A new e-cargo bike service is being trialled in the Chiswick area to support businesses with an alternative zero-carbon delivery option.

Jeremy Vine demonstrating the service

Run by Hounslow Council and walking and cycling charity Sustrans, the service is being run completely free for businesses and provides a courier to premises to collect the items for delivery and deliver them in the local area. It’s able to deliver most items, apart from hot and perishable foods, delivering within a 2.5-mile radius of Chiswick.

An initial trial of the service at September’s Chiswick Flower Market has already shown the benefits. The service, which will continue to work with the market, recorded 40 deliveries, covering 110km and saving 30kg of carbon dioxide.

The trial is being run in partnership with London Bike Hub and Our High Road and will initially run on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 4:30pm and 7:30pm, but will be extended if demand increases.

Councillor Hanif Khan, cabinet member for transport at Hounslow Council, said: “This is a wonderful initiative that delivers on so many levels! To make our streets cleaner, healthier and safer for pedestrians and cyclists, we need to reduce the number of car trips being made and allow people space to socially distance while they shop. Using cargo bikes to do local deliveries is a great idea and offers local people great convenience when they are walking or cycling to the High Road.

“We would encourage local businesses to take advantage of this great new free service, especially in the run-up to Christmas. Hopefully it will prove to be very popular.”