Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Back to news
news
Transport
Bike post company doubles in size in first yearedinburgh-velopost-stamp

Bike post company doubles in size in first year

Velopost's Edinburgh operation delivers 1,200 items per month and is still growing 20% monthly...
by Laura Laker
Sun, Aug 23, 2015 16:45
8

A bike post company has seen its Edinburgh deliveries double in its first year, and it's showing no signs of slowing.

Velopost, which started in Bristol in 2011 and now has operations in Edinburgh and Bath too, will also be expanding to Glasgow. It now delivers 12,000 items per month in Edinburgh, a figure which is still growing 20% per month.

The company is proving popular as it's up to 33 per cent cheaper than conventional services, and is now having to take on more staff to cope with demand. 

Chief executive Joe Broadway told The Scotsman the more people hear about the business the more people switch over. 

He said: “We have more than 
doubled the collection volume we are carrying and the business has grown rapidly in the last six months.

“It’s starting to get a bit more notice.

“There has been a good uptake and we are getting a lot more interest from local businesses and health services. There’s quite a variety of people using the service, including charities and schools.

“The more letters you deliver the more people hear about you and ask about you.”

Its Edinburgh operation now employs 28 people and has a turnover of £2.5m. Broadway plans to introduce electric cars to the operation but insists the company will stay away from fossil fuels as much as possible.

He said: “Using no fossil fuels is central to the ethos of the business and everything we do. Our aim is to keep fossil fuels out of it completely.

“In 2012, the Royal Mail recorded that they were using over 200 tonnes of diesel every year in their delivery operations.

“We are trying to prove that we can deliver mail sustainably without sacrificing our business efficiency.

“We are trying to prove it is possible to do both. People can feel good about what they are doing environmentally by using this service and they can also save money. It’s a win win.”

The company has its own stamps peculiar to each city it operates in and is inviting Edinburgh customers to come up with a design to celebrate its first anniversary.

parcel
mail
Keep Posties Cycling
Edinburgh
Laura Laker

Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.

Add new comment

8 comments

Avatar
Carton | 9 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

“In 2012, the Royal Mail recorded that they were using over 200 tonnes of diesel every year in their delivery operations."

That's about 16,500 litres/month, which is likely under 45,000 miles/month. Perhaps that's supposed to be a per-truck figure?

Avatar
jova54 replied to Carton | 9 years ago
0 likes
Carton wrote:
Quote:

“In 2012, the Royal Mail recorded that they were using over 200 tonnes of diesel every year in their delivery operations."

That's about 16,500 litres/month, which is likely under 45,000 miles/month. Perhaps that's supposed to be a per-truck figure?

Check your maths. If you're equating 16,500 litres to 45,000 miles per month that's only about 3 miles per litre!

Figure is more like 450,000 miles/month which would probably be Royal Mail UK wide.

Avatar
kie7077 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Sub-title needs correction, 1,200 vs 12,000

Avatar
ron611087 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Just shows how wrong Royal Mail was in phasing out bicycle deliveries in 2014.

Avatar
rogermerriman replied to ron611087 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Na it's just a different scale/model really bare in mind each delivery office is delivering that amount every1-3 days.

Very few addresses don't get post even if it's junk every few days, for Royal Mail at least the days of using a fast transport like a bike is over hence the trollies and what not that can take large amounts.

But yes intresting to see how far these things can be taken.

Avatar
harrybav replied to rogermerriman | 9 years ago
0 likes

I think they use bikes and trikes in super successful euro postal services?

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to ron611087 | 9 years ago
0 likes
ron611087 wrote:

Just shows how wrong Royal Mail was in phasing out bicycle deliveries in 2014.

Surely it depends on how much mail you deliver and the population density of the area to which you are delivering? To be honest, a bike wouldn't be much use for delivering mail to every flat in a cluster of tower blocks.

Avatar
DrJDog replied to FluffyKittenofTindalos | 9 years ago
0 likes
FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:
ron611087 wrote:

Just shows how wrong Royal Mail was in phasing out bicycle deliveries in 2014.

Surely it depends on how much mail you deliver and the population density of the area to which you are delivering? To be honest, a bike wouldn't be much use for delivering mail to every flat in a cluster of tower blocks.

https://vimeo.com/62213380

Latest Comments