Forget drones. The new trend in inner city delivery vehicles is returning to pedal power. DHL is experimenting with bicycles to enable inner city deliveries in Utrecht and Frankfurt and also claim some green credentials.
They’re billed as cargo bikes and can carry payloads of up to 125kg. They’re loaded up by vans, served by a ‘City Hub’ and then the final mile delivery is made by electric powered bikes.
You can get a flavour for the bikes here:
John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express Europe says: “DHL Express has already replaced up to 60% of inner-city vehicle routes in some European countries with cargo bicycles, and we expect that the City Hub and Cubicycle will both help us to accelerate this approach in other markets over the next 3-5 years. Bicycles offer a number of advantages in express delivery operations: they can bypass traffic congestion and make up to two times as many stops per hour than a delivery vehicle. The total cost of ownership over their lifetime is less than half of a van. And crucially, they generate zero emissions, which reinforces our own ongoing program to minimize our environmental footprint and supports city governments’ efforts to promote sustainable city living.”
