RIPPL #54: A Call to Action for COVID Recovery and Urban Freight – Guest Post by Sam Starr


Sam Starr is a Vancouver-based Sustainable Cities Cycle Logistics Expert & Consultant. https://critical-mobility.com/


by Sam Starr

As cities reel from the lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, eCommerce has accelerated, streets are being reallocated for active transportation, and small businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Citizens are shifting away from public transportation, leading to a rise in personal vehicle use, and ultimately congestion. Bicycle and pedal-assist cycles are needed as an alternative mode of transport, and cargo cycles as a new sustainable vehicle powering urban goods movement. Resilience in the urban goods transport network can be achieved, through the use of Urban Consolidation Centres (UCCs) or mini-hubs in tandem with these cargo cycles, trikes, and light electric vehicles (LEVs). This triple-bottom-line solution requires a solid strategy and the proper use of tactics and collaboration to achieve success. 

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RIPPL #050: Trouble in paradise: the cargo bike comes to the rescue in Groningen, “The World’s Cycling City”

This is the first in a series of RIPPL articles supported by Gemeente Groningen. In the run up to the International Cargo Bike Festival, which takes place in the city this coming June, we’re taking a deep-dive and focussing on how cycle-logistics works in this city of bikes.

Towards the end of 2018, the Municipality (or Gemeente in Dutch) of Groningen, along with a group of local stakeholders, made an ambitious pledge. They committed to making logistics in the city centre as emission-free as possible by 2025.

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RIPPL #48: KoMoDo cooperative micro depot opens in Berlin

A new depot for last-mile deliveries has begun operating in central Berlin, where around 800,000 people live within a 5km radius. The pilot project, dubbed ‘KoMoDo’, involves several different logistics operators working under one roof. Each logistics operator has access to a 14m² transshipment container within the facility and overall management is by BEHALA – a neutral provider. Packages are delivered to the hub by conventional trucks, then distributed by bike in busy city centre streets.

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RIPPL #18: Subsidised e-Cargo Bikes in Maastricht

A pilot scheme in Maastricht is allowing entrepreneurs and businesses to try out electric cargo bikes for free. Maastricht Bereikbaar (”Accessible Maastricht”, the city transport authority which is a collaboration between several government bodies, the local Municipality, the Province of Limburg and local businesses with an interest in logistics) is giving local initiatives the chance to test e-cargo bikes for six months. Continue reading “RIPPL #18: Subsidised e-Cargo Bikes in Maastricht”

RIPPL #7: Waltham Forest Council – Christmas Courier

Christmas Courier was a pilot scheme run by Waltham Forest Council employing Cycle Confident, a UK-based bicycle services and training company to undertake retail deliveries in the busy period running up to Christmas. The scheme ran between 12 and 23December 2016 from a mobile hub on Walthamstow High Street in North-East London. Continue reading “RIPPL #7: Waltham Forest Council – Christmas Courier”