Amazon UK adds new electric cargo bikes for deliveries in line with its decarbonization push

Amazon UK revealed it has expanded its electric cargo bike fleet to handle deliveries in London and Manchester areas. The e-commerce company said that using this type of delivery has brought it closer to reaching its goal of net carbon zero by the year 2040.

Amazon UK said on Thursday, Nov. 24, that it employs around 75,000 permanent workers in the country, and many of them are working in the fulfillment and delivery hubs. It is adding three more micromobility delivery centers in London and one will be in Manchester, where the additional e-cargo bikes and walkers are set to be used.

As per Reuters, the move to expand the fleet is part of Amazon UK’s £300 million or about $359 million efforts for electrification and decarbonization of its delivery and transportation network in Britain. This is a five-year investment plan that was announced last month.

It was said that the company’s electric cargo bikes and walkers are expected to make over two million deliveries per year. As a result, the standard delivery vans will slowly be taken off the roads to help improve the air quality in addition to easing traffic congestion at the city center.

Prior to this expansion of e-bikes for deliveries, Amazon UK already started its decarbonization last year through the use of 1,000 electric vans for delivery. It also has five fully electric vehicles carrying heavy loads and with these, it has delivered more than 45 million packages in 2021 alone.

“With more than €1 billion committed to electrifying and decarbonizing our European transportation network over the next five years, including more than £300 million in the UK alone, we remain laser-focused on reaching net carbon zero by 2040,” Amazon UK’s country manager, John Boumphrey, said in a statement. “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, the country’s Decarbonisation and Technology Minister, further said that e-cargo bikes can surely contribute to lowering emissions, and this was why they have already helped many companies with the shift to this mode of delivery.

“With ever more people buying goods online, it is more important than ever that we move to greener alternatives, and today’s announcement is one step closer to achieving that goal,” he said.