Ben Hume Wright has become busier than ever since then. He explained to Agence France-Presse: "I used to schedule five or six appointments for an hour or an hour and a half each day, but now I take six or seven and sometimes eight; because I know I won't be stuck in traffic."

After relying on his small truck for 11 years, it is now stored in the garage.

When he has to work at a major assembly workshop, he requests the supplier to deliver the larger parts directly to the customer, then arrives on a bike with only the necessary tools. He said, "It's cheaper, there's no fuel expense, and it's much better."

Earlier this year, Transport for London, the public authority responsible for the transport network in the UK’s capital, initiated its first “Cargo Bike Action Plan”.

This aims to enhance their growth in response to the increasing polluting deliveries by trucks linked to the rise in online trade.

The encouragement of their use is in the same direction as Mayor Sadiq Khan's plan to achieve a carbon-neutral city by 2030. Transport for London estimates that cargo bikes could avoid up to 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually in Greater London by that time.

Extraordinary Growth

Cargo bikes were popular in Northern Europe until the mid-20th century but fell out of favor when motorized vehicles became common. Their resurgence started in the early 2000s in Denmark and the Netherlands, countries with a strong culture of cycling, large flat areas, and good bike paths.

In Copenhagen, the number of cargo bikes grew from 20,000 in 2020 to over 40,000 in 2022. In Germany, Europe's largest market for electric bikes, 165,000 cargo bikes were sold in 2022.

The growth in Britain is "enormous," according to Ben Jaconelli, Managing Director of Fully Charged, a specialist in electric and cargo bikes. He adds, "We are living in the decade of the electric cargo bike!"

Jaconelli, who co-founded the company in 2014 when spotting electric cargo bikes was rare, says, "Today, it's almost rare not to see them." Cargo bikes have also become a necessity outside schools, where many parents use them to transport their children.

Between May 2022 and May 2023, sales of electric bikes in Britain increased by 30 percent according to the national body The Bicycle Association.

Among the explanations for this increase is the controversial expansion of London's greater Low Emission Zone, which imposes charges on drivers of more polluting vehicles.

Zhero, a logistics company that transports art between studios, galleries, and frame makers, has committed to using bikes. Co-founder Joe Sharp says it's a "purely financial decision," explaining that "moving things on cargo bikes is cheaper than in a small truck". He adds, "Sometimes we do between 30 and 40 deliveries a day on a cargo bike."

However, the company hasn't completely abandoned its trucks specifically the electric ones partially for insurance related reasons. The company is insured for £25,000 to transport art pieces on bicycles, but this insurance increases tenfold in a small electric truck.