51% of cargo in European cities could be delivered by bicycle. http://t.co/1Vh0cMijGt
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News
51% of cargo in European cities could be delivered by bicycle
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Posted 10 years ago #
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Had to get the bus today so picked up a metro. A company called Velopost is advertising for manager and delivery riders. Suggests they are offering a " viable alternative to Royal Mail" but not clear if different from other couriers. Apologies if there is already a thread better suited for this
Posted 10 years ago # -
One big periodical distributor is looking at cycle logistics for final mile deliveries. Potentially a big opportunity for youth employment and local employment making local deliveries.
You already have pronto pedal in Edinburgh, and several other cycle logistics operations across the UK. Some have already got licences to deliver mail, and useful core business from local council on block mailings - like Council Tax annual details. Others do display rack replenishment by cargo bike instead of.
Velopost is a new player on the game , and seems to be starting from a top-down position rather than many of the early cycle logistics players building up from 1 rider and a bike to a larger network.
Compared to vans in an urban area cycle logistics can achieve about twice the drop rate, and with locally based staff, the higher level of local knowledge (like the Royal Mail had when a postie was not swapped around on different walks, through bean counter drive for 'efficiency') so aborted drops - which cost money rather than earn it, occur less often. The drop payment for final mile is generally low. 10-20p per item is a figure often quoted, and so you really want to be getting at least 1-2 drops per minute if you aim to pay a wage and cover the running costs of a van.
This a bike or a round done on foot, are attractive, if the costs and logistics of dispersal (and consolidation) from larger vehicles can be managed. One very large subscription magazine distributor is looking at how this might be done, almost as a home worker task (like Spokes has done for years) of a person living in the area getting 50-60 drops per day to be delivered between say 08.00 and 18.00 - an ideal part time task or part of a portfolio of small local work with flexible hours. Maybe Velopost are looking at this work on a wider basis?
Many contracts could be delivered faster and cheaper - for example the delivery and collection of mobile phones, and although this figure is quoted as 51%, there is a higher figure (90%) which relates to packages delivered by (generally van) courier services, which weigh under 30Kg and are easily transported by bike. The figure is pulled down by deliveries to smaller local shops, where the figure of 30% has been quoted by those working in this area, and even then the use of a cargo bike or electric assist cycle widens that aspect.
One of the main London operations, Gnewt, has a core customer who provides office supplies, and a few thousand drops per day, mostly the small calls for printer cartridges, paper, and other small items, more cheaply and quickly delivered by bike.
Edinburgh, with many major institutional HQ, and large operations, has huge potential, especially if some significant operators (eg CEC?) switch to using cycle logistics for local mail (eg council tax annual billing).
Watch this space - or PM me
Posted 10 years ago # -
I think the CNN article says that 51% of deliveries could be made by bike rather than 51% of cargo.
So bikes would be best to replace small deliveries but would be unlikely to dent your typical Sainsburys Local morning delivery for example.
I guess 51% of deliveries may only add up to a very small pertentage of cargo but could remove a lot of large vans from the streets?
Posted 10 years ago # -
"...unlikely to dent your typical Sainsburys Local morning delivery..."
Perhaps not when people are ordering packed-trolley-sized amounts of stuff, but lots of us will know that a mere basketworth can easily disappear into a couple of panniers. Small but regular amounts of groceries could be delivered by bicycle (as, if pictures in books are to be believed, they once were), reducing the need for huge boxy vans double-parking on narrow residential streets. Might need to segregate goods according to the amount of refrigeration required.
Posted 10 years ago # -
"as, if pictures in books are to be believed, they once were"
Well they were - hard to tell the proportion/scale.
Probably mostly pre-WW2. 'Traditionally' butchers, bakers etc - daily perishables (before people had fridges and cars!)
Now supermarkets deliver for free if you spend more than £50 with them.
There may be scope for specialist retailers to get together to offer a joint delivery service.
I think York has bicycle delivery services - probably related to restriction on vehicles in the city centre...
Posted 10 years ago # -
Interesting to look at the trends in delivery. Some tales here...
Walking about old town before Christmas.
• B-Spoke orange 8 Freight delivering cakes and bulky light stuff to Hula and Mellis (I think).
• Royal Mail, DHL and Yodel - all doing mail order / Amazon?
• Tesco home delivery
I know with Paisley Freight, MyParcel and the rest that prices have started to rise again. A bike box could move for as low as £21.50 or as much as £96 (myParcel UK record quote!)
Keeping costs down - aka 'pass the parcel'
I have a friend that works from home for Yodel using his own car, in his own neighbourhood. He doesn't cycle and like many reckons a car is good, as you can lock a pile of things in easily. However he is noticing that fuel costs are higher than he hoped and by the time he factors in running and stop / start wear and tear, he reckons it's not viable. Comparing notes with others he finds that most retirees try this sort of thing for a few months and basically help Yodel/Amazon out by working cheaply.
Luckily there are always more people that have a car and the time so 'pass the parcel' deliveries can always be done somehow. Yodel aren't the only one.Of course almost everyone benefits as we all like low mail order prices. Combine this with retirees with the time and the cars (or bikes) and any new business has hard competition. Some locales though will be ideal bike terrotory so the Yodel
slavefreelancer can get fit and keep more money...Although earning very little my contact has enjoyed learning about how it all works. He wants to do the job as well as he can of course....
Evenings after dinner are filled up with phone calls to Yodel control to re-assign items that show as 'failed delivery' on his handheld scanner.Next time you see 'free delivery' think of him and the others! ;-)
Posted 10 years ago # -
"Of course almost everyone benefits as we all like low mail order prices.
Next time you see 'free delivery' think of him and the others"Next time I see 'free delivery' I'd prefer a choice and a range of prices where there's otherwise a risk of HDNL/Yodel getting hold of something I've paid for. Amazon in particular have been very bad at not specifying who might end up being responsible for your stuff getting to your premises, this apparently only being rendered after the payment part of the checkout process. Planet X were at least honest in stating that they used Yodel but didn't offer any option of paying a bit more for someone with no history of leaving laptops under plantpots.
Rose seem to be able to use Parcelforce for the UK portion of deliveries despite the mainlain European leg being conducted by the more reliable DHL, so presumably other companies could also invoke a bicyle delivery service within cities for smaller items after motor-couriering them as far as a city's sorting office or depot.
Wonder if someone local-but-also-offering-mail-order like EBC have ever costed out cycle-delivery for local mail order compared to the postage cost?Posted 10 years ago # -
Interesting. The Yodel van I see around here (I assume it's the same driver) is always very polite and careful around me on my bike. I thought maybe it was good company policy, but perhaps it's just that he's a local and knows me (I was waved at very enthusiastically by a bin lorry driver the other day and was startled to realise he was a fellow member of the community council)
Posted 10 years ago # -
"...unlikely to dent your typical Sainsburys Local morning delivery..."
Perhaps not when people are ordering packed-trolley-sized amounts of stuff, but lots of us will know that a mere basketworth can easily disappear into a couple of panniers.
That would require the cyclist to return to depot after pretty much every delivery. So the cost would be a lot higher than using a van.
Where cyclists would be good would be when they can make a reasonable number of deliveries on each journey.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I recall growing up in the 60's in NE Scotland and often getting our 'messages' delivered by bike, and seeing the delivery boys around the town. Can't recall the type of bike, certainly had a large frame on the front above a small front wheel. However, a quick Google has brought up this:
Posted 10 years ago # -
A few of this were still in use in Oxford in the 1990s. more often seen parked as attraction/advertising than actually out and about delivering though.
Posted 10 years ago # -
"That would require the cyclist to return to depot after pretty much every delivery. So the cost would be a lot higher than using a van."
Not if they had more than a couple of panniers. Like the Bakfietsy things cycle-delivery things tend to use.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Sainsbury's Local in Morning side seems to get a daily delivery at around 07:15. It is an HGV that makes the delivery but I've never actually watched to see how much gets off loaded.
However I would guess at at least 100kg of milk per day so that pretty much rules out re-stocking by bike surely.
Something somewhere between a bike and an HGV would be ideal.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Utrecht uses low-emissions vehicles, designed to have excellent visibility from cab (ie no blind spots)
Posted 10 years ago # -
"Utrecht uses low-emissions vehicles"
I wonder how much the council there can influence (or mandate) things like this.
In general cities 'in Europe' have more powers/flexibility than in the UK.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Saw what looked like two cargo trikes advancing eastward along London Road this afternoon. They're becoming a more common sight on the streets.
Posted 10 years ago # -
"
215 litres of soup a day, every drop of which is pedalled out carbon-neutral across the city each morning."
Posted 10 years ago # -
For around 2 decades York's cycle logistics operator has been delivering in the city and for much of that time they have had contracts with the blue chip van courier operators to do city centre drops.
The greater local knowledge of a cycle courier tends to result in fewer aborted drops, and the ability to practically ride in through the door for many deliveries means a drop-rate about twice that which can be achieved with a large motor vehicle.
A bit concerned to hear that one of the ways that low cost local deliveries are being farmed out, is to offer the work to those with motability cars, and I'm just wondering what the implications of that might be, as obviously the driver/user of the car might be getting an advantage of a special deal on their vehicle, because of their disability, and using it for a commercial benefit.
Doing drops by bike or on foot as noted do not have the substantial costs of procuring and operating a motor vehicle, and so a postcode round, dropping 50-60 items - eg magazines/mobile phones/wifi routers might take 1-2 hours, and have the flexibility of timing to fit in with child care or other part time work, and the cost of the bike being idle is low compared to the labour costs.
Add in an office supplies contract (printer cartridges/boxes of paper/files etc), and replenishment of tourist leaflet displays, changing bus timetable posters, block delivery of voting cards etc, and a healthy local business can be built up.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Posted 10 years ago #
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I am now regularly seeing a Bullitt cargo bike traversing London Road. Every week I spot it. Big cargo box on the carrying platform. Can't recall the name of the courier company but presume it is based where the pedicab garages are near Lower London Road?
Posted 10 years ago # -
Posted 10 years ago #
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Yep, that's the one.
This would appear to be their fleet of cargo bikes/trikes. Which are a Bullitt, a Burrows 8freight/Madsen or similar(?)* and a converted pedicab. Nice!
* - Actually I'm pretty sure that's an 8 freight, with theunifork swapped for a conventional fork.
Posted 10 years ago # -
From that article:
. They found the cargo bikes saved nearly four tonnes of CO2 across the period, even when accounting for the food the riders consumed.
Do van drivers not eat?Posted 3 years ago # -
They do @fimm. Bacon butties from whichever vendor they can park directly outside?
Posted 3 years ago # -
Not seen many cargo bikes delivering round my way (not counting the Pashley Pronto piloted by yours truly with shopping and various bulky items on board). I have noticed our local Hermes guy has a shiny new van, but it is about half the size of his old one. More discreet, possibly more efficient, certainly easier to get parked. I suspect this is the way things are going.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Thread started 7 years ago.
Since then cargobikes have developed a lot but so have e-vans.
Two businesses we've supplied Urban Arrow cargobikes to have also got hold of Nissan Leaf vans. The businesses like vans as the rider/driver is enclosed and capacity is greater. We have sold bikes the size of small vans but leasing a van is cheaper and e-vans will have access to LEZs.
For many items though bikes are the way to go. Future is probably a mix of both. Dropping VAT on e-cargo is a start if we want transport which is lighter on roads and extractive industry (lithium). UK gov unlikely to do but a greenish admin in Scotland could consider.
Know England has pockets of greeness but Nissan plant needs supporting as was at risk fromm bxt. Taxpayer support towards EV is not so good for bike options.
If we made e-cargo bikes here then it would help.Posted 3 years ago # -
@Laidback, it may well have been a Nissan e-van the Hermes guy was unloading from, judging by the pics I just searched up. As you say mix of bikes and EVs probably the way things will be.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Electric vans wouldn't be so compelling if we evened out the subsidies and incentives. It's a bit mad that it's cheaper to get a 2 ton electric van to use for the same deliveries that an e-cargo bike can do. The finance options need to be there as well as everything else.
Posted 3 years ago #
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