CARGO BIKES RISING

City Bakery & Birdbath cargo rickshaws in rare moment of pause. 

The logic and virtue of cargo bikes is presented to government
this week. Excerpt below and full story in The Guardian: 

The annual summit of the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany, will involve ministers from 52 nations discussing how cargo bikes could be used in place of their motorised counterparts, particularly for the final stages of delivery inside crowded cities.

Many city dwellers are familiar with the cycle courier delivering envelopes with backpack and traditional bike, but this is a trade which has gradually declined with the advent of email.

Cargo bikes can do a lot more. Even two-wheeled versions, almost as nippy as a normal bike, can carry several large boxes, while some three- or four-wheel incarnations have a payload of anything up to about 400kg.

Aside from pollution, noise and traffic, there is also a safety benefit. Big lorries on narrow city streets are involved in a disproportionate number of serious accidents, especially involving cyclists. In London an estimated 50% of cyclist fatalities in recent years came in collisions with lorries.