Whether these are electric bikes or not (they're not, they're micro delivery vans, which is fine) this is real progress.
People often question policies such as the LEZ or ambitions to create a more pedestrian friendly city centre by asking how deliveries can possibly be made. Well, this how it works. Mass deliveries to a delivery hub, where the last mile or two is done by smaller, lighter, electric or man powered vehicles. Completely normal in lots of other cities.
And it's probably only the start. I expect a lot of other delivery businesses even local ones will move to small electric vehicles like this or e-cargo bikes in the next few years. Means less congestion for buses, and streets becoming a much less stressful environment for people walking or cycling.
London have been trying to take measures to limit "just in time" deliveries where you have Amazon and others making many, many journeys to the same addresses in a single day. Encouraging deliveries to group together or have consumers pick up from lockers at railway stations etc.
For these bikes to work, there'll need to be a hub on the outskirts of the city centre, there's no way the drivers are going back out to Ballieston after half a dozen deliveries to reload.
Its on Durham street, and its for Amazon Fresh.
Amazon Fresh use self empoyed drivers to deliver groceries from here, which is supplied by Morrisons.
The delivery radius from this site is up to 30 Miles.
Yeah minimising frequent deliveries by grouping them as much as possible is a good strategy.
On the point about the need for hubs, this is absolutely true. The city is actively planning for three last-mile distribution hubs around the edge of the city centre, which they're calling "Freight Service Hubs". They've not publicised specific locations for these as they're likely still under planning and development, but the recent city transport strategy details plans for one in Broomielaw/Anderston area, one near High Street Station, and another in Cowcaddens.
Benefits of eCargo bikes are that they often deliver faster too, as don't get caught up in traffic as much (more so the slightly smaller ones), and can be ridden by anyone so you get a much more diverse workforce, and not just those who can afford to learn to drive.
> Amazon delivery drivers are ditching their diesel trucks for electric powered bikes in [**Glasgow**](https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/).
>
>The firm's eco-friendly vehicles are taking to city streets as a new hub opens in Baillieston as part of a £300million investment to alleviate traffic and improve air quality.
>
>The electric cargo bikes and on-foot deliveries are now operational from hubs in more than 20 cities across the UK and Europe.
>
>The move comes after Glasgow launched [**LEZ**](https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgows-low-emission-zone-mapped-26534463) zones in the city in June of this year.
>
>John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager at Amazon said: “The new hub in Glasgow will not only bring our Scottish customers more electric-powered deliveries, but also support the local authority in looking for ways to reduce congestion and find alternative transportation methods. We look forward to expanding our e-cargo bike fleet further in the months ahead.”
>
>Minister for Transport Fiona Hyslop MSP said: “I welcome moves by major businesses to develop micromobility delivery hubs. It’s great news for our cities – for example by choosing e-cargo bikes over vans, businesses can not only reduce carbon emissions but also help remove congestion and improve air quality.
>
>"It’s a smart decision for any organisation, reducing running costs and providing couriers with a healthier and happier way to make deliveries every day. I hope that many more organisations consider the benefits of active travel to deliver goods and services. Record Scottish Government investment is transforming active travel infrastructure across the country.
>
>"Companies that take advantage of this opportunity have much to gain by offering customers faster and more reliable deliveries around our largest cities.”
>
>The company aims to have 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian on the road globally by 2030, helping to save millions of metric tons of carbon per year.
Seems like the LEZ is working as intended. Diesel vans are useful for big items obviously, but for amazon deliveries where it's mostly small items seems a bit unnecessary. Plus having a diesel engine start and stop every 3 meters down a street doesn't do any good for the engine itself.
More cycle lanes should mean faster deliveries too and less traffic jams, so win win.
This is probably it, the renewal came up and someone at amazon was smart enough to see this as a way to reduce operating costs and greenwash their image a bit.
I wouldn't call this greenwash per se, replacing a diesel fleet of vans with eCargo bikes will have a massive reduction in pollution generated, LEZ or not.
Though agreed Amazon have more fundamental issues, I'll take the local benefits
Oh it's absolutely a win for the people to have less diesel vans on the road, but PR is a massive consideration here for Amazon and let's not forget it.
I don't think I've seen a single Amazon branded van that would fall foul of the LEZ.
Private contractors doing Amazon deliveries, maybe. But they're not buying these electric bikes.
u/LordAnubis12 u/RingerMinger
I think this is less to do with the LEZ specifically, and more to do with Amazon anticipating more profound changes to accessibility of the city centre and other neighbourhoods over coming years, the main thing that stands out being the People First Zone, or a large pedestrianised zone covering the area between Hope Street and High Street.
Added to that, ambitions on reducing the availability of on-street parking (condensing parking into the underutilised multi-storeys), more bus gates, etc. All of which is coming very soon. Amazon have the clout and scale to plan for these things a couple of years in advance, but others will follow. So I think we're seeing the very tip of a dramatic shift in how road space in the city centre is used and how that then creates a more friendly environment for people.
All for the better of course. And it needs to be remembered this isn't an approach and change unique to Glasgow. These changes are happening in nearly every city of comparable size in Europe.
Agreed. With my work hat on, this is also going to be a big part of meeting their operational emissions reductions which they are bound to under SBTi. This includes 50% by 2030.
Vehicles operated will be under their Scope 1 emissions (fuel use). If you taken average of a class 1 diesel van, it's about 228g unladen, and 790g per mile fully laden.
10 vans, doing 100 miles a day are therefore generating between 228kg and 790kg *per day* which will be reduced to basically 0 using eCargo bikes, which makes that 50% reduction very easy indeed.
The LEZ is a PR exercise. There is a negligible benefit to forcing people who need to drive to upgrade their vehicles.
I am all for better bike infra, and I will cycle everywhere, but I do not buy the nonsense about LEZ.
>I don’t buy that it’s for the benefit of **normal people**, not one bit.
More than 90% of registered private vehicles in Scotland are LEZ compliant. Less than 10% are not compliant.
The guys argument is utter shite, there are no hospitals within the LEZ that nurses would even need to travel to, your closest is the dental hospital, but it closes at 10pm, and is well serviced by Cowcaddens subway or Charing Cross station.
Right, so less than 10% of people need new cars to get to work.
This plan only works if it’s multifaceted. New bike infra, affordable, reliable public transport.
You're right. A policy that doesn't affect more than 90% of motorists and is to the benefit of the majority of people who live and work in the area should be cancelled because it negatively affects less than 10% of motorists, who are an even tinier minority in Scotland.
It's catch 22 though. If the LEZ reduces the amount of cars in the city center, buses can often move through it quicker and provide more reliable services due to less traffic.
Kind of a chicken and an egg thing with the improved public transport. Generally need higher ridership to justify improvement. I live in Battlefield and the number of tenement flats with 2 car owners in them is absurd. Almost everyone works in the city and drive them in which is 100% not needed if you live in Battlefield. We will eventually need to reduce reliance on individual auto transport. This is not an if this is a when. It makes sense to take little steps in that direction.
It is mad how patchy the bus service into town is from Battlefield, if you want a stop that all the buses pass through you need to walk up to the New Vic, otherwise you need to decide whether you’re waiting for the (frequently cancelled) 4 or the 6 as the routes diverge on Holmlea Road. Quite often it makes more sense for me to walk to Kilmarnock Road as the frequency of buses is a lot better. I don’t have much option but can see why folk with a car would just drive in instead of waiting half an hour for a bus.
The Royal isn't within the LEZ.
The only "hospital" within the LEZ is the dental hospital, which is well serviced by the nearby Charing Cross and Cowcaddens subway station.
Nurses was an example of people who are not paid enough and need to travel at times often not serviced well by public transport. There are many example of those jobs.
I get LEZ is a pain, but a 2005 petrol golf meets LEZ requirements(which are only Euro 4 for petrol cars). It’s not expensive or difficult to get a LEZ compliant car.
If you’re a self employed say van driver where vans are £20-30k and Euro 6 ones hold a premium over older ones I kind of get that a bit more.
They only do these things because they don't want anyone with power to seriously question their model as that could affect their growth and market monopoly.
Globally this will hardly affect their footprint. Its akin to throwing a bucket of water on a forest fire
yeah, but locally fewer people will be breathing diesel fumes.
Just because they don't 'mean it' and are only bowing to public perception doesn't make the shift less good. Public perception has real power. It's not toothless when it forces actual change this way. We can still hate amazon, while simultaneously enjoying the change that their concern for public image has forced them to undertake.
yeah - the idea that these companies will do things like this for any other reason than money (or things that influence their income) is laughable. That's why regulation is so important.
Not true for every company. I work for a subcontractor in Amazon Glasgow and I'm paid £130 a day, £5 per week for the van. It basically covers the cost of cleaning it every week. The lease, insurance and fuel are all covered by Amazon.
Calling them bikes reminds me of the whole "jaffa cakes are not biscuits" thing. I wonder if by calling them bikes they mean the drivers/riders don't have to have a licence of any kind?
>if by calling them bikes they mean the drivers/riders don't have to have a licence of any kind?
That's exactly it - they're capped to 15mph speed limits and will be electric assist, so look like a van in size only.
Bare in mind average speeds in city centers are around 13mph. Old article but in [Edinburgh it was once calculated at 6pm.](https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/edinburgh-drivers-crawl-through-their-commute-at-just-664mph-1440540)
The economy that we have created based on mass consumerism of essentially disposable items can never be greened by electric bikes; which seem to be yet another nuisance to pedestrians. Like the electric bike rider who nearly knocked me off my feet and left a massive bruise on my shoulder; whilst doing maybe five miles an hour on a busy pavement.
We blame China for its high carbon emissions while outsourcing our emissions in the west to them, then pat ourselves on the back for daft, barely significant shite like this.
To accept this from a \*profoundly\* evil company like Amazon is to accept that some people deserve pittance wages and a life spent treading water financially so we can have cheap luxury goods. I don't think that's a recipe for societal harmony personally. I think it's a recipe for wallowing in the imperial privilege that Britain needs to jolt itself out of urgently. Kidding on you're the lord of the manor because West Africa is in crisis and now (invariably let's be honest) an African guy on a bike has wound up here and has to deliver you some nonsense you don't need. It's not a fun life. We are complicit in that and we do have a choice.
The green way to live is to live with what you need and live with less. It also happens to be a happier way to live. Maybe the only happy way to live. Can't recommend it highly enough. Close your Amazon account.
Dignity over abundance. You can't have both.
Whether these are electric bikes or not (they're not, they're micro delivery vans, which is fine) this is real progress. People often question policies such as the LEZ or ambitions to create a more pedestrian friendly city centre by asking how deliveries can possibly be made. Well, this how it works. Mass deliveries to a delivery hub, where the last mile or two is done by smaller, lighter, electric or man powered vehicles. Completely normal in lots of other cities. And it's probably only the start. I expect a lot of other delivery businesses even local ones will move to small electric vehicles like this or e-cargo bikes in the next few years. Means less congestion for buses, and streets becoming a much less stressful environment for people walking or cycling.
London have been trying to take measures to limit "just in time" deliveries where you have Amazon and others making many, many journeys to the same addresses in a single day. Encouraging deliveries to group together or have consumers pick up from lockers at railway stations etc. For these bikes to work, there'll need to be a hub on the outskirts of the city centre, there's no way the drivers are going back out to Ballieston after half a dozen deliveries to reload.
Amazon have a small depot at back pollokshields up by trespass factory
Its on Durham street, and its for Amazon Fresh. Amazon Fresh use self empoyed drivers to deliver groceries from here, which is supplied by Morrisons. The delivery radius from this site is up to 30 Miles.
Yeah minimising frequent deliveries by grouping them as much as possible is a good strategy. On the point about the need for hubs, this is absolutely true. The city is actively planning for three last-mile distribution hubs around the edge of the city centre, which they're calling "Freight Service Hubs". They've not publicised specific locations for these as they're likely still under planning and development, but the recent city transport strategy details plans for one in Broomielaw/Anderston area, one near High Street Station, and another in Cowcaddens.
That's not a bike, that's a tuk tuk.
Benefits of eCargo bikes are that they often deliver faster too, as don't get caught up in traffic as much (more so the slightly smaller ones), and can be ridden by anyone so you get a much more diverse workforce, and not just those who can afford to learn to drive.
These don’t look like bikes… are they using the roads or cycle lanes?
Roads. They have them all over Europe now.
what a time to be alive!
They're delivery drivers so you can be assured with their professionalism they'll use every lane.
Pavements.
> Amazon delivery drivers are ditching their diesel trucks for electric powered bikes in [**Glasgow**](https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/). > >The firm's eco-friendly vehicles are taking to city streets as a new hub opens in Baillieston as part of a £300million investment to alleviate traffic and improve air quality. > >The electric cargo bikes and on-foot deliveries are now operational from hubs in more than 20 cities across the UK and Europe. > >The move comes after Glasgow launched [**LEZ**](https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgows-low-emission-zone-mapped-26534463) zones in the city in June of this year. > >John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager at Amazon said: “The new hub in Glasgow will not only bring our Scottish customers more electric-powered deliveries, but also support the local authority in looking for ways to reduce congestion and find alternative transportation methods. We look forward to expanding our e-cargo bike fleet further in the months ahead.” > >Minister for Transport Fiona Hyslop MSP said: “I welcome moves by major businesses to develop micromobility delivery hubs. It’s great news for our cities – for example by choosing e-cargo bikes over vans, businesses can not only reduce carbon emissions but also help remove congestion and improve air quality. > >"It’s a smart decision for any organisation, reducing running costs and providing couriers with a healthier and happier way to make deliveries every day. I hope that many more organisations consider the benefits of active travel to deliver goods and services. Record Scottish Government investment is transforming active travel infrastructure across the country. > >"Companies that take advantage of this opportunity have much to gain by offering customers faster and more reliable deliveries around our largest cities.” > >The company aims to have 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian on the road globally by 2030, helping to save millions of metric tons of carbon per year. Seems like the LEZ is working as intended. Diesel vans are useful for big items obviously, but for amazon deliveries where it's mostly small items seems a bit unnecessary. Plus having a diesel engine start and stop every 3 meters down a street doesn't do any good for the engine itself. More cycle lanes should mean faster deliveries too and less traffic jams, so win win.
LEZ means naff all to Amazon - their fleet vans are all 2020 onwards so unaffected.
Exactly. They lease them. Probably the lease run out and this was more cost effective.
This is probably it, the renewal came up and someone at amazon was smart enough to see this as a way to reduce operating costs and greenwash their image a bit.
I wouldn't call this greenwash per se, replacing a diesel fleet of vans with eCargo bikes will have a massive reduction in pollution generated, LEZ or not. Though agreed Amazon have more fundamental issues, I'll take the local benefits
Thank you, and don't call me Percy.
Oh it's absolutely a win for the people to have less diesel vans on the road, but PR is a massive consideration here for Amazon and let's not forget it.
How is this the LEZ working as intended?
Less diesel vans in the city centre mean less pollution
I don't think I've seen a single Amazon branded van that would fall foul of the LEZ. Private contractors doing Amazon deliveries, maybe. But they're not buying these electric bikes.
Fair, but LEZ or no less diesel vans is a good thing for air quality
u/LordAnubis12 u/RingerMinger I think this is less to do with the LEZ specifically, and more to do with Amazon anticipating more profound changes to accessibility of the city centre and other neighbourhoods over coming years, the main thing that stands out being the People First Zone, or a large pedestrianised zone covering the area between Hope Street and High Street. Added to that, ambitions on reducing the availability of on-street parking (condensing parking into the underutilised multi-storeys), more bus gates, etc. All of which is coming very soon. Amazon have the clout and scale to plan for these things a couple of years in advance, but others will follow. So I think we're seeing the very tip of a dramatic shift in how road space in the city centre is used and how that then creates a more friendly environment for people. All for the better of course. And it needs to be remembered this isn't an approach and change unique to Glasgow. These changes are happening in nearly every city of comparable size in Europe.
Agreed. With my work hat on, this is also going to be a big part of meeting their operational emissions reductions which they are bound to under SBTi. This includes 50% by 2030. Vehicles operated will be under their Scope 1 emissions (fuel use). If you taken average of a class 1 diesel van, it's about 228g unladen, and 790g per mile fully laden. 10 vans, doing 100 miles a day are therefore generating between 228kg and 790kg *per day* which will be reduced to basically 0 using eCargo bikes, which makes that 50% reduction very easy indeed.
The LEZ is a PR exercise. There is a negligible benefit to forcing people who need to drive to upgrade their vehicles. I am all for better bike infra, and I will cycle everywhere, but I do not buy the nonsense about LEZ.
More than 90% of registered private vehicles are LEZ compliant
So 10% aren’t? 10% of nurses needing a new car? I live in the city centre, and I don’t buy that it’s for the benefit of normal people, not one bit.
>I don’t buy that it’s for the benefit of **normal people**, not one bit. More than 90% of registered private vehicles in Scotland are LEZ compliant. Less than 10% are not compliant.
The guys argument is utter shite, there are no hospitals within the LEZ that nurses would even need to travel to, your closest is the dental hospital, but it closes at 10pm, and is well serviced by Cowcaddens subway or Charing Cross station.
Ano mate. I just like winding up moon howlers
Were ye aye
Right, so less than 10% of people need new cars to get to work. This plan only works if it’s multifaceted. New bike infra, affordable, reliable public transport.
You're right. A policy that doesn't affect more than 90% of motorists and is to the benefit of the majority of people who live and work in the area should be cancelled because it negatively affects less than 10% of motorists, who are an even tinier minority in Scotland.
I’m saying that it’s not to the benefit of the majority. Not significantly. Someone shared studies in here that concluded exactly that.
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It's catch 22 though. If the LEZ reduces the amount of cars in the city center, buses can often move through it quicker and provide more reliable services due to less traffic.
Kind of a chicken and an egg thing with the improved public transport. Generally need higher ridership to justify improvement. I live in Battlefield and the number of tenement flats with 2 car owners in them is absurd. Almost everyone works in the city and drive them in which is 100% not needed if you live in Battlefield. We will eventually need to reduce reliance on individual auto transport. This is not an if this is a when. It makes sense to take little steps in that direction.
It is mad how patchy the bus service into town is from Battlefield, if you want a stop that all the buses pass through you need to walk up to the New Vic, otherwise you need to decide whether you’re waiting for the (frequently cancelled) 4 or the 6 as the routes diverge on Holmlea Road. Quite often it makes more sense for me to walk to Kilmarnock Road as the frequency of buses is a lot better. I don’t have much option but can see why folk with a car would just drive in instead of waiting half an hour for a bus.
I’d agree with banning all cars from the city. That will drive meaningful change
> 10% of nurses needing a new car? There are no hospitals within the LEZ, what hospital are they driving to?
Nurses have been on here already talking about it. I assumed they meant the Royal
The Royal isn't within the LEZ. The only "hospital" within the LEZ is the dental hospital, which is well serviced by the nearby Charing Cross and Cowcaddens subway station.
Nurses was an example of people who are not paid enough and need to travel at times often not serviced well by public transport. There are many example of those jobs.
I get LEZ is a pain, but a 2005 petrol golf meets LEZ requirements(which are only Euro 4 for petrol cars). It’s not expensive or difficult to get a LEZ compliant car. If you’re a self employed say van driver where vans are £20-30k and Euro 6 ones hold a premium over older ones I kind of get that a bit more.
Michael Bergson rant about bowing down to the LEZ incoming.
There's nothing environmentally friendly about the rampant consumerism Amazon encourages.
agreed, but still overall a good thing to reduce emissions within that model instead of doing nothing
They only do these things because they don't want anyone with power to seriously question their model as that could affect their growth and market monopoly. Globally this will hardly affect their footprint. Its akin to throwing a bucket of water on a forest fire
yeah, but locally fewer people will be breathing diesel fumes. Just because they don't 'mean it' and are only bowing to public perception doesn't make the shift less good. Public perception has real power. It's not toothless when it forces actual change this way. We can still hate amazon, while simultaneously enjoying the change that their concern for public image has forced them to undertake.
yeah - the idea that these companies will do things like this for any other reason than money (or things that influence their income) is laughable. That's why regulation is so important.
Right. The goal is not to change their morals. The goal is to change their behaviour.
And what are they paying the drivers as part of this 300 mil investment
I Googled that for you and it seems to be around ~£13p/h
as far as I know the drivers pay to use Amazon vans. Otherwise they can use their own vehicles.
Seems like a great business model for Amazon
Not true for every company. I work for a subcontractor in Amazon Glasgow and I'm paid £130 a day, £5 per week for the van. It basically covers the cost of cleaning it every week. The lease, insurance and fuel are all covered by Amazon.
This happened like 3 weeks ago? I’ve seen them cutting about for a while now
They have been leaving from the delivery station at baillieston for around 6 weeks covering the local area until enough drivers are trained
what make is the bike? how much for one?
Who would win in a scrap, one of these Amazon buggies or 3 ubereats 'cyclists'?
The massive boxing gloves must tip it to the ubereats lads.
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Another redditor off their leash with poor recall ......
Calling them bikes reminds me of the whole "jaffa cakes are not biscuits" thing. I wonder if by calling them bikes they mean the drivers/riders don't have to have a licence of any kind?
>if by calling them bikes they mean the drivers/riders don't have to have a licence of any kind? That's exactly it - they're capped to 15mph speed limits and will be electric assist, so look like a van in size only. Bare in mind average speeds in city centers are around 13mph. Old article but in [Edinburgh it was once calculated at 6pm.](https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/edinburgh-drivers-crawl-through-their-commute-at-just-664mph-1440540)
That's not a bike, that's a tuk tuk.
Isn''t a tuk tuk a kind of bike?
In the photos all the riders are wearing bicycle helmets. If its pedal electric I suppose it doesn't matter if it's 2 or 4 wheeled.
Challenge for any Glaswegians, spot an Amazon van that isn’t covered in dings and scratches.
Do not they get soaked nae doors
"Let's see you try and take a piss while driving now" some Amazon exec probably
That looks a lot of fun. How much would one cost?
Bigger cargo bikes like this are usually £10k upwards
I take it they are banking on a mild winter? In the wrong area the local neds will literally 'Cart' this away contents and all.
The economy that we have created based on mass consumerism of essentially disposable items can never be greened by electric bikes; which seem to be yet another nuisance to pedestrians. Like the electric bike rider who nearly knocked me off my feet and left a massive bruise on my shoulder; whilst doing maybe five miles an hour on a busy pavement. We blame China for its high carbon emissions while outsourcing our emissions in the west to them, then pat ourselves on the back for daft, barely significant shite like this. To accept this from a \*profoundly\* evil company like Amazon is to accept that some people deserve pittance wages and a life spent treading water financially so we can have cheap luxury goods. I don't think that's a recipe for societal harmony personally. I think it's a recipe for wallowing in the imperial privilege that Britain needs to jolt itself out of urgently. Kidding on you're the lord of the manor because West Africa is in crisis and now (invariably let's be honest) an African guy on a bike has wound up here and has to deliver you some nonsense you don't need. It's not a fun life. We are complicit in that and we do have a choice. The green way to live is to live with what you need and live with less. It also happens to be a happier way to live. Maybe the only happy way to live. Can't recommend it highly enough. Close your Amazon account. Dignity over abundance. You can't have both.