Cargo bike use in London doubled between 2022 and 2024, according to new analysis by the Clean Cities initiative.
Analysing the latest TfL cycling data, Clean Cities found a 104% increase in cargo bike use across the last two years, but notes that the rate of adoption had slowed from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024.
Cargo bikes are a solution to moving away from diesel vans, which according to the analysis by the organization, are now the biggest source of NOx emissions in central London.
The analysis’s findings were announced this week alongside the sixth edition of the Cargo Bike Cruise, an event organized by the Sustainable Urban Freight Association (SUFA), Clean Cities and Team London Bridge, which took place on Thursday, September 11 and brought together the largest convoy of cargo bikes in the world to celebrate “London’s freight revolution”.
Zak Bond, Clean Cities campaign manager, said, “Our analysis has shown that diesel vans are now the biggest road source of dirty air in central London. Shifting as many deliveries as possible to cargo bikes is essential. This increase in cargo bike use is a strong start, but local authorities must do more to support residents and businesses to use cargo bikes. That should include new grants which help those who need it most with the high upstart cost of a cargo bike.”
Lee Pugh, co-chair of SUFA and founder of Colchester eCargo, said, “Cargo bikes are the among greenest forms of transporting goods and critical for the UK’s freight infrastructure. From parcel deliveries and shopping to waste disposal and recycling, cargo bike operators from Glasgow to the Isle of Wight are working hard to replace polluting cars and vans, reducing air and noise pollution as well as tackling climate change.”
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