More than 80 cargo bikes took to the streets of London on Wednesday in an effort to encourage businesses to replace their vans with a pollution-free alternative.
It comes as an analysis from the Clean Cities campaign showed that there was a 63 per cent rise in the use of cargo bikes across the capital between 2022 and 2023.
The growth was driven by a 73 per cent increase in their use in inner London, followed by a 55 per cent rise in outer London and 54 per cent in central London.
At Wednesday’s Cargo Bike Cruise - an annual event now in its fifth year - a range of different businesses who use the bikes to get around London came to showcase their vehicles.
Joining the ride and showing their support were Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, and Luke Taylor, the newly-elected Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam.
Hugo Mann, European programme manager at Clean Cities, said that the recent rise in the use of cargo bikes has been “really good, but what we need to see is more support from the mayor’s team, from the Government, to actually help businesses who want to make that transition to cargo bikes”.
The campaign argues that there should be more targeted funding available from Transport for London (TfL) to help businesses replace their vans specifically with cargo bikes, rather than simply opting for a less polluting van.
Mr Mann said cargo bikes have “a massive business efficiency benefit, which is that they’re 60 per cent faster than a small van operating in an urban environment, so for businesses wanting to get from A to B in a city centre, cargo bikes are actually proving more effective at doing that”.
Jemima Hartshorn, founder of Mums for Lungs - a group of parents campaigning for cleaner air - said: “I think it’s really important to highlight how deliveries across our city and how vans could be replaced with much more sustainable means.
“We did some research recently which highlighted that over 15,000 children under five were admitted with respiratory illnesses to hospital in 2023 alone [in London].”
She added that fewer large vehicles on the capital’s streets would also improve road safety.
Jack Skillen, director of sustainability and place at Team London Bridge, the business improvement district, said: “In this area alone over 200 businesses have made the switch to cargo bikes, whether it is for transporting legal contracts, blood samples, stationary or waste.
“The change in London Bridge has been dramatic, and is having such a positive impact on the environment and the public. But there are barriers limiting progress, so we need partners, including the mayor, local and national governments to share our vision if we are going to see this positive transformation continue across London”.
In March last year, TfL published its first ever cargo bike action plan, which included commitments to “use procurement policy to support further cargo bike uptake” and to “ensure adequate and suitable capacity for cargo bikes when designing future TfL cycling schemes”.
Christina Calderato, TfL's director of strategy and policy, said at the time of its publication: “Freight and servicing are the lifeblood of London's economy but also contribute to air pollution, carbon emissions and traffic congestion.
“We are determined to provide a green, healthy and sustainable future for all Londoners and cargo bikes can play a vital role in cutting carbon emissions, air pollution and road danger.
“We will continue to work closely with our industry partners, businesses and boroughs across the capital to make our vision for cleaner and safer freight a reality.”
