The Time is Right: Cargobike Cruise 2024

Inspired by the sight of cargo bikes of all shapes and sizes at the annual Cargo Bike Cruise in London last Wednesday, as we crossed Parliament Square, we pondered what it would take for this to become an everyday sight in London instead of an annual event. Imagine if, in the 21st century, the cargo bike became as ubiquitous as the black cab or double-decker bus in central London. Imagine if instead of queues of polluting vans we had clean air and the sound of birdsong replacing traffic noise.

Since 2015, with the introduction of Cycle Superhighways, the use of cargo bikes by businesses has risen and according to a new analysis by Clean Cities, a network of over 100 non-governmental organizations coordinated by the European Federation for Transport and Environment, cargo bike use increased by 73% in London’s square mile and by 63% across the city between 2022 and 2023. They have found that businesses that transition to cargo bikes often report quicker and cleaner deliveries and our years of experience delivering in the grocery sector certainly backs up those findings. Clean Cities has analysed the rapid growth in cargo bike use and argues that increased use can reduce congestion, improve business efficiency, and support the development of more liveable and healthier cities. You won’t be surprised to hear that this isn’t news to some of us – but it’s always welcome when further analysis backs up your own work!

Transport for London has stated that cargo bikes could replace nearly one in five vans in parts of London by 2030. We believe this target is too conservative and would urge Sadiq Khan to accelerate policies favouring cargo bike use. It’s disappointing to learn that while TfL has committed more than £127 million to businesses scrapping polluting vans, none of this funding has been dedicated to promoting the uptake of cargo bikes

The Cargo Bike Cruise acts as a sort of rolling demonstration with over 80 cargo bike riders participating. This year they launched Clean Cargo Capital, a new campaign, aiming to accelerate the adoption of electric and pedal-powered commercial vehicles as part of a "green deal for freight.” This campaign argues that the lack of dedicated funding for cargo bikes is a missed opportunity and calls for TfL to establish a Bikes for Business project to offer tailored cargo bike advice and subsidies to businesses, similar to those available in other European cities, and we certainly back that call.

The year-on-year increase in cargo bike use by fleets in London underscores the potential for these bikes to replace a significant number of vans. E-cargobikes.com has already made over a million temperature-controlled zero-emission deliveries for Co-op, Sainsbury’s, and Ocado, offering a zero-emission logistics solution, capable of combining diverse order sizes with next-day, same-day, and same-hour delivery commitments onto a single platform, effectively tripling drop density. Our work has shown that over an 8-hour shift, e-cargobikes can deliver the same weight and volume as a van for less than 1% of the energy. Our bikes can run on a single battery charge for a shift, with easy battery swapping for longer ranges. Batteries can be charged from a standard ring main, avoiding costly high-power installations.

E-cargobikes are not the entire solution to last-mile city logistics but they are a crucial element. Over the years we’ve been operating e-cargobikes.com has accumulated extensive operating experience partnering with local councils, independent retailers, department stores, and food banks as well as the national supermarkets, which have been the main focus of our work. We can demonstrate that in an urban environment an e-cargobike can perform the work of that 3.5-ton delivery van we are all used to seeing double parked or pulled up on a corner while the driver lifts totes onto a trolly to then sack-barrow the delivery to the customer’s front door. E-cargobikes overcome all these issues. The use of bike lanes and traffic-free zones overcomes congestion, enabling faster road speeds and ease of parking, which saves time and also, importantly for fleet managers, saves on congestion charges and PCNs.

Transport is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide (27% of the UK total) and a significant contributor to particulates, despite improvements over the past 30 years. The transition to electric vehicles presents substantial costs for consumers and industry, contributing to resistance against initiatives like the ULEZ. Decarbonization also poses a profound challenge for fleet operators, with legislation setting hard stops for internal combustion engine sales in cars, vans, and smaller trucks by 2035, and large trucks by 2040. For businesses, particularly in big cities with air quality measures, the transition to electric vans is challenging. Electric vehicles are expensive, difficult to acquire, no cheaper to operate, and charging infrastructure is limited, making the transition difficult. In this context, e-cargobikes present a viable alternative.

And cargo bikes of course are also evolving to become yet more efficient. Some second-generation e-cargobikes, like the ground-breaking Berlin-built ONO that we were riding in the Cargo Bike Cruise, resolve many earlier shortcomings with modular loading, greater payload, and automotive-standard construction. They support longer delivery journeys and a range of service activities, promising significant cost reductions. Recently the ONO was presented at the annual Cart Marking ceremony at Mansion House and was awarded the Alfie Hyatt Memorial Trophy for the vehicle with the greatest potential – and of course the potential to remove and replace polluting vans across our cities is compelling, and so are the environmental and cost benefits.

So, the capability of these high-capacity, zero-emission vehicles is clear: they save money, help address the climate crisis, reduce congestion, and improve air quality, overcoming so many of the challenges facing the operators of van-based last-mile delivery fleets. E-cargobikes.com has already made significant strides on this journey, we hope those busy getting settled into their new offices at the DfT this summer saw the Cargo Bike Cruise as we passed parliament last week and recognised the solution to so many of the issues they will have to oversee and legislate for roll by.