Delivery company Evri will treble the number of cargo bikes they use for last mile deliveries from 33 to 99 within ‘months’ and intend to grow this number to 3,000 within a decade.
They have also announced plans to add another 270 of electric vehicles to their fleet by next spring.
This represents part of a £19 million investment, supporting the company’s ambition to reduce carbon emissions across its network and become a net-zero company by 2035.
The company has also established a Final-Mile Electrification Taskforce to explore innovative solutions, partnerships and put strategies into place to make their last-mile deliveries emission free.
Evri already use electric cargo bikes in London, Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge, delivering 1.5 million parcels a year by bike or EV. They aim to triple that figure to around four million over the next year.
Martijn De Lange, CEO at Evri said: ‘The permanent fleet of electric cargo bikes deliver the ‘last mile’ of urban parcel deliveries — moving a parcel from a local transportation depot to its destination. Each bike has a capacity of about 2,000 litres, meaning it can deliver around 110 parcels in one go. With zero tailpipe emissions a single parcel delivery by e-cargo bike can be expected to produce up to a 250g carbon saving alone. The growth to delivering 4 million parcels a year by e-cargo bike could save carbon equivalent to the amount created by driving over 400,000 miles, potentially reducing air and noise pollution as well as helping with congestion on the roads.’
148 new EVs will be added to fleet in time for Christmas this year, with another 122 arriving in spring next year. To support them, the company will expand of its own EV charging infrastructure, investing over £1 million into depot network and hubs.
Vehicles will also be taken off the road through the expansion of the company’s ‘out of home’ operation, whereby customers can collect their parcels from over 15,000 locations including Tesco Express stores and Post Office branches.
Pauline Potter, Director of Procurement and Sustainability at Evri said: ‘ is committed to making a positive impact on the environment and delivering a sustainable future. Our multi-year ESG plans represent a significant leap forward, and we are confident that these initiatives will propel us towards our net-zero goal. We are not just investing in technology, but also in our people, empowering them to be part of the solution. Together, we can build a more sustainable future for the parcel delivery industry, as well as the communities we serve.’