Carlton Reid
2,073 viewsAug 30, 2019, 01:21pmA university study has found that cargobikes complete urban delivery jobs up to 50% faster than small vans. Meanwhile, the U.K. Department for Transport has announced it is to spend £125 million on, among other things, “flying urban taxis.”
This pump-priming of not-yet-existing technologies is part of a £300 million Brexit-beating investment fund to develop “cleaner, greener forms of transport.”
However, one of the long-existing green forms of transport—cycling—was recently found to be faster in cities than cars or motorbikes. Smartphone data from riders and drivers schlepping meals for restaurant-to-home courier service Deliveroo showed that cyclists are even faster than motorized two-wheelers.
“In some areas over a given period, the average travel time can be far shorter for cyclists than for scooters,” said Deliveroo in an email.
And engineering students from the University of Southampton have now found that cargobikes are far faster than vans in cities.
The study, commissioned by courier firm CitySprint, discovered that cargobikes complete jobs up to 50% faster than small vans during peak weekday times.
CitySprint will soon add a further 60 cargobikes to its existing London-based fleet of 40 such pedal-powered machines. Alongside its fleet of traditional motor vehicles the company also operates four electric vans and a hydrogen van, claimed to be first of its kind for courier services in the U.K. when it was introduced last year.
While new transport secretary Grant Shapps waxed lyrical over the much-vaunted technologies of the future, the old-school technology that’s actually more likely to be doing the bulk of the near future’s “last meter deliveries” remains urban transport’s Cinderella.
Study Finds Cargobikes Beat Vans In Cities So U.K. Government Backs Flying Urban Taxis – Forbes
Carlton Reid 2,073 viewsAug 30, 2019, 01:21pm A university study has found that cargobikes complete urban delivery jobs up to 50% faster than small vans. Meanwhile, the U.K. Department for Transport has announced it is to spend £125 million on, among other things, “flying urban taxis.” This pump-priming of not-yet-existing technologies is part of a… [Read More]
