Compensation up to €12,000 proposed for owners of Stint cargo bikes

Childcare organizations and postal companies that used Sint cargo bikes before the government took them off the road may soon receive compensation of up to 12,000 euros per Stint from the State. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management published the proposed regulation on Monday. Childcare organizations aren’t happy with it, AD reports.

The Ministry of Infrastructure removed the Stint electric cargo bikes from public roads in 2018 after a tragic accident. On September 20 that year, a train crashed into a Stint on a crossing in Oss, killing four young children and leaving another child and a childcare worker seriously hurt. The electric cargo bike apparently stalled on the crossing, though a definitive cause for the accident couldn’t be determined.

The vehicle was widely used at the time, mainly by childcare organizations. So its removal from the roads was highly contested.

The Council of State ruled that the Minister should never have permitted the “light Stint (800 watts) to drive on public roads, partly because the technical inspection was completely below par. The highest administrative court ruled that the State had to compensate Stint users.

The Ministry of Infrastructure proposed a compensation scheme on Monday. Stint owners are entitled to a fixed amount of 3,500 euros if they have incurred costs to arrange alternative transport. They can also receive compensation for the depreciation that arose after the Stint was taken off the road. The amount of this compensation is a percentage of the vehicle’s value, which depends on the year of construction and can run up to 8,500 euros. The deprecation compensation only applies to light Stints.

The proposed scheme is up for public consultation, and people can comment on it until August 21. The Ministry established the scheme in consultation with the childcare sector and leasing company Friesland Lease, which had about 700 of these electric cargo bikes in 2018.

Childcare sector not happy

The Branch Organization for Childcare is not pleased with the proposed scheme. “Despite the fact that we do not have an agreement, and without properly completing the talks with us, the Minster has decided to continue with the scheme,” the organization said. “We will consider our next steps and call on all childcare organizations involved to use the internet consultation to respond.”

Emmeline Bijlsma, director of the branch organization, called the compensation “okay.” But she is furious about a stipulation in the scheme stating that owners of heavier Stints (1,200 watts) must agree to “cessation” - allowing the government to reclaim money from the party liable for the unauthorized allowance of these Stints on public roads. Blijsma called this stipulation “outrageous.”

“To get what you deserve, you have to sacrifice someone else. As if we have ended up in a Dutch remake of the Netflix series Squid Game. If the Minister wants to harass the manufacturer with a claim, if necessary, he must be bold enough to file it himself and not to force cooperation from all parties who don’t want that at all,” she told AD.