Amazon is launching its first ‘micromobility hub’ in the UK with the aim of replacing ‘thousands’ of polluting delivery trucks with electric cargo bikes – and in some cases on foot. The project aims to help Amazon achieve its climate goals to have 50% of its supply chain carbon neutral by 2030.
Starting in the London Borough of Hackney, the company says it will deliver 1 million packages a year using pedestrian and electric cargo bikes, in addition to deliveries made with electric vans. Deliveries on foot and electric bikes will help displace “thousands” of traditional van trips, Amazon said.
Electric bikes will help displace “thousands” of traditional van journeys
The carbon-neutral journeys will take place within a tenth of London’s ultra-low emission zone, in which vehicles are charged based on the amount of emissions they produce. Electric bicycles and electric vehicles are exempt from the fee.
Amazon said it plans to open additional centers in the coming months. The company already operates 1,000 electric delivery vans in the UK and has plans to introduce a new range of Rivian-built vans to the US later this year (depending on Rivian’s ability to fill those orders).
Electric cargo bikes, especially those designed to look like mini-trucks, are becoming increasingly popular among delivery companies looking to improve their environmental credentials. FedEx also uses e-bikes in London (that emission fee!), while Domino’s has partnered with Rad Power Bikes for pizza delivery in several cities. UPS used cargo bikes in Seattle. German delivery company DPD wants to use these mini-trucks, which are actually e-bikes in disguise. In New York, e-bikes are used almost exclusively by food delivery workers.
Amazon hasn’t released any details about what it calls its “e-assisted vehicles,” though they look a lot different than most of the traditional cargo bikes out there. If anything, they resemble the mini-trucks first offered by DPD, which were designed by a startup called Eav, or the four-wheeled “eQuad” delivery vehicles used by UPS.
But we have yet to see cargo e-bike deployment at scale by any delivery company. If Amazon sticks with it and actually delivers on its promise, then the company’s micromobility efforts in the UK could be a first.
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