Workshop EC 6.2, Thursday 22 June, 9.00 - 10.30

Human powered delivery

Shane Rhodes, Spain Workbikes; Tools for a Sustainable Community For many years cycle planning has looked at how to move cyclists effectively and safely about the city centre and beyond. It has become clear that we must also look at how goods and services are moved in these same areas. In the following paper I will be discussing three main points of the workbike industry, their current situation, and thoughts on improving that situation. The first point is the use of the workbike in government and private businesses for the delivery of goods and services to the community it serves. Many people remember the past of the local baker or grocer delivering their goods by bicycle and this now 'historic' method of transport has become essential to the future of sustainable urban development as well. Secondly, we will look at businesses that provide a Human Powered Delivery Service (HPDS) to government, private businesses, and the community. Though the cycle courier continues to be an important part of many cities delivery infrastructure they are mostly used for small packages and letters. With ever increasing cycle technology and the desire to create more sustainable modes of package delivery many HPDSs have been created around the world. These companies are moving cargo from 10 grams to more than 100 kilograms every trip, and the idea of "one less car" on the road is becoming a reality. Finally, it is important to look at the private individuals use of the bicycle for transport of their own goods. Whether it is bringing the children to day-care, doing the shopping, or even moving house, we should not limit ourselves to using the bicycle solely to transport ourselves, but expand ourselves to the idea of moving our goods by human power as well.

Marjet Dekker, AVV, Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, The Netherlands Jelle Visser, Road haulage division, Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, the Netherlands City Cargo Bikes, a sustainable solution for Urban Freight Transport The policy of many city authorities in Holland is increasingly focused on the well-being of people in the inner city. Meanwhile it gets more difficult to deliver all the goods there. The traffic in the cities causes problems with noise, pollution and uses scarce space. The average speed of distribution trucks in urban areas is less than 15 km/h, and there are tight ‘time-frames’ in which goods can be delivered and collected. This all makes urban freight transport in the Netherlands a hard job. The Dutch ministry of transport is looking for possibilities to enhance the sustainability of inner cities, and has conducted research on the possibilities for more bicycle freight transport in the cities. It’s not a new idea, bicycle couriers are already well-known. The concept however is to carry bigger parcels and goods than are currently transported by bike. Recently, there have been many improvements in the bigger cargo bikes, and they can now offer a real alternative to the transport of goods that were delivered before by van or small truck. The research will be finished, and we will present the factors that can make distribution with Cargo-bikes viable, not only for the environment but also as an economic alternative. We have determined which factors make the use of city cargo bikes an economic success, and have looked at many factors relating to the market, which types of bikes to use, goods to carry, and the costs involved. The results are promising, and a pilot project may be started by June 2000.

Thomas Krag Report Workshop EC 6.2