Amazon has expanded its UK e-cargo bike fleet with the launch of three further micromobility delivery hubs in Manchester and London.
Unveiled as part of a five-year £300m (US$363m) investment in the electrification and decarbonization of the company’s UK transportation network, e-cargo bikes and walkers are now expected to make more than two million deliveries a year. These deliveries will take traditional delivery vans off the nation’s roads, alleviate downtown traffic congestion and improve air quality.
Amazon has opened these new hubs ahead of Black Friday to enable reduced emissions deliveries to customers during this busy shopping period. The hubs join Amazon’s existing central London e-cargo bike fleet which was recently announced in July 2022. Amazon has already made more than five million deliveries so far in 2022 using its e-cargo bikes and electric van fleet within London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone.
Making e-cargo bike deliveries to Manchester’s customers for the first time, Amazon’s electric delivery fleet will operate across the City of Manchester. New delivery hubs in London’s Wembley and Southwark will also more than triple the e-cargo bike fleet making deliveries to Amazon’s customers across the capital.
Amazon also this week announced further micromobility expansion plans across France and Italy. E-cargo bikes and on-foot deliveries are now operational from hubs in more than 20 cities across Europe. In addition to this delivery fleet expansion, Amazon is investing in thousands of chargers across its European facilities.
John Boumphrey, UK country manager, Amazon, said, “With more than €1bn (US$1bn) committed to electrifying and decarbonizing our European transportation network over the next five years, including more than £300m (US$363m) in the UK alone, we remain laser focused on reaching net carbon zero by 2040. These new hubs will not only bring our customers more electric-powered deliveries, but also support local authorities looking for ways to reduce congestion and find alternative transportation methods. We look forward to expanding our e-cargo bike fleet further in the coming months.”
Jesse Norman, UK decarbonization and technology minister, said, “E-cargo bikes can play a vital role in reducing emissions, and that’s why we’ve already helped hundreds of firms to use them for deliveries. With ever more people buying goods online, it’s more important than ever that we move to greener alternatives, and today’s announcement is one step closer to achieving that goal.”