CargoBike-Scale: Transitioning to cargo bike logistics
In a new project funded by EIT Urban Mobility, Active Travel Academy researchers Ersilia Verlinghieri, Louise Rondel and Harrie Larrington-Spencer are partnering with Kale AI (London), Urbike (Brussels), Cargonautes (Paris), Bikelogic (Barcelona), Cyke and ITU Copenhagen to explore the ways in which cargo bike logistics can be scaled up as an efficient, sustainable and realistic mode of delivery in cities.
There is growing interest in delivering goods via cargo bikes, and this is an approach which is increasingly being taken up. For example, in 2019, in Transport for London’s (TfL) Freight and Servicing Action Plan, the Mayor of London set out that:
“I want to cut the number of lorries and vans entering central London in the morning peak by 10 per cent by 2026. Things are changing already. London has the UK’s first electric cargo bike grocery delivery service – delivering 100 orders a day while cutting pollution.”
In 2023, TfL’s Cargo Bike Action Plan continued this trajectory, stating:
“Our goal is to promote and enable the growth of cargo bikes to make them a leading option for last-mile freight and service trips.”
These aims are now reflected in the recently-published Draft London Plan (published summer 2026) which includes calling for developments to make space for cargo bike deliveries, sitting within broader ambitions to meet the Greater London Authority’s climate commitments, improve air quality, reduce carbon, improve the environment and promote active and sustainable travel.
Photo credit: Jørn Tomter / Team London Bridge
Moving away from a reliance on motorised vehicles and towards pedal power for the delivery of business-to-business and business-to-consumer goods offers important opportunities as well as a number of challenges. Working in consortium with the partners across the CargoBike-Scale project, we are investigating the digital infrastructure needed to support cargo bike operations, operators and riders in combination with the urban policy which can help enable the transition to seeing an increased number of cargo-bike deliveries on our streets.
The CargoBike-Scale project runs from August 2026 – January 2028. For more information about the project see this post by the team at Kale AI.
Contact: Louise Rondel l.rondel@westminster.ac.uk
See this post on our website about previous research carried out at the ATA on labour, employment and well-being in London’s cargo bike sector.
