Toronto should adopt more cargo biking, report says
As Toronto expands its cycling infrastructure, it needs to have more courier and delivery companies using bicycles, a local environmental group recommends in a new report.

TheStar.com
Oct. 17, 2017
Gilbert Ngabo

Toronto has the potential to move the cycling discussion a step further by adopting more cargo biking, a local environmental group recommends in a new report.

“If Toronto is going to be a true cycling city, let’s think beyond people and start thinking about how goods can also be moved more efficiently by bikes,” said Nithya Vijayakumar, a senior adviser on transportation and urban solutions at the Pembina Institute.

Vijayakumar is the author of the institute’s latest report that explores current cargo bike usage in Toronto and its potential for growth, as the city continues to expand its cycling infrastructure in an effort to make biking a more viable commuter option.

The study found there are about a dozen companies offering courier and delivery services in the city on cargo bikes. But the majority of them have very small fleets carrying single packages, and they mostly overlap in the densely populated downtown area.

“These companies currently have a low profile,” Vijayakumar said. By publishing the report, the Pembina Institute hopes to bring more businesses on board and encourage more companies to embrace cargo bikes.

Adopting cargo biking isn’t just about environmental benefits and getting cars off the road, she said. It also has the potential to move goods faster than vans and trucks, and reduce costs. A recent initiative in Manchester, U.K. found that where vans do six to eight drops per hour, electric cargo bikes make 10-12 drops, Vijayakumar added.

Among other recommendations, the report advocates creating a designation in the Highway Traffic Act that would allow electric cargo bikes that weigh more than 120 kilograms. That would permit larger carriers such as DHL, UPS and Canada Post to use bigger electric cargo bikes to replace their current delivery vans.

Municipalities should also set an example by replacing some of their fleet with cargo bikes for services such as park maintenance and street cleaning, the report adds. The city of Edmonton, for example, started using tricycles this summer to water the plants along the roads, Vijayakumar said.

“In Toronto we need to get to the next step and make cargo biking more widespread,” she added.