European Cargo Bike Advocates See Big Growth

Cargo bikes are emerging as the next hot market for bicycling vendors, at least in Europe, according to comments made at the second European Cycle Logistics Conference, which drew more than 200 delegates from 25 countries to Nijmegen, Netherlands April 12.

An executive with DHL disclosed that 10 percent of its vehicle fleet in The Netherlands now consists of cargo bikes. DHL Netherlands replaced 33 trucks with 33 cargo bikes, thus saving 152 metric tons of CO2 and € 430.000 per year. A cargo bike importer in the UK expects sales to rise 20 percent in coming years.

“In the Netherlands, 10 percent of all our vehicles are bikes,” said Arne Melse from DHL Netherlands. “The trend is accelerating. From our pilots in four EU countries we see that, indeed, it is possible to deliver by cycle”.

During the conference, attendees explored the potential of cycle delivery in developing new business models and reducing congestion in inner cities. The potential of cargo bikes  emerged as a topic at the Bike Leadership Conference last week in Monetery, CA, where executives from Bosch eBikes Systems said they see bike delivery as the next big growth market for electrically assisted bikes. Bosch has emerged as a major supplier of litium-batter powered eBike systems to the bicycling industry.  

More and more companies understand that using bikes & cargo-bikes relieves congestion in cities and saves money.The bulk of cycle logistics operators who attended the conference were small and medium size enterprises (SMEs).

“We deliver more than 5,000 newspapers daily by bike in Malmo, carrying an overall weight of over 600 kilos," said Johan Erlandson from Move by Bike in Sweden. "Business is definitely growing”.

Advocates say cargo bikes are extremely cost effective in congrested urban areas and the rise of e-commerce raises more demand for delivery in cities. That opportunity could also expand in the United States as Amazon and Google expand their same day delivery services.

"It is boom time for cargo bikes," says Dr. Randy Rzewnicki, ECF Project Manager for CycleLogistics.. Big international companies like DHL are using bikes for deliveries, integrating them into their model. This is because up to 70 percent of delivery costs are in the last mile and they can save money and increase efficiency. Those companies also show that this is a credible solution for young businesses.”

As bikes are pressed into commercial service, however, there will be a call for greater regulation, predicted Richard Armitage, founding Director of ECLF.

“We are witnessing a shift in the industry," said Armitage. "We need a strong European Cycle Logistics Federation in order to establish minimum standards for municipalities and industry, multiply our lobbying efforts at national and European level and provide extensive support for start-up companies." 

Cycle Logistics Global Dream Team

One in 10 delegates at the ECLF conference were from start-ups in the area of cycle service. Three out of 10 were successful cycle logistics operators who shared their knowledge and experiences. Representatives from the cycling industry, municipality officials and urban planners completed the mix of stakeholders who together can bring cycling delivery to the next level.

“There are 2.000-3.000 cargo bikes today in London. We estimate that sales of cargo bikes will increase up to 20 percebt in 2014,” pointed out Andrea Casalotti, importer of cargo bikes in the UK.

“Politicians are essential to secure funding for cycling infrastructure” said Sjors Van Duren, Cycling officer for the Arnhem & Nijmegen Region in Netherlands. For the period 2010-2017, six cycle highways of 80 km will be completed with a budget of € 55 million, facilitating cycle deliveries of bigger scale. “We are re-using existing infrastructure to extend bike lanes and reduce operational costs as much as possible”, concluded Van Duren.

By press release