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.

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

RIPPL #49 Zedify – delivery with a smaller footprint

Zedify is a new, mostly pedal-powered courier company with bases across the UK. Launched on 18th June (a.k.a. Clean Air Day), the organisation has bases in Central London, East London, Brighton, Cambridge, Glasgow and Norwich, with the Cambridge base also acting as HQ. The launch of Zedify as an organisation represents a coming together of pedal-powered couriers already in operation; namely Outspoken Delivery and Recharge Cargo. Each of these have rebranded as franchisees under the Zedify umbrella. Continue reading “RIPPL #49 Zedify – delivery with a smaller footprint”

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.

Continue reading “RIPPL #48: KoMoDo cooperative micro depot opens in Berlin”

RIPPL #45: Sainsbury’s – back in the saddle after 60 years

Sainsbury’s, one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains, has begun a cargo bike pilot scheme. A fleet of five Sainsbury’s-branded e-cargo bikes based at a store in Streatham, South London, will deliver online orders of groceries to customers within a three mile (5km) radius. Continue reading “RIPPL #45: Sainsbury’s – back in the saddle after 60 years”

RIPPL #44: Construction materials, delivered by e-trike

Utrecht-based housing maintenance company Wits, along with several partners, is experimenting with using cargo bikes to deliver consolidated consignments of building materials to sites across the city. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the ‘Slim Transport de Stad in’ project (Smart Transport in the City) is the unusually high capacity of the e-trike involved. It can carry up to 300kg, making it a viable method of carrying building materials. Continue reading “RIPPL #44: Construction materials, delivered by e-trike”

RIPPL #43: The joke is… there is no joke

Coolblue is a consumer electronics store based in The Netherlands and Belgium, mostly online-based, there are also 9 physical locations. Founded in 1999, the business had a turnover of €1.2 billion in 2017.

Coolblue announced last week that they were going to begin delivering packages by bike. The service, dubbed “CoolblueFietst” (Coolblue Cycles/Bikes) will begin running in Eindhoven and Den Haag (The Hague) before rolling out to all major Dutch and Belgian cities. Continue reading “RIPPL #43: The joke is… there is no joke”

RIPPL #41: Low Impact City Logistics; Introducing the ‘Net-Neutral’ e-Trailer

Low Impact City Logistics is a collaborative project that has developed an innovative ‘net-neutral load’ electric powered trailer. To the rider, the e-trailer feels ‘weightless’; meaning high payloads can be carried with relative ease. The e-trailer can carry a payload of 200kg and also has a walking mode so that it can, if required, be de-coupled from the bike and walked, still using e-assist, closer to the loading/unloading point. Continue reading “RIPPL #41: Low Impact City Logistics; Introducing the ‘Net-Neutral’ e-Trailer”

RIPPL #39: PostNL – 60 vans for 60 bikes, trikes or LEVS

The Dutch Post Office, PostNL, have begin systematically testing last-mile delivery vehicles. Naturally this includes cargo bikes, but they are also trying out Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs), such as the Stint. I met Nanette Wielenga, Bicycle Network Project Manager for PostNL, to find out more. We met at a depot on the western edge of Amsterdam at around 6pm and discussed the project as PostNL delivery riders, known Stadsbezorgers, returned from their evening rounds on various bikes, trikes and LEVs. Continue reading “RIPPL #39: PostNL – 60 vans for 60 bikes, trikes or LEVS”

RIPPL #37: Vert Chez Vous – Lessons from a Parisian Boat-Bike Initiative

Paris has suffered unprecedented levels of air pollution in recent years. In response, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has declared war on the car and aims to reduce their number by half. Swathes of the city will be pedestrianised. Regular, city-wide car free days are now held. Diesel vehicles will be banned from the city by 2020, much earlier than in comparable European capitals such as London. Continue reading “RIPPL #37: Vert Chez Vous – Lessons from a Parisian Boat-Bike Initiative”

RIPPL #36: Boat-Bike: DHL’s multimodal Amsterdam logistics chain

Send a DHL package to the centre of Amsterdam and there is a good chance it will take an unconventional multimodal journey. Bikes, with their ability to navigate the last mile in the narrow, busy streets of Amsterdam’s old centre, act as the last link in an unconventional logistics chain. Continue reading “RIPPL #36: Boat-Bike: DHL’s multimodal Amsterdam logistics chain”