Plan to boost cargo bike deliveries in the capital unveiled

A plan to help councils, businesses and the freight and servicing industry switch to cargo bikes for deliveries has been unveiled by London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman.

Norman launched the plan at the National Cargo Bike Summit in central London, organised by Landor LINKS and hosted by the City of London Corporation.

“Cargo bikes are no longer a niche concept, and they can be real game changers when it comes to delivering freight and servicing trips,” Norman said. “Not only do they provide environmental benefits by not contributing to air pollution, they also make journeys more efficient, and present a much lower risk of danger to people walking and cycling than vans and HGVs.”

By 2030 cargo bikes could replace up to 4% of van kilometres across Greater London, and as much as 17% of van kilometres in central London, Transport for London (TfL) estimates. It calculates that the carbon savings resulting from cargo bike growth across Greater London will be up to 30,000 tonnes of CO2 a year by 2030.

In London, 90% of all goods are transported by road while around half of the value of household expenditure in London relies on freight, said TfL. Road freight is a major source of nitrogen dioxide emissions, a key contributor to London’s toxic air, it points out, adding that cargo bikes offer a “much cleaner way to deliver freight and services and deliver considerable air pollution savings, contributing to healthier and safer streets and enabling better use of urban space”.

The use of cargo bikes for freight and servicing trips is becoming more widespread, with major businesses including Amazon and DHL, according to TfL.

For the full article visit Plan to boost cargo bike deliveries in the capital unveiled (transportxtra.com)