Thinking Outside of the Box
THE FUTURE OF DELIVERIES IN A CHANGING WORLD
It is widely recognised that the transport world is evolving at apace: whether that be in the switch to electric vehicles, increases in the levels of active travel observed, or the home delivery phenomenon accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
But what does all this mean for developers and transport planners? And how can development provide resilience in a future world filled with so much uncertainty?
Whilst climate change appears to have slid down the list of priorities in the tabloids, the means to encourage sustainable travel choices
As transport planners, we must now consider more than the historically accepted metrics of journey time
We discuss below one of the emerging trends that can help developments provide servicing resilience through simple approaches to design. Not all solutions need to be mind-bogglingly complicated.
ELECTRIC CARGO BIKES
All of us should now be familiar with the sight of cargo bikes on the streets of major cities. Once the staple of last-mile urban logistics, cargo bikes declined after the 1960's in favour of transit vans in the automobile boom. Now they are back and with a modern upgrade - the e-cargo bike.
The number of cargo bikes, electric or otherwise, on our streets is only expected to increase, and developers, alongside other stakeholders involved in delivering developments, should be thinking about how compatible their developments will be with this new (ish) form of transport.?The number of deliveries by cargo bikes is growing, and this trend is only expected to increase.
Capabilities
E-cargo bikes assist the rider in travelling longer distances over shorter periods of time, make tackling steeper hills a relatively easy task, and are especially effective in transporting heavy loads.
The carrying capabilities of cargo bikes are quite staggering - much more than one might assume with the humble bicycle! (See Pedal Me's impressive video on twitter below - we calculate that even if empty, those kegs equate to the weight of a large grand piano!).
The advent of electronically assisted e-cargo bikes has catalysed the potential of cargo bikes and has resulted in this mode’s emergence as a serious competitor to vans and trucks, particularly where they are able to utilise cycle superhighways, which are less sensitive to traffic congestion.
Urban Sites
The anticipated imposition of vehicle-free zones in urban areas means that the ability to service sites by cargo bike becomes ever more important for those sites located in central urban areas.
Developers with sites in urban areas should be considering how resilient their servicing strategies would be in this scenario – would you be able to service tenants effectively? Could you even develop a competitive advantage compared to other proposals?
Edge of Town Sites
Edge of town developments present more of a challenge due to the different spatial demands that exist. Last mile cargo bike deliveries work best when a dense catchment of people or buildings exists in proximity to a consolidation hub.
For edge of town sites, it is likely that the introduction of a network of smaller consolidation hubs will be required (subject to the size of the targeted area). The location of these hubs within a masterplan or local area should be considered carefully to maximise the operational benefits and opportunities
CURRENT TRENDS
Sustainability
The inevitability of further uptake in cargo bikes is obvious from the simple perspective that they represent a sustainable servicing choice – Local Authorities and customers are increasingly starting to demand it; companies will quickly follow suit.
The Price of Oil
The war in Ukraine is having far-reaching impacts on the price of oil. Obviously, the relative cost of petrol will increase accordingly (despite the Chancellor’s questionable decision to mitigate against this with his fuel duty tax cut …but that’s a discussion for another day).
The relative cost of deliveries by cargo bike is likely to benefit from current world events (or any other geopolitical events in the future that introduce volatility in oil prices). To that end, cargo bikes provide resilience in the face of oil price / geopolitical uncertainty.
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Journey Times
Recent studies indicate that within London, journey times by cargo bike are in fact both faster and more reliable than they are by van [2][3].
Rufus Nijhuis, Ground Operations Support Manager, DHL Express Netherlands: “A normal van route makes seven stops each hour. A bicycle route will deliver 10 packages each hour. That is a big increase in productivity with zero emissions.”
The general trend towards active travel will only encourage and improve the offering of cargo bikes as road space continues to be reallocated to active travel. The more this continues, the more the balance swings in the favour of the cargo bike (sorry van drivers).
This is something that logistical behemoths like DHL and Amazon have clearly cottoned on to, with the latter soon operating their very own prospective last-mile delivery hub at London Wall in the City of London.[4]
Personal Hire Schemes
Cargo bike personal hire schemes are also starting to pop up in cities like Manchester. There is currently a trial in place where Cargoroo are providing a cargo bike personal hire service in conjunction with Transport for Greater Manchester[5].
OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPERS
Sustainability Credit
Providing for cargo bikes
Planning
Linked to the above are the planning benefits derived from providing for and encouraging cargo bikes. It is one more reason for Highway Officers and Committee Members to see that you are delivering for the locale – you are playing your part in taking polluting vehicles off their roads - indeed, there is one very company currently looking into the benefits that they can deliver through the provision of a cargo bike service as part of a network of micro-hubs: Streetdock[6]. It is only a matter of time before we can point to exactly how many vehicle trips per day have been removed off the road through the implementation of a cargo bike servicing strategy.
Competition
Then there are your tenants; the sustainable development criteria
WHAT’S REQUIRED?
The requirements for cargo bikes should be identified in the nascent stages of development design – we are all too aware of the difficulties in trying to retrofit something later when there are so many competing demands.
The good news is that provisions for cargo bikes can vary – from simple access and spatial considerations to more ambitious mobility hub concepts.
[3] https://www.fleeteurope.com/en/last-mile/europe/analysis/new-report-why-cargo-bikes-beat-evs-last-mile-deliveries?a=JMA06&t%5B0%5D=Connectivity&curl=1
Spotted by Will Salt - Amazon have announced they will be switching to cargo bikes in Hackney - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jul/04/amazon-e-cargo-bikes-deliveries-london Cargo bikes are definitely working hard to shape London's future!