Amazon is launching a fleet of electronically charged bicycles and a team of walking delivery staff to replace thousands of van deliveries on the roads of London.
The online retailer is opening its first “micromobility” center in Hackney, east London, which, along with an existing fleet of electric vehicles, will help deliver 5 million a year to about a tenth of the zip code districts of the low-emission zone of the capital. The bikes will be operated by a variety of associated businesses, not directly by Amazon, it is understood.
Amazon plans more such delivery centers in the UK this year as part of its efforts to reduce its carbon emissions. The company was appointed as a partner of a cargo and walking bike delivery center in the London Wall car park in the city of London in 2020, but this project has not yet materialized.
John Boumphrey, the manager of Amazon in the UK, said: “Amazon is driving towards a global zero carbon future. One way to do that is by transforming our transport networks. Our new bikes electronic charging, walkers and the growing electric vehicle delivery fleet will help us make more zero-emission customer deliveries than ever before in London and the UK over the coming months. ”
A new electric charging bike is being driven through the capital. Photography: John Nguyen / PA
Cllr Mete Coban, a member of Hackney’s environment and transportation board, welcomed the plan. “Dealing with transport emissions is key if we want to get to zero. We are very happy to have worked with Amazon to help them take traditional vans off the streets and replace them with electric-charged bicycles. This will help reduce emissions and improve air quality for the people of Hackney and beyond, ”Coban said.
Amazon’s move comes as window cleaners, milk and beer dispensers, plumbers and DJs get on their bikes as a result of UK government incentives, new infrastructure and promises to reduce the footprint carbon companies.
About 2,000 cargo bikes for commercial use were sold in the UK in 2020, according to the Bicycle Association, and a similar number were sold for families and individuals. That figure is expected to have risen last year.
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Specialized delivery services, such as Pedal Me and Velocious, have expanded rapidly during the pandemic with a service, Zedify, which has installed 10 mini-plants in abandoned locations outside cities to make thousands of emissions deliveries. zero in every city every day.
Boumphrey said Amazon will also install more than 30,000 solar panels at its Manchester, Coalville, Haydock Green, Wakefield, Bristol and Milton Keynes facilities later this year.
The company has confirmed 18 solar projects at its existing sites in the UK this year and plans to double the number of projects by 2024.
These projects are in addition to a wind farm on the Kintyre Peninsula in Scotland and four more planned, including Kennoxhead in South Lanarkshire.