Colchester to introduce e-cargo bikes for greener future

At the Northern Gateway Leisure Park yesterday, county cabinet members, travel consultants, and sustainability experts gathered to promote what is known as the e-cargo bike – Colchester’s answer to the cycle-centric cities of Utrecht and Amsterdam.

Although a date has yet to be confirmed for their introduction, a fleet of e-cargo bikes is set to line up in Sir Isaac’s Walk later this summer, with Colchester the first town in Essex to take up the pilot designed to improve businesses’ efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint.

With their bulky storage units, e-cargo bikes are more functional than they are aesthetic; getting behind the handlebars has you feeling as if it’s the first time you’ve rode on two wheels before, though it is a feeling you gradually adapt to.

Underlining Essex County Council’s commitment to e-cargo bikes, Lee Scott – the cabinet member for highways maintenance and sustainable transport – said the council had already purchased several of the bikes to offer to businesses as part of a free trial.

William Bramhill, who founed Colchester Cycling Campaign in 1990, is keen to see e-cargo bikes gain popularity in Colchester – Photo by Seana Hughes

The forthcoming introduction of e-cargo bikes to Colchester follows Essex County Council’s application to the Department for Transport’s e-cargo bike grant fund, with the authority receiving £3.9m for the scheme since 2019.

It is expected that the take-up of e-cargo bikes will be most prominent amongst smaller businesses which transport and deliver goods more locally – but the key question remaining is whether Colchester has the infrastructure to introduce them.

The answer from Mr Scott is no, or at least, not yet.

He said: “The infrastructure isn’t currently there, but through the government’s active travel fund that’s something we are trying to change.

“We are determined to try and take this forward – it’s an educational thing and it’s about getting the message through.

“There’s no easy infrastructure [but] over a period of time it can develop – it won’t happen overnight.”

Ray Gray, who is 55 and has been a carpenter all his career, said he wanted to prove to people Colchester can be greener and more innovative.

He said: “I’m crossing two of the most polluted streets in Colchester, Brook Street and Magdalen Street, every single day.

“Since January, I’ve not done one mile in a van because the bike is big enough for everything I need.

Lee Pugh and Lee Scott are both major advocates of the e-cargo bike scheme – Photo by Seana Hughes

“I want to be seen and I want to show that we can make Colchester greener and cleaner – not for my sake, but for my children and their children.”

Emily Harrup, who is the transport and sustainability officer at Colchester Council, said: “I’m a confident cyclist, but I’m not the norm.

“Although people see the cycle lanes and say, ‘no-one is in the cycle lanes’, we’re building for the future – once people get on the e-cargo bikes and get to know the capability of them, that’s when people start to get excited about [their potential].”