News item | 19-12-2023 | 9:00 am
The government will commit itself to greater uniformity and quality in the existing training courses for new drivers of BSO buses and electric cargo bikes weighing more than 75 kilograms. This is done together with the sectors and training institutes involved. Currently, mainly childcare organizations and postal delivery companies use these vehicles.
In July 2021, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management announced that drivers of these vehicles will be required to have an AM driving license in the future. Research now shows that a driving license provides a sufficient basis for general traffic knowledge, insight into other road users, situational awareness and hazard recognition.
At the same time, it appears that many important competencies require driving training. This driving training focuses, for example, on how the driver will use the vehicle: for passenger transport or for freight transport. Most organizations currently offer such training themselves, often through an external training institute.
Minister Mark Harbers (Infrastructure and Water Management): “The cargo bikes that deliver our mail and the vehicles in which young children cycle around have become an indispensable part of our street scene. Manufacturers are busy making new, perhaps even better, vehicles based on these cargo bikes. I think it is important that these innovative vehicles can be used safely. That is why we are working on making a moped driving license mandatory in the future for BSO buses and for heavier electric cargo bikes. The government is now also going to look at how we can make driving skills training even better.”
Shaping the curriculum together
Together with the sector, we have now examined which components a uniform curriculum should contain. The ministry, the training institutes and the sectors will work on this together in 2024. The government wants to utilize the expertise of the training institutes involved and hear from the sectors whether this meets their needs.
The status of the curriculum should also be discussed with these two parties. Is there a need to record this legally? Which points should be included in a course, and for which points is it up to the course or sector to make that choice? How can it be encouraged that people who do not use the heavy electric cargo bike through an organization also follow such a training?
More clarity on the road
The ministry wants to ensure that all admitted vehicles are technically safe and can be used safely in traffic. In recent years, more and more types of so-called ‘light electric vehicles’ have been hitting the road. This concerns, for example, the Segway, the electric scooter and the after-school care bus.
In the autumn of 2024, the House of Representatives will receive the new regulations required for an admission framework for these vehicles. The aim is for this framework to provide more clarity: consumers know better which vehicles are and are not allowed on the road, manufacturers know better which technical requirements their vehicles must meet and road authorities have clarity about which vehicles will drive on their roads.
This framework does not make it easier to get an e-scooter admitted to the road: this admission procedure remains the same.