Bikes for Urban Freight?

Abstract

In light of the necessity of reducing motorized road traffic in Europe, above all in city centers, focus is switching more and more to cycle freight. At present there is little research or systematically prepared findings in this area. This paper demonstrates that the use of cycle freight is already widespread, though restricted to larger cities, which have the density necessary to create demand. The existing firms that use cycle freight operate primarily as pure cycle freight operators. The parallel operation of cargo cycles within fleets of otherwise motorized vehicles has, however, been tried successfully on several occasions. The availability of city center hubs that ensure the necessary efficiency is one of the special requirements associated with the use of cargo cycles. Customers still have reservations, although it may be assumed that these reservations are more a case of initial resistance and could be overcome through information and advertising campaigns. In total, it is expected that around a quarter of city center freight transport could be carried by bike. Bike freight will work only if this mode of delivery is given greater consideration in city and transport planning. Initial estimates indicate that the reduction in air and noise pollution created by cycle-based commercial traffic could be quite significant, although systematic analysis is lacking in this area. To date, there have been no studies on the effects of cycle freight on city center traffic.

Electric Vehicles in Logistics and Transportation: A Survey on Emerging Environmental, Strategic, and Operational Challenges

“…These bike EVs are usually presented in the way of tricycles to provide them with more capacity. Delivery actions in the last-mile range using electric tricycles are becoming increasingly common, mainly in very congested cities [30]. These vehicles clearly benefit from the option of recharging batteries with the use of human power propulsion.…”

Sustainable city logistics — Making cargo cycles viable for urban freight transport

“…To date, there is a lack of structured research into the use of cargo cycles within city logistics (De Decker, 2012;Gruber, Kihm, & Lenz, 2014;Lenz & Riehle, 2013). This chapter presents the findings from a systematic literature review that summarises existing research and identifies the potential of cargo bikes in sustainable urban logistics.…”

“…In terms of decarbonising the urban logistics sector, a London based case study finds that the total distance travelled and the CO 2 e emissions per parcel delivered fell by 20% and 55% respectively as a result of a delivery system utilising urban consolidation centres and small electric vehicles and cargo tricycles (Allen, Browne, Woodburn, & Leonardi, 2012), while a Dutch study estimated possible annual fuel savings for the Netherlands of 8,500,000 l of diesel, or 21,000 tonnes of CO 2 (Maes & Vanelslander, 2012). E-CBs have the greatest potential in urban areas due to their ability to work around congestion and access areas with environmental or delivery period restrictions (Lenz & Riehle, 2013). In the past, most cycle logistics businesses operated on a small scale and were rarely linked either vertically or horizontally with other logistics companies.…”

“…For example, Lenz and Riehle (2013) suggest that cycle freight can form around 25% of city centre commercial traffic in the medium term and that a potential market does exist. The recent outcome of the European project Cyclelogistics indicates an even higher potential stating that in average 51% of all motorised trips in European cities that involve transport of goods could be shifted to bikes or cargo bikes.…”

“…In their quantitative analysis of operational and external costs Melo, Baptista, and Costa (2014) suggest that SEVs are a viable solution to satisfy both public and private stakeholders. An important operational consideration here is that E-CBs are positioned between bikes and cars in terms of cost, payload and range, which makes them well suited to specific logistical challenges (Lenz & Riehle, 2013). Specific areas of application and markets include courier, express and parcel (CEP) services and the delivery of basic products in catering, but there is a significant potential for cycle freight to carry out deliveries with small volumes and comparatively low weight (ibid).…”