Royal Mail has come a long way since cute, boxy Postman Pat delivery vans. These days in the capital you’ll see the company doing its rounds with rides of all shapes and sizes, from classic-looking hybrid vans to dinky ‘micro electric vehicles’ and hand-pushed carts.
Soon, however, an all-new kind of delivery vehicle will hit London’s streets. Royal Mail is launching its first-ever electric cargo cycles. Called the ‘Minimal Pedal 4’, it’s been designed by Minimal and made in Park Royal, west London.
The Pedal 4 is effectively a levelled-up electric bike designed specifically to deliver post in cities. The zero-emission cycle isn’t just green – contributing to Royal Mail’s net-zero target of 2040 – but could seriously speed up delivery times. The idea is that each postie has their own wheels (rather than sharing a van), thereby streamlining routes.
Plus, the Pedal 4 can operate on roads (so long as there’s a speed limit of up to 30mph) but also on cycle lanes, cycle paths and greenways. Interestingly, posties won’t need a driving licence to drive one, opening up Royal Mail careers to more people.
Royal Mail’s delivery design manager Mark Riley said that the new cycles will ‘help reduce emissions and improve air quality in the communities we serve, while creating new opportunities for people to join Royal Mail’.
Exactly when might you see one of the e-cargo bikes trundling around London? Well, any day now. The first 20 Minimal Pedal 4s are being deployed this month across cities including London, Brighton and Cambridge.
Did you see that Eurostar is launching a brand-new direct train route from London to Belgium?
Plus: a busy street in Knightsbridge is getting a green, pedestrian-friendly makeover.
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