With food items often being requiring a same-day delivery to maintain freshness, that's even more congestion on the roads. Image credit: Calum Gundry.ĭeliveries for online shopping and groceries boomed during the pandemic and there's been an increase in traffic and pollution as a result, with a report from the World Economic Forum finding that, without intervention, carbon emissions from delivery vehicles globally will rise by 32% by 2030. It means balancing the amount of CO 2 contributed via transportation and manufacturing processes with the amount of CO 2 that can be negated.įarr Out deliver for over 50 local businesses in Edinburgh. Carbon-neutral, however, doesn't necessarily mean zero CO 2 emissions. It's everyone's goal: to make cities as close to carbon-neutral as possible. Using location technology like HERE Map Content and navigation, businesses like Alex's can manage efficient, environmentally sound journeys and cleaner last-mile deliveries. Our bikes take up less space in the city and can go door-to-door, whereas a truck will block a whole pavement and often get parking tickets." And it's better for the planet, not just because the bike doesn't put out emissions but also because the carbon footprint of building a bike is negligible, compared to a truck or car. "We don't have to pay for fuel - besides changing the bikes' lithium batteries once every ten years or so. Our delivery people, who use location navigation technology to find the quickest route with the least traffic, also get the health benefits of cycling. “We have a fleet of eight e-cargo bikes at the moment, but we will be expanding on that in the next year," Alex tells HERE360. Two years on, the company is booming and delivering goods from 150 different businesses across the city, which is a bustling, tourist hotspot of windy streets - and therefore perfect for traffic jams, which the bikes can dodge - as Europe catches the cargo bike bug. Looking for a new career that could be sustained during the pandemic, Alex and his business partners David Squire and Frazer Martin came up with the genius idea of starting an e-cargo bike delivery company. But when COVID-19 kicked in, these events ground to a halt. Pre-pandemic, Alex was found organizing events in the food industry. But, as this graphic suggests, it's not comparable to the CO 2 emitted by ICEs. While cycling itself doesn't produce CO 2, producing the food needed to fuel cyclists does. That's where our e-cargo bikes come in," explains Alex Fitzhowle, one of the co-founders of Farr Out Deliveries, a company that delivers goods from bread to cake and beer, to important documents and bulk orders of coffee to businesses - all on the humble bike. It's hardly cut out for delivery trucks - and then you add in the teeming crowds of tourists and the busyness of the city, you have a recipe for disaster when it comes to traffic and congestion. “Edinburgh is hilly and steep, with a medieval-era Old Town. Large and small businesses alike are putting their couriers on bicycles to deliver items more quickly - and it's far better for the planet.
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