How the pandemic is fuelling a boom in bike delivery

Pedal power is cheaper, more reliable and produces much less pollution. Here, Isabella Kaminski speaks to businesses at the forefront of a delivery revolution

Geography is not necessarily a barrier for human-powered transport (Beate Kubitz)

Calder Cheesehouse in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, sells cheeses that have travelled by car, van and lorry all across the UK and Europe, but the last leg of their journeys to customers takes place on two wheels.

During the spring lockdown, business owner Jay Hickson set up a website to take orders and staff began delivering to nearby customers on their own bicycles. The company soon registered with Cargodale, a local bike delivery firm set up during the pandemic, which meant it could send bigger orders further afield. “Whereas we were reliant on backpacks and panniers, Cargodale has decent electric cargo bikes that can hold up to 100kg of stuff,” he said.

Hickson says the move was good for business. “In the first half of the year, when lockdown hit quite intensely, we were doing a lot of deliveries. It’s faded off a bit but we still use them many times a week. We’re already getting a lot of local cheese selection orders in for Christmas.”

Despite the hilly terrain of the Calder valley, Cargodale now has 17 local businesses on its books, showing that geography is not necessarily a barrier to human-powered transport. “Customers are shocked and pleased to have their cheese delivered by bike,” says Hickson, “and for the company image it’s nice not to be using petrol vehicles.”

London e-cargo bike delivery firm Pedal Me also saw a shift in its customer base during the pandemic as shops were forced to close. The company set up a temporary supermarket to take goods that would previously have gone to pubs, cafes and restaurants direct to peoples’ homes. “Small companies are a lot less protected against instabilities like this,” says chief executive Ben Knowles. “We took care of the logistics and were able to keep those companies afloat.”

Knowles says delivering to consumers is much more complicated than to businesses. “The sector requires a lot more automation. We had to change our tech to suit that new need and it was lucky that it happened at a time when we had enough smart tech people on board to make it happen. It’s become a much bigger share of our workload this year.”

Research by consultancy WSP in 2017 found that up to 14 per cent of vans could be replaced by cycle freight in London by 2025. While many big cities have seen a continued increase in motor traffic in recent years, an industry survey by the CityChangerCargoBike project showed a 53 per cent increase in cargo bike sales across Europe in 2020 – half of which was for commercial use – despite the economic fallout of the pandemic.

Cargo bikes are even rising in popularity among big logistics firms; DHL and City Sprint have both added two wheelers to their existing fleet to take goods and parcels to their final destinations.

The benefits are numerous: bike deliveries are cheaper and more reliable, produce much less air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions than motor transport, they cut congestion, they’re quieter and they’re healthier for the person doing the delivery.

Pedal Me, which sees itself as a direct competitor to motor transport, has been analysing its riders’ trip data so it can prove these benefits. “People who don’t use bikes don’t understand their capacity to cover ground,” says Knowles. “Most of the logistics happening in London right now is being done by motor vehicle and it would be more efficiently done by cargo bike.”

The idea of a bike courier is not new, of course, but Knowles says his company’s revenues have grown steadily because of the amount its vehicles can carry, its logistical planning and its well-trained riders. “Our travel speed is more consistent so we can plan better and leave a much tighter margin for error.”

Knowles thinks the cargo bike home delivery market will continue to grow. “We’ve now established a reputation in that area and we’ve got the tech tools to allow us to do it.”

Pedal Me delivered around 10,000 care parcels to people who were ill or shielding during the first national lockdown

Lockdown was also an inspiration for Helena Downey as she spent maternity leave in Lee Green, south London.

Lewisham council installed a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) in her area as part of its coronavirus emergency transport work. “It’s been slightly disbanded now but it was great – suddenly it was so quiet – and I thought: What can I do to support this? How can I avoid putting more vans along those roads?”

After many fruitless hours spent online, she decided to set up her own Yellow Pages for bike deliveries. When it launches in mid-December, Brought By Bike will list around 200 businesses and tradespeople from all over the UK that deliver goods and services by bike.

They range from plumbers and electricians to gin and organic veg boxes, and use a mixture of regular push bikes and electric bikes, bikes with trailers, cargo bikes and e-cargo bikes.

Downey says the site shows that bike deliveries are not simply about liberal elites getting their coffee fix.

She adds that delivering by bike is a good sign that a company takes its corporate social responsibility seriously. “They’re not just companies that think about emissions, but about their packaging and all their processes. I think that will be a big thing that will convince individuals to use it.”

Downey may introduce sponsored listings on Brought By Bike in future to cover her website costs, saying the sector is still too small to drive big revenues. But ideally, she would like it to become obsolete “as bike deliveries become so commonplace that people don’t need to seek them out”.

All those involved in bike deliveries see themselves as part of a movement towards more active travel and healthier streets – and are aware that they’re visible ambassadors for it.

Pedal Me delivered around 10,000 care parcels to people who were ill or shielding during the first national lockdown. “It was a pretty incredible project to be involved in,” says Knowles.

He said people usually reacted with “joy and wonder” to having their parcel delivered by bike. “Some just don’t care but in general the reaction to what we’re doing tends to be pretty spectacular. People really lit up that we were delivering by bike something that they didn’t think would be possible. It gives them a story to tell their friends and we benefit from it because people do our promotion for free.”

“It’s very powerful to have someone delivering large loads by bike in your neighbourhood and to think, this isn’t just a theoretical solution, I can see a lady or gentleman delivering in practice,” says Knowles. “It’s about seeing it happen.”