“But tradespeople can’t carry their stuff around by bike” – oh yes they can! How cargo bikes are changing the way people work

One of the more common objections you will hear about efforts to promote active travel or restrict motor traffic, whether through the implementation of low traffic neighbourhoods, or congestion charging schemes or those based on vehicle emissions, is the impact they might have on tradespeople who rely on their vans to get to their jobs, and who cannot be expected to do so by bicycle.

But increasingly, electricians, plumbers, gardeners and others, as well as major businesses are taking to two (or sometimes three or four) wheels to carry out their work, and as this image posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter by Richmond Cycling Campaign makes clear, you can shift a lot more by bike than many people might imagine.

This is local gardener Tim Leigh. He used an @LBRUT scheme to get a cargo bike and trailer, and now moves loads like this for work. pic.twitter.com/HfAtMsUswW

— Richmond Cycling Campaign (@RichmondCycling) November 17, 2023

Ferrying big loads around by bike – something we are big fans of here at road.cc, and which was featured in a blog post by the author of this article earlier today – is becoming an increasingly common way for companies to get goods around our cities, often using specialist companies such as Pedal Me, which has even used its cargo bikes to perform office moves such as for Fusion Media, owned and run by Adam Tranter, the active travel commissioner for the West Midlands.

As part of its Transport Decarbonisation Plan published in 2021 under then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the UK Government encouraged the use of electric cargo bikes for last mile deliveries, and from florists to online grocers, many businesses are increasingly turning to them as a way of quickly getting purchases to customers in our congested cities.

It’s anyone’s guess where that sits on Rishi Sunak’s list of priorities, although given the cuts made to the active travel budget since he entered Number 10 and his public support for drivers and backtracking on policies aimed at fighting climate change, it seems a safe bet that it will have fallen well down the agenda.

In cities including London, however, it’s a different story. In March this year, Transport for London (TfL) published its Cargo Bike Action Plan, in which its says: “Cargo bikes are an affordable, safe, clean and efficient alternative to vans and other light goods vehicles in London.”

It says that the plan “was developed to promote and enable further growth of cargo bikes to make them a leading option for last-mile freight and servicing trips. It is aimed at organisations involved in delivery and servicing who use or are considering using cargo bikes for business applications, as well as boroughs and other authorities who can facilitate sustainable cargo bike growth.

“Cargo bikes support the Mayor’s ambition for London to reach net zero carbon by 2030 and contribute to the wider ambitions of having healthier, safer streets as set out in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy,” TfL adds.

“The plan also supports our Freight and servicing action plan that sets out the actions we can take to support the safe, clean and efficient freight operations that are fundamental to achieving the Mayor’s vision as a city which is better to live and work in for all Londoners.”

Within London, the Cargo Revolution campaign has signed up a number of boroughs to its charter, and says that those councils signing up to it “are making a commitment to becoming cargo bike friendly boroughs, where everyone who wants to use a cargo bike is supported.

“We’ve worked with businesses, researchers, councillors and other stakeholders to identify five key areas where cargo bike accessibility in boroughs can be improved.”

Those areas are:

Improving internal logistics
Supporting businesses making the switch
Improving infrastructure for businesses and individuals
Making communications cargo-bike friendly
Making it easier for residents to switch to cargo bikes.

The nine councils signed up to the initiative so far – Brent, Camden, City of Westminster, Ealing, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Lambeth, Southwark and Waltham Forest – are all controlled by Labour, and include several of the city’s most forward-thinking boroughs when it comes to active travel.

On its website Cargo Revolution, which was launched by Glimpse with MP Smarter Travel and Clean Cities Campaign, and is funded by Impact on Urban Health, says: “Toxic air and heavy traffic is a nightmare.

“Enter cargo bikes: clean, green and fast two wheelers that can deliver a transport revolution for London. These dream machines can clean up our air, cut carbon pollution and shift impressive amounts of stuff all at the same time.

“Cargo Revolution is a campaign to celebrate the amazing benefits cargo bikes bring to Londoners, and champion the fantastic local businesses that are adopting them.”

Major companies including Amazon and DHL now use cargo bikes for last-mile fulfilment in the city, but independent traders are also increasingly turning to them as a means of transporting themselves and the tools of their trade around the capital, with Cargo Revolution highlighting several case studies.

Those include electrician Aaron Fleming-Saheed, who trades as Cycling Sparks and mentions the puzzled reaction he sometimes gets from fellow tradespeople in vans at traffic lights when they spot his branding, and plumber Rob Darbyshire, who reveals the benefits of switching to two wheels, some of which only became apparent afterwards, as well as how he adapted his business to maximise the benefits of travelling to customers using a bike rather than a van.  

You may also have come across the Carry Shit Olympics account on X, formerly known as Twitter – indeed, you may well have contributed to it – which posts images of people using pedal power to get all kinds of things from A to B, and not just on cargo bikes.

It’s maybe not Vietnam motorbike levels of haulage, but nevertheless there are some very impressive examples – here are just a few of them.

Absolutely epic #CarryShitOlympics right here: https://t.co/hkOl4cfG3Q

— CarryShitOlympics (@CarryShitOlympx) June 18, 2023

Japan 1935, koloriert: #carryshitolympics

Quelle: https://t.co/mNBHLEeAGy pic.twitter.com/9mQdCb0ySG

— Jota Pluralis (@Llusafin) April 12, 2023

Japan 1935, koloriert: #carryshitolympics

Quelle: https://t.co/mNBHLEeAGy pic.twitter.com/9mQdCb0ySG

— Jota Pluralis (@Llusafin) April 12, 2023

Winner! #CarryShitOlympics https://t.co/LLiQDHie6n

— Rob (@DenverBeerRob) April 14, 2023