London Cargo Bikes Rising to Curb Pollution, Not Just in ULEZ Areas (original) (raw)

A peloton of 80 cargo cycles traverses London’s streets one August afternoon. Among them are the familiar trikes of a “zero emissions courier,” beside the two-wheelers of a cycling electrician. Dalston Egg Shop owner Simon Boot says he can carry the weekly delivery of 1,400 eggs without breakages. Another machine, with a sealed box at the front, carries garments between high-end retail stores and city tailors. One more, with a self-contained passenger trailer, carries Member of Parliament Stella Creasy and her daughter.

This annual cargo bike ride may form an unusual sight, but most Londoners wouldn’t blink at these machines individually. According to Transport for London’s smart traffic cameras, newly trained to differentiate passing cargo cycles from regular ones, the former increased by 73% in inner London in the year to 2023 and 63% citywide. For the UK’s cycle industry, reeling from a post-pandemic contraction stoked by culture wars and decades of patchy infrastructure investment, cargo bikes are one — if not the only — bright spot. While still relatively new, this outing shows cargo bikes already do a range of the heavy lifting that makes the city tick.