London’s first Action Plan to promote the growth of cargo bikes

The slow but steady growth in the use of cargo bikes could speed up, with plans to make them easier to use in London.

The use of cargo bikes for freight and servicing trips is becoming more widespread, with major businesses starting to use them for last-mile deliveries, and some also being available to hire by private individuals needing to move heavy shopping around at times.

At the moment, ransport for London (TfL) estimates that 90 percent of all goods in London are transported by road and around half of the value of household expenditure in London relies on freight. Although you can’t move everything by cargo bike, TfL still thinks that they could replace up to four percent of van kilometres by 2030.

Central London is expected to see the highest growth and could replace up to 17 percent of van kilometres by 2030.

The plan, launched at the National Cargo Bike Summit, will aim mainly to provide logistical support for cargo bikes to be easier to use within London – such as providing parking spaces for the bikes, and ensuring that their needs are included in planning decisions.

Will Norman, Walking and Cycling Commissioner said: “Cargo bikes are no longer a niche concept, and they can be real game changers when it comes to delivering freight and servicing trips. 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.”

“I’m delighted that TfL is launching this action plan to explore how we can grow the use of cargo bikes on our road, to help both the environment and the health of Londoners, and build a better, safer, greener London for everyone.”

Cargo bike hire schemes already exist in a number of council areas, mainly aimed at business rental, although Westminster and Hackney also support private rentals as well.

The bulk of usage at the moment is from companies buying bikes to use regularly, and in the Guildhall courtyard, there were a number of cargo bikes on show, ranging from the “large basket in front of bike” to cycle trailers right up to a huge e-bike supported cargo bike that’s not much smaller than a van.