Sainsbury’s has launched what it claims is the UK’s first grocery delivery service by electric cargo bike in its latest city delivery trial.
The company is trialling a fleet of five zero emission bikes which will service South London from the company’s Streatham Common store. The bikes will deliver up to 100 orders a day to local customers who’ve ordered online.
Sainsbury’s is partnering with e-cargobikes.com for the trial, which will test whether delivering groceries by electric cargo bike could be a more efficient way of getting groceries to customers living in busy cities.
The bikes are able to go in the cycle lanes as well as park closer to homes than can sometimes be possible with traditional delivery vans.
Routing technology will help to determine which orders are delivered by a traditional van or by electric cargo bike. The bikes and their riders will be Sainsbury’s branded.
“We’re delighted to be the first supermarket to trial grocery deliveries by electric cargo bikes,” said Clodagh Moriarty, director of online at Sainsbury’s. “We’re always looking for new ways to make sure we can best serve our customers and this trial will help us explore whether there might be a more flexible way to deliver Sainsbury’s groceries to those who live in busy cities.”
Image credit: Sainsbury’s
