All of a sudden, all over Europe
it seems like they're everywhere:
Cargo bikes.
Delivering mail in Germany...
Amazon packages in the UK.
Picking up food waste in Paris.
And sperm donations in Copenhagen.
Yep. That's a custom built
liquid nitrogen tank shaped like a human sperm.
In the US
whether you order a giant flat screen TV
or a week's worth of groceries...
it's likely to show up at your doorstep via one of these:
A delivery truck or van with a big, powerful engine.
They get the job done, but they also emit
lots of carbon, take up lots of room
and kill and injure lots of people.
And that's why
cities and companies around the world are starting to replace
some of those big vans with electric assist cargo bikes.
But in the US, aside from test runs
from a couple of companies like Domino's Pizza
and small pilot projects in a handful of cities
they haven't really caught on.
So why not?
Why are we in the US
so wedded to this one tool for delivery?
And is it possible to change course?
Even before the pandemic
online shopping was already growing
as a share of total retail sales worldwide.
And for many of us...
the pandemic habit hasn't faded away.
Even as stores have reopened.
Take London, for example.
Commercial vehicles account for about 19% of the overall miles
driven in London.
But they emit 30% of the city's transport-related CO2.
That disproportionate impact extends beyond pollution.
They deliver everywhere from narrow one-way streets
to super busy intersections causing massive traffic problems.
And between 2018 and 2020...
delivery trucks in London were involved in a shocking 41%
of fatal cyclist crashes and 19% of pedestrian deaths.
A 2016 study found that large trucks
made up only 3.6% of vehicles in New York City
but are responsible for 32% of bicyclist fatalities
and 12% of pedestrian fatalities.
So let's back up and take a bird's eye view of the whole delivery process.
You can breakdown urban delivery into two phases.
Phase one: My iPhone cover might travel from factory to a hub...
before the long freight journey via airplane, cargo ship
or long haul truck to a warehouse
just outside the city where I live.
That's when phase two starts.
It's often called the last mile.
Though, the journey is usually much longer.
That's when my package is loaded onto a delivery truck or van
which drives into the city
and eventually stops in front of my house.
This package might have traveled
hundreds of miles to get here, but depending on where you live
this second phase accounts for 30 to 50% of its carbon footprint.
And that's partly because the so-called last mile is really in efficient.
One study in London found that only a small share of vans
use more than 3/4 of their capacity.
Most use less than half.
And that's where e-bikes come in.
Obviously, using bicycles to move goods and people through the city
is not a new idea.
UPS actually got its start
as a bike delivery service in Seattle...
hauling everything from beer and medicine across the city.
Before city leaders remade the streets
to prioritize private automobiles
cargo bikes and trikes like these
shared the road with carriages and pedestrians.
Today's cargo bikes can come equipped with a small electric motor
that's activated when the pedals are in motion...
and powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
That extra power is what allows electric cargo bikes
like these ones in London
to outcompete delivery vans.
In a 2021 study that compared those cargo bikes to delivery vans...
the bikes obviously had to make more trips back and forth
to the pickup point...
but they still traveled roughly the same distance in less time than the vans.
In part because they could park anywhere and use the bike lanes
when the van sat in traffic.
They dropped off more packages than the vans per hour
while emitting a fraction of the carbon.
Another study estimated that more than half of all urban trips
related to the transport of goods could be done by cargo bike.
Those efficiencies have led to massive investments in Europe and the UK.
Thousands of bikes from companies like DHL, UPS and FedEx...
as well as retailers like Amazon and IKEA.
But in the US, DHL made headlines for doubling its cargo bike fleet
in Miami from four bikes... to eight.
New York City's cargo bike pilot
featured just 350 bikes spread out among all these companies.
So what's keeping them from going all in?
This map of Paris can help us understand why.
The city has specific rules about
what kind of vehicles can drive within this area.
Delivery trucks are vans made before 2011
are only allowed within the zone on weekends
and after 8 PM on weekdays.
Those who break the rules are slapped with a fine.
By 2030, no diesel or gas powered vehicles will be allowed in the zone.
These low emission zones are all over Europe.
Brussels. Lisbon.
London. Amsterdam.
Berlin. Vienna. Rome.
Oslo. Prague. Budapest.
So for a freight operator doing business in Europe
it makes sense to make the switch from vans to cargo bikes...
especially since a lot of these cities also offer
generous subsidies to businesses making the switch.
And they've invested millions in infrastructure
like protected bike lanes to help keep cyclists safe.
As of fall 2023
the only zero-emission zone in the United States
was a pilot project in Santa Monica that actually ended in 2022.
It was one square mile and it was voluntary.
As in, no fines for trucks that broke the rules.
There's also the fact that interstate highways
run right through a lot of American cities...
unlike in Europe.
And for freight companies looking to move goods quickly...
vans on the highway seems like the obvious answer.
Of course, switching those vans from gas to electric
would definitely help reduce CO2 emissions.
But electric trucks and vans aren't any safer
for the pedestrians and cyclists trying to share the road.
Between 2010 and 2021...
pedestrian deaths in the US rose 54%.
Among cyclists: 55%.
And experts blame a deadly combination of high speeds
and bigger vehicles...
which are more likely to cause fatal head and neck injuries.
Without big changes like urban highway removals
zero emission zones and subsidies
US cities will have a hard time
getting companies to make the switch.
And we will miss out on the possibility of cleaner air...
safer streets and a more livable planet.