Amazon has launched a ‘micromobility hub’ in London from which orders will be delivered on foot or by electric bike.
The new distribution site is located in the basement of Amazon’s London headquarters in Shoreditch, and will be exclusively served by bikes and walkers.
A spokesman told The Grocer there are “more hubs planned across the UK in the coming months”.
Far smaller than a typical Amazon distribution centre, the e-commerce giant forecasts the London hub will make more than one million customer deliveries every year.
“The new fleet of e-cargo bikes and walkers will directly replace thousands of traditional van trips on London’s roads and reduce traffic congestion,” Amazon said.
The electric cargo bikes are manufactured by Oxfordshire firm EAV. EAV cargo bikes have previously been used by Ocado, Asda and DPD.
It is the latest move by Amazon to improve the sustainability of its deliveries in London, which includes a growing fleet of electric vans.
The vans, e-bikes and walkers will make more than five million deliveries a year across more than 10% of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone postcode districts, Amazon said. This fleet of zero-emission vehicles “will expand further as more e-cargo delivery hubs are expected to launch”.
“Amazon is driving towards a global net zero carbon future,” said John Boumphrey, UK country manager at Amazon. “One way we’re doing that is through the transformation of our transportation networks. Our new e-cargo bikes, walkers and growing electric vehicle delivery fleet will help us make more zero-emission customer deliveries than ever before across London and the UK in the coming months,” he added.
The micromobility hub is supported by the London Borough of Hackney, with which Amazon worked closely ahead of the launch.
“Tackling transport emissions is key if we’re to reach net zero,” said Cllr Mete Coban, Hackney Council cabinet member for environment and transport. “We’re really pleased to have worked with Amazon to support them to take traditional vans off the streets and replace them with e-cargo bikes. This will help to reduce emissions and improve air quality for people in Hackney and beyond.”
Amazon has around 1,000 electric delivery vans on the road in the UK, which last year helped the company deliver more than 45 million packages. The company in March announced it was adding five electric heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) to its fleet for the first time in the UK.
The 37-tonne fully electric vehicles are now operating from Amazon’s fulfilment centres in Tilbury and Milton Keynes, transporting customer packages with zero tailpipe emissions and using battery power.
The vehicles replace diesel HGVs, resulting in up to 100,000 annual road miles fuelled with renewable electricity instead of diesel, preventing 170 tonnes of CO2e from being emitted. Four more fully electric HGVs will be added by the end of the year.
Amazon is pursuing its ‘Shipment Zero’ mission – to deliver 50% of Amazon orders with net zero carbon by 2030 – with the ultimate goal of being net zero carbon by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
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