As part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions, Amazon is launching a number of e-freight bicycles and pedestrian delivery personnel in the UK.
When announcing the plan, the e-commerce giant said that the new bicycle and pedestrian transport teams, as well as the existing electric trucks, would transport more than 5 million last mile goods in central London every year. Amazon said the measure would cover 10% of the city’s ultra-low emission areas and reduce traffic congestion in the process.
This is part of Amazon’s broader efforts to offset the increase in carbon emissions, which is accompanied by an increase in its global market share. For example, in 2020, the company’s emissions increased by 19%, which is consistent with the rapid growth in sales caused by the pandemic blockade. However, Amazon said it had reduced its carbon emissions per dollar of revenue that year.
A group of transportation and logistics companies are also trying micro mobile alternatives, such as e-freight bicycles and pedestrian transportation, to reduce traffic congestion and deal with the impact of gas transportation on the environment.
For example, in 2018, UPS launched a freight E-bike delivery pilot project in Seattle. A few weeks ago, UPS said that it was testing a similar project in New York using the so-called “equads”. In 2019, RAD power bikes, headquartered in Seattle, made headlines by using its electric bicycle to deliver pizza nationwide with its exclusive partnership with domino.
It is reported that Amazon does not operate these bicycles in the new measures in the UK, but relies on third-party partners.
The company said it had operated more than 1000 electric trucks in the UK and planned to launch more e-freight bicycles and pedestrian distribution centers nationwide in the coming months. It also plans to launch a series of minivans made by Riviera in the United States, depending on whether Riviera can complete the order.