London housing association Peabody has taken delivery of its first electric micromobility vehicle in a move to cut emissions and travel time while improving resident services.
Supplied by Northgate, the e-cargo bike will halve the time it takes caretakers to travel between homes in the Earl’s Court area of West London, giving them more time to keep residents’ communal areas clean and tidy.
Able to travel about 25 miles on one charge, the vehicle can use bus lanes, reducing the time caretakers spend waiting in traffic, and will be easier to park, particularly when travelling between homes on West Cromwell Road, Earls Court Road and Fulham Road, which are on red routes with very limited parking.
Supplied by Northgate on a four-year long-term hire contract that includes battery charging, the e-cargo bike also costs roughly half as much as the smaller diesel vans Peabody currently uses in London.
It also slashes emissions compared to Peabody’s vans, which emit nearly two tonnes of carbon each a year. Switching its fleet to electric vehicles is one of the pledges of Peabody’s Sustainability Strategy. While vehicle emissions account for only a small part of the group’s overall carbon footprint, every small change helps.
Peabody has three electric vehicles on its fleet and is in the process of installing more chargers so caretakers and other colleagues who travel around London can switch to electric vehicles. If the e-cargo bike trial is successful, the Estate Services team will add more bikes in other neighbourhoods.
Eugene Brown, Peabody’s head of estate services for north west London, said: “There are lots of benefits to having a micromobility vehicle like this on our fleet.
“It is kinder to the environment than our traditional vehicles and will make it much easier for caretakers to move between estates with their equipment. By using bus lanes, it can avoid traffic jams and parking will be much easier as caretakers can park it in communal paved and garden areas while they service sites.”
Melanie Creedy, Northgate’s EV business development manager, said: “Since we launched our electric micromobility proposition in 2024, we have had many fleets such as Peabody trial the different types of vehicles that we have on offer.
“Feedback has been very positive as electric cargo bikes offer numerous benefits over standard vans in urban areas such as London where manoeuvrability, restricted parking and emission reduction are big considerations for operators. We look forward to supporting Peabody as it continues to grow its electric fleet.”
