Some logistics companies insist that deliveries will soon be done by drones. However, there’s a really old technology that’s more likely to be doing the bulk of the future’s last mile deliveries: the bicycle. “The delivery trike of old is now electric and capable of zipping 350 kg through congested city streets without touching the sides”, according to Carlton Reid in Forbes.
E-cargobikes are a great alternative for some 20 percent of all delivery vans currently operating in large cities. Academics from Amsterdam and Rotterdam Universities spent two years working with freight companies, municipalities and other experts to compile ‘City Logistic: Light and Electric‘ report. This argues that cities are being strangled by trucks and vans: a great deal of freight traffic in urban areas is now comprised of delivery vans.
Carlton Reid reports it about on Forbes: “Even if all such vehicles became electric overnight there still wouldn’t be enough space for them all to scuttle around, park, unload and then travel to the next drop. Cities would be better served by lighter, smaller vehicles. It’s therefore little wonder that delivery firms DHL, UPS, TNT, and others are investing in e-cargobike fleets”.
Read the article by Carlton Reid on Forbes here.