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e-Cargo bikes take to city streets

A fleet of brand new electric cargo bikes are taking to the streets of Plymouth, cutting carbon emissions, air pollution and business costs.Caption: Cabinet Member Mark Coker (far left) and Plymouth’s Cycling Champion Cllr Jeremy Goslin (far right) with proud new e-cargo bike owners and users from Plymouth Schools Sports Partnership, Rockets and Rascals, Fotonow, Secure Open Storage, MVP Property Maintenance, Snapdragons, Royal Adelaide Arts and Yoga, and Jasper LM Ltd.

A total of 21 businesses across the city have partnered with Plymouth City Council to bring 27 e-cargo bikes into use to carry equipment and delivering goods.

One of just 18 councils in England to be awarded funding in May from the Department for Transport’s £2m eCargo Bike Grant Fund, Plymouth won £123,500 to support the introduction of e-cargo bikes and trailers.

Local businesses receiving funding towards the cost of an e-cargo bike include a community brewery, a school, a design agency, a secure storage company, a bike shop, two photographers, a marina, a restaurant and a builder.

Businesses received up to £4,750 towards the cost and also contributed to the purchase costs themselves. Many of the businesses supported the local economy by choosing Plymouth-based e-bike retailer Bikespace to supply their e-cargo bike.

James Ellwood, Co-Director of project partner Fotonow CIC, said: “It’s a great scheme and has helped us make our first step in reducing the company’s carbon footprint and doing something to tackle climate change. 

“We are using the bike to carry camera equipment to our shoots. It’s already reducing the amount of short car journeys we make, reducing our fuel bills, cutting carbon emissions and keeping the team fitter at the same time!”

The growth of online shopping and grocery delivery in the last decade has led to an increase in the use of polluting diesel vans in the city and Covid-19 has accelerated this trend. By enabling businesses to shift to clean, low carbon transport for local ‘last mile’ journeys, e-cargo bikes can play an important part in making sure the recovery from the pandemic is clean and green.

Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure, Mark Coker said “E-cargo bikes are growing in popularity and offer businesses the opportunity to reduce their transport costs and their environmental impact. I’m delighted to have secured funding to fast track the growth of e-cargo bike use in Plymouth and to have partnered with so many innovative local businesses. This is an important step towards our goal of being carbon neutral by 2030”.

If you think your business would benefit from an e-cargo bike why not try out Plymotion’s free eCargo bike loan scheme or consider applying to the Council's Workplace Travel Grant for funding towards the cost of e-cargo bikes for your business or other investments to enable you and your staff to travel.

The picture shows Cabinet Member Mark Coker (far left) and Plymouth’s Cycling Champion Cllr Jeremy Goslin (far right) with proud new e-cargo bike owners and users from Plymouth Schools Sports Partnership, Rockets and Rascals, Fotonow, Secure Open Storage, MVP Property Maintenance, Snapdragons, Royal Adelaide Arts and Yoga, and Jasper LM.