Cyclelogistics: an example of daily bike use by a freelance professional

The urban logistics sector is expanding enormously thanks to e-commerce. Until recently, only shops had to be supplied through urban logistic channels because consumers operated the final leg of the logistics journey, from the shop to their home, themselves.

Today, however, with the increasing prevalence of online purchases it is necessary for the urban logistics network to be much denser: retailers and their logistic providers need to be able to reach every home. The food delivery sector is the best example of this, and it is no coincidence that bicycles are predominant.

But cycling can play an important role in many other areas, including the provision of services. An interesting example  of this is from Rome. Alessandro, a plumber since 1985 and passionate about cycling, is cycling every day in Rome's traffic to provide his professional services.

Alessandro currently owns three bikes, and uses them accordingly to the type of work required: a folding bike for the simplest cases, a city bike and a cargo bike for most complicated ones, the latter having an exceptional load capacity.

Bikes as a transport mode allow Alessandro to save a lot of money, as fuel, insurance and maintenance of a van are very expensive. However, the most important saving is perhaps the time. Most of his customers are located in the centre: in the past he had to wake up at 5 am to reach them, but now with the bike the alarm clock is set to 7 am. The time saved is dedicated to his family and children.

Thanks to the bike there are no parking problems and it is possible for him to get to the customer's house even in limited traffic areas. Another fundamental aspect is the management of customers: Alessandro tries to concentrate visits within a single neighbourhood on the same day, so to reduce the kilometres travelled, and be more efficient.

More generally, it is possible to enormously increase the role played by cycling in our cities, making them more liveable and safe. A minimum of adaptation is required, but as this case shows, the benefits are concrete and tangible.