-
Possible stupid question.
What percentage of the space in the back of typical white van man's white van is actually used, and how much is a toolbox and a couple of spare parts rattling around?
Is there scope for converting some of this trade motor traffic into cargo bikes?
skidlidsid-
Most of them are filled with hatred to all things.
-
I'm sure they're often pretty full, but also often quite empty, depending on the job.
There certainly is immense scope for more cargo bike use.
I can't remember the name of the firm that uses cargo bikes almost exclusively and I don't know if they still exist, but I talked to some of them occasionally when I bumped into them, and they seemed to be doing well.
-
a couple of people I know will do the first 2 days or so on a job in a van to get the kit in and then cycle afterwards. For every "typical" foaming gammon doing 55mph between speed bumps in an empty van I see there's someone next to me in the ASL wearing work boots and hiviz on a rusty hybrid....
Hamham
Oliver Schick
clipon
Yes, what aggi said and also, the main thing motor traffic causes, quite generally and wherever you go, is unnecessary travel. This even applies to tradesmen. The old formula, which applied for decades, was that the transport cost of having premises on the outskirts was cheaper than the extra rent they'd have to pay in Central London--also, because prices they could charge were obviously depressed for the same reason. I have no doubt that this will change. People aren't stupid, and if something they have been doing no longer works, they'll change it, e.g. I'm sure we would see firms servicing buildings locating their bases closer to, or in Central London given the current building boom (which has been seeing more and more trade vehicles being driven into Central London for years, but there will come a point where firms will aim to benefit more directly from the volume of work available in Central London). With less motor traffic capacity, they'd also be able to charge more.
All those extra motorised miles mean that businesses become less local to where people live, but it is a desirable aim to get them to locate closer to the customer again. I'm obviously aware of the competition from the Internet, and I very much hope this can be defeated, especially from companies like Amazon. One way of doing that is simply by causing transport costs to be increased so people have to handle these things with actual efficiency.