How cargo bikes can help unclog London's congested roads

Waltham Forest's new zero-emissions delivery service aims to replace polluting trucks for local deliveries of food, online purchases and more

Each morning Oscar Godoy unlocks a door in a railway arch in north London, organises the day's deliveries, and assigns jobs to his cargo bike riders. They manoeuvre the hefty bikes from the narrow lane out on to the road, past assorted vehicles from the MOT garage, the car wash and vehicle repair outfits at either end.

In the afternoons Godoy does the deliveries himself. Two weeks after the scheme's launch he heads out, on an electric trike with a large white metal box across its rear axle, filled with the day's first consignment from a local organic vegetable box scheme.