Amazon has announced an expansion of its e-cargo bike fleet, with the introduction of three new micromobility hubs in Manchester and London.
Part of a five-year, £300 million investment in the electrification and decarbonisation of its UK network, Amazon said more than two million deliveries will now be made by e-cargo bike and on foot, reducing the number of delivery vans on the streets.
The three new micromobility hubs were opened ahead of Black Friday (25th November), to coincide with the busy shopping period.
“With more than €1 billion committed to electrifying and decarbonising 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,” said John Boumphrey, UK country manager for Amazon. “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.”
“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,” said Decarbonisation and Technology Minister, Jesse Norman. “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.”
Amazon’s electric delivery fleet will also operate across the City of Manchester, and will include the launch of e-cargo bike deliveries to the city’s customers for the first time. New delivery hubs based 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.
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More than 1,000 electric delivery vans are already in operation on UK roads, in addition to five fully electric Heavy Goods Vehicles – these 37-tonne vehicles are among the first in the UK, the first in Amazon’s fleet, and replace traditional diesel trucks.