Bike sharing biz delivers 30+ eCargo bikes in extended pilot scheme

Launched in June of 2021, bike sharing operator Bleeper partnered with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, and Smart Sandyford, delivering a pilot project which enabled businesses to trial BleeperBox eCargo bikes for the delivery of their products or services.

The original scheme, initiated by Director of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Robert Burns, and delivered by the staff of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, gave local businesses access to eCargo bikes at a discounted rate of €100 per month, enabling them to replace delivery/service trips which would otherwise have been taken by car or by van.

The success of the initial six month scheme resulted in new partnerships with Dublin City Council and Fingal Country Council, delivering more eCargo bikes via similar projects.

With the average car speed in the Dublin at peak times just 9.6 km/h, “the eCargo bike has really transformed our business,” says Reka, Manager Annie Bloom. “Before we got the bike we were spending a lot of money on diesel and wasting so much time sitting in traffic. It was frustrating on both a personal and a business level. Once we switched to the eCargo bike we never looked back. Our delivery riders love cycling them, and our customers are always delighted and intrigued when they see the eCargo bike delivering their goods.”

Today, more than 30 Raleigh eCargo bikes have been supplied to local Dublin businesses, with the projects touted by John Buckley, Head of Operations, Bleeper as “a great example of private and public sector cooperation and innovation, and how change can occur quickly when the desire for such change is there.”

Analysts foresee cargo bikes becoming big business as a result of courier firms adapting their inner city deliveries with smaller, more efficient and cost effective vehicles. DHL and Asda are among those currently trialing fleets.

Image (John Buckley/Bleeper)