E-bikes trialled at Bristol hospital to deliver goods

A new e-cargo bike scheme to deliver hospital goods in Bristol is to be trialled.

Goods and services have been previously been transported using diesel vans but now the West of England Combined Authority has invested £920,000 on using e-bikes instead.

The trial will monitor the carbon savings of the bikes in comparison to the vans using a GPS tracker.

A year-long trial will take place from June for 12 months.

Sam Willitts, one of the trial participants from the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI), said the e-bikes offer a greener solution.

He said: "It is a massive shift away from fossil fuels, it's reducing our carbon emissions and its cleaner air.

"We really don't want to be contributing to the health impacts of transporting things around the hospital sites."

Recent estimates suggest e-cargo bikes deliver about 60% faster than diesel vans and cut carbon emissions by 90%.

A GPS tracker will be used in the trial to measure emissions.

Paul Griffiths, who is also a part of the BRI trial, said they can use bus lanes on the bikes, allowing them to get around quicker.

He said: "We're going to be transporting all devices, laptops, desktops, printers and screens and some medical supplies and notes.

"The parking with these is ten times easier than the massive vans and we can use bus lanes which is much quicker as well."

Metro mayor Dan Norris, who was also a supporter of the e-scooter roll out across Bristol, joined the trial at the BRI.

Mr Norris said: "If we are going to reach our ambitious net-zero targets, we urgently need to put on the brakes and re-evaluate how goods move across our region.

"I've spoken to many smaller businesses who sing the praises of electric bikes, but getting these larger organisations to sign up is a significant step."

The University of the West of England and Bath Spa University are also joining the trial.