Smoking posts in Dutch train stations are making way for e-bike charging stations.
All stations in the Netherlands became completely smoke-free after the sale of tobacco products in train stations ended in April.
“We want people to travel sustainably from door to door. Not only by train, but for example by bicycle to the station,” said Willem van Ewijk of ProRail. “By converting smoking posts into charging stations, we can ensure that more people take the electric bike.”
The posts were designed by Lightwell, an Amsterdam-based company, and presented during the Dutch Design Week, which ran from 17 to 25 October.
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The company pushed the concept of upcycling, “devising a new function that is better for the environment than remelting them” or throwing them away, said a Lightwell spokesperson, who said It’s “nice to turn something unhealthy like smoking into something healthy.”
The charging station can charge two e-bikes at the same time, according to Business Insider.
The last smoking post was removed at the beginning of October, marking the start of ‘Stoptober’, a smoke-free month. The post is now on display at the Railway Museum in Utrecht.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
