THE ease of getting ourselves and our things around, can enhance our lives connecting us to places and people. However, our current model of predominately car/bus for ourselves and diesel vans for our things have negative impacts on the economy, the environment and our health.

Forty per cent of CO2 emissions from transport come from urban areas, and 70 per cent of other transport related pollutants are emitted in urban areas (European Commission 2015 ). Congestion leads to a loss of one per cent of GDP a year in the European Union (European Commission, 2011 ); and according to the Royal College of Physicians air pollution is causing 40,000 premature deaths each year in the UK.

The rise of e-commerce and the use of diesel vans has increased the contribution of urban transport to these trends.

This is well known and documented – but is there a solution? Cargo bikes are a low impact alternative for transporting goods and people around cities. They are zero emissions vehicles and take up less space on the roads, thus reducing congestion. Cycle Logistics, an EU funded project, estimates that up to 51 per cent of all motorised trips in European Cities that involve transport of goods could be shifted to bikes or cargo bikes .

Could this be the future of transport within Oxford? On Thursday eight Oxford businesses that use cargo bikes met at the Broken Spoke Bike Coop. We heard their stories. They were the stories of common sense solutions – where bikes have made life easier, cut costs, or added a new dimension to a business.

With 70 per cent of the cost in the delivery chain incurred in the last mile, Pedal and Post are bidding for contracts with the big delivery companies to do that last mile for them – with cargo bikes. When Jimbobs Baguettes compared their lunch delivery costs, two people walking cost a lot more than one person on a bike. Their Pashley deli bike has already paid for itself in savings of staff time.

Want to cut your costs and have a mobile shop front which can also transport your goods? Both Happy Cakes and I Scream Oxford have grown their business this way. Happy Cakes’ bike holds a massive 400 cupcakes. Repair services also seem ripe for cargo bikes in Oxford. Compare the costs of visiting a number of cafes in the city centre to spend two hours in each one servicing coffee machines. Better by car or better by bike? Peter has done both and has found that by bike he can now make the servicing of coffee machines more affordable for independent coffee shops – good for him, good for them, and better coffee for us!

There was also much talk of load bearing, steering and handling a bike with heavy loads. Two wheel cargo bikes can fit in cycle lanes and beat the traffic. Keeping the heavy loads low also helps handling, and once you are going they are very stable. The biggest bugbear – potholes. It is not good for business if your cakes and sandwiches arrive unassembled and soggy due to the potholes on your route.

Interested in bike transport for your business? Contact Cyclox, the Broken Spoke or any of the businesses mentioned, they will be happy to advise and assist.