Suck it, vans — cargo bikes are the delivery captains now
Cargo bikes 1.6 times faster than delivery vans
The problem of van delivery
Research by Vanarama in 2019 found520,000 UK van drivers typically spend over 20 minutes looking for a parking space for each delivery they make and a total of 1 hour and 40 minutes searching for parking every day. Further, drivers risk fines of £50 every time they park due to too small parking spaces.
Cargo bikes can be both electrically or non-electrically assisted. In the UK, bikes can have a maximum power output of 250 W and provide electric assist up to 15.5mph (25km/h.) However, bikes with more power and speed are classed as mopeds and require a license, insurance, and safety equipment–something the researchers hope will change in the future.
A new delivery model beyond the gig economy
Pedal Me is a cargo and passenger bikes service founded in London in 2017. It currently operates within a 9-mile radius of Central London (with the option for longer journeys), utilizing a fleet of 55 Urban Arrow bikes and 45 employees, covering 25,000km each month.
Pedal Me claims to be the only cargo freight service whose bikes can carry the following, in one ride, back to back in the same day while moving at an average speed of 15 km/h in Central London:
● Two adults and a small dog
● 480L of essential products and food
● 150kg of liquors and beers
● 50 hot meals
● A cement mixer
● A fridge
Central to Pedal Me is an “ethical motivation driving training, employment, risk management, and environment.”
The company offers their customers the opportunity to share delivery runs, reducing costs while using a sustainable alternative. All Pedal Me riders are employed full-time, with pre-scheduled shifts and hourly pay (instead of the per-delivery pay in the gig economy model). Pedal Me also has in-house cycling instructors and a thorough training program.
Agile Urban Mobility
Pedal Me champions a form of urban logistics that they call the Agile Urban Mobility network. It combines both point-to-point and multi-drop jobs and passengers and freight transport in the same time window.
Once finished with a job, each rider, rather than returning to the depot, can go directly to the nearest pick-up point, thus reducing the distance traveled and ‘dead’ miles. They believe this allows for greater resilience to disruption and further service reliability.
Cities want to reduce road congestion, get people out of their cars, and reduce carbon emissions. Pedal Me provides a compelling case study of why we might be seeing more cargo bikes in our cities.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin. She focuses on all things mobility: ebikes, autonomous vehicles, VTOL, smart ci(show all)Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin. She focuses on all things mobility: ebikes, autonomous vehicles, VTOL, smart cities, and the future of alternative energy sources like electric batteries, solar, and hydrogen.
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