vans,” says Andrej Sobotkiewicz, Chief Executive Officer at Paztir.

The frustration for those looking toward cargo bike fleets, we’re told, has up to now been finding a solution to each component part all connected via one IoT system. Without components and software attached working together within one system, the task of fleet management can become overly complex and frustrating to manage.

In an efficiency-driven market like logistics, where leading companies need real-time data processing and analysis to keep pace with customer demands, light electric vehicles need to be more than emission-free vehicles to truly compete with the van.

That begs the question, whose ongoing responsibility is it to upgrade the light electric vehicle? Is it the manufacturer’s, whom at present may expect the end-user to take care of the locking and tracking? Or is it the logistics company, which will often be less familiar with the additional hardware and software that may be required to maintain an optimum fleet?

Those are questions that Paztir is solving for its clients downstream, offering an embedded brain for OEM bike makers that delivers vehicle intelligence on par with motor vehicles that may otherwise easily be defaulted to on a convenience basis; what’s more, for existing fleet owners the system is retrofittable. It’s one stop shop solution builds into one package helps logistics firms track, trace and secure their fleets, rather than having to bundle multiple sources to achieve what may be a lesser result.

The system supplied has further perks, including reporting on motor use, temperature, battery charging, maintenance management, telemetry, odometer and G-force. All of this feedback should enable fleet managers to keep bikes in good health with API access giving an overview on command.

“We enable bikes to truly compete with delivery vans, equipping them with all the HW and SW that they are missing,” concludes Sobotkiewicz.