Our thinking

Who’s on their bike?

2 June, 2023

We (and TFL!) aren’t the only fans of electric cargo bikes. There are some great examples out there of forward-thinking businesses already using the bikes to revolutionise what they do while reducing emissions and improving community life.

Some businesses are using a swap from vans to bikes to not only reduce emissions, but improve customer experience. Freddie’s Flowers, a London-based bouquet delivery company, found that electric cargo bikes not only make deliveries easier for the courier (no need for parking, easier access to buildings) but quicker. Now couriers work 9-5 instead of starting at 4am to make it through the traffic. Oxwash, a laundry service, similarly uses cargo bikes to make time-critical deliveries quicker than ever. And Grubby, a vegan meal-kit business, uses the electric bikes to ensure their carbon-sensitive customers are delighted with the service provided.

Other businesses are using electric cargo bikes to enable exciting new business models. Baby clothes rental service Or Collective relies on customers needing deliveries of new, bigger clothes on a monthly basis. Using electric cargo bikes ensures that the sustainable benefits of sharing are not undermined by excessive emissions shipping clothes back and forth. Instead, it’s a scalable sharing economy model that lives up to the hype.

Finally, local councils are using electric cargo bikes to give residents access to practical and sustainable local transport, without the emissions and congestion. Lambeth Council is piloting a low cost service to rent electric cargo bikes by the hour. Local businesses are taking part, parking the bikes outside their premises, keeping them safe and, crucially, keeping them charged. No more getting the car out to do the ‘big shop’ or take the kids to the park. Now that’s a turbo-charged solution.

By Ben Wood