I've heard the same question several times: "do you think you're going to deliver all of Paris by bike?" It's impossible ! »
In fact, for 5 years, we have taken on the challenge of making the utility bike more… useful! And the adventure began after a personal trip to India in 2013, where I discovered the famous rickshaws. These tricycle bikes (with 3 wheels) can transport up to 3 passengers in their rear seat. They have become integrated into the urban landscape of several continents, mainly in Asia and particularly in India. A means of transport free of any emissions of pollutants and noise pollution caused by thermal engines. Rickshaws have contributed to the development of a culture of informal transport, moving a large part of the population on a daily basis. In some cities, they have also become the main means of transport; and there are even bicycle traffic jams (what a paradox!)
In France and mainly in Paris, they have not had the same success as elsewhere in the world: no massification, no integration into the landscape; Why ? Because for many people, the City of Lights deserves transportation that is more in keeping with the beauty of the landscape and in keeping with the splendid, world-renowned Parisian boulevards. “We are not going to become Asia all the same! “, an absurd remark when we look at the density of the city, the limited width of its streets and the loss of time due to intramural traffic jams…
In short, upon my return from this trip to India and after contacting friends who operated in London with this type of bike, we launched our experiment with Parisian Rickshaws in 2014 for two years; a small fleet of tricycle bikes for guided tourism to the main points of interest in Paris.
In 2016, we took stock of our operations and market developments. We noticed a somewhat contradictory sinusoidal curve: the number of tricycles had increased considerably in two years, but the quality of the vehicles and the service had seriously deteriorated. With the arrival of pseudo-bike tourism operators on the market and without precise regulation, this environment has become a black spot in the decor of Paris, and our operation thus seemed to begin a downward curve...
So what to do with our scooters? And how can we successfully integrate them into our cities?
Returning to my Colombian roots, I remembered the days when groceries arrived by bike at my home in Bogota. Every local business, every restaurant, every grocery store owned a brand-new two or three-wheeled bicycle with an open box for transporting goods. All you had to do was make a phone call, and voila, 20 minutes later, the order arrived! It must be said that cycling has always been present in the Colombian capital. Since my childhood, I have known and benefited from the Sunday “cyclovia”: the city's main roads are closed on Sundays for the benefit of... residents and their bikes, of course! This activity constitutes a space for meeting, exchange, sport, an unmissable meeting point for traveling around the city without any constraints linked to thermal vehicles.
It is then impossible not to be influenced and attracted by the versatility, performance and simplicity of this means of transport. In 2016, we transformed our Rickshaws into Cargobikes: 12 tricycles with closed boxes for the transport of goods, 1m3 and 250Kg capacity each. We are also equipped with 4 two-wheelers, 0.25m3 and 150Kg capacity. Our offer has been successful among SMEs, eco-responsible companies and the CSR services of certain brands; however, it had difficulty attracting the interest of large logistics groups… initially, at least.
Because in recent years and thanks to measures, some of which are still very controversial, soft transport has been gaining more and more momentum in the main French cities. 40 years ago, the dream of some urban planners was to design sustainable cities, with zero CO2 emissions transport. Today, other than the environmental challenges that the left wants to tackle, and the need to decongest the city for the right, we are obliged to act for the decarbonization of our society.
The bicycle, in all its forms, will remain one of the simplest and most efficient means of transport. By taking advantage of current technological advances, it becomes even more essential and makes a strong contribution to this energy transition. Certainly, this speech is pleasant and we hear it more and more, but changes remain necessary for operators and transporters to participate more effectively in this democratization of carbon-free transport:
- Current laws and standards allowing an opening to new urban transport vehicles, mainly the VAE – Electrically Assisted Bicycle standard, which regulates, among other things, the power of the motors, must include a new chapter: cargo bikes;
- The economic model based on the useful life of a thermal vehicle (often over 5 years) + fuel consumption, must also evolve towards sustainable models and take into account use over 10-15 years (average life of a professional cargo bike) + extra energy;
- Urban infrastructure must adapt to changing models for supplying the city and give more priority to short production and distribution circuits.
But, rest assured, as you read this post, there are at least a hundred utility bikes rolling around the city transporting your goods, either directly to your home or to your favorite stores.
So we are back to the original question: “deliver the city by bike?” Serious ? »
At the last Autonomy 2018 show, I heard a figure that really interested me: in its current state and without any modification to the packaging, we could transport goods by bike on a daily basis! Half the goods, not bad!
And at the Eurobike 2018 show in Germany, I was delighted to see an entire hangar dedicated to cargo bikes; a range of manufacturers, offering solutions from the first to the last mile, multimodal and bicycle logistics. In addition, manufacturers and integrators of cargo bikes are now increasing the carrying capacity towards 2m3 – 300Kg, and certain models are capable of going up to 500Kg.
At the last supply chain meetings at La Défense, I appreciated seeing that operators are more open to multimodal systems combining different formulas and solutions. This opens the way to mixed fleets: cargo bikes working hand in hand with the freight tram, the freight train, the electric relay trucks, the cargo barge, etc.
Looking more closely at the City's policies, we can see this openness to the development of Urban or local Micro-Hubs, allowing bicycles to take over a neighborhood, districts and participate more easily in the supply chain.
Finally, a very important point: containerization and 3D internet projects will improve visibility regarding real m3 needs and in this way optimize vehicle fleets and optimal cargo for bicycles.
So, the market is ripe, bicycles are part of the logistics landscape, operators are doing more and more tests. At first glance, everything would seem conducive to the development of this model on a larger scale. But one point remains problematic: investments take time to unlock, we have difficulty taking a concrete step towards the transition! And it is also, clearly, one of the main reasons why our society is stuck in the era of oil and other fossil fuels.
This is precisely where I answer the question that I am so often asked: we are not going to transport everything by bike if we remain attached to oil, to current consumption patterns and to the design of our distribution networks. existing.
On the other hand, we are already and for several years increasing the number of packages distributed with zero CO2 emissions. Sustainable bicycle transport is by definition multimodal, it is part of soft networks, it is friendly to trucks (non-thermal), trains, boats (neither), trams and any other system allowing the transport of goods .
I also note that all the means mentioned here are already present in our cities and I leave the field of possibilities open for all new transport vehicles (drones, robots, autonomous vehicles, dedicated loops, etc.).
Finally, by comparing most European cities with those of other continents, we cannot deny the considerable advantages that they represent for bicycle transport:
- European metropolises are quite compact with a significant density in their centers, and from which you can travel the entire city or its half over a radius of 5 km (optimal maximum distance for Scooters). This is not the case in cities in the United States, for example, where the distances to travel between neighborhoods are sometimes very long and the car almost seems to be the only solution.
- In Europe, transport infrastructure is quite present. They surround the city and allow travel either in rings or in a star on large boulevards. Enough to think about the integration of a multimodal system with Hubs and bicycles ready for the last mile. Also, the main boulevards include preferential space for soft transport, such as cycle paths (or are in the process of being equipped). This is still not the case for Indian cities, for example.
- A river nearby? And yes, nothing better to compare the quantity of goods purchased on a daily basis. Here again, European cities mainly have this advantage!
I could cite other interesting attractions such as the fairly flat terrain or the urban wastelands to be exploited to develop relay spaces, for example…
But you have to end somewhere. Today we have 5 years of experience with cargo bikes. Committed to the development of this new delivery method, we participated in its integration into the urban landscape. We will now carry out an experiment to provide data on the optimal power for cargo ships and develop the VAE standard. We are also in the process of testing pallet transport, active cold and liquid on three-wheelers and two-wheelers.
Finally, major projects today include the bicycle as an essential link in the supply chain, so I cannot end this post other than by saying that bicycle transport is not a step backwards, but rather a real pedal forward! And with B-Moville at its helm, we are well on our way to the transition!
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