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news
Christiania cargo bike (London Green Cycles).jpgHomebase trials cargo bikes
Homebase has introduced a cargo bike programme at two of its stores: in London (Finchley Road) and Cambridge (Retail Park, Newmarket Road). London Green Cycles reports that Homebase is offering free use of its Christiania bikes so that customers can more easily take home bulky or heavy purchases.
The trial will run for 12 weeks and the idea is that customers will be able to make an impulse buy when they wouldn’t have considered having to carry something large back home. The bike, which comes with a rain tent, a helmet and a heavy duty lock, is said to be suitable for up to 100kg, plus the rider.
To hire one of the cargo bikes, you first have to fill out a couple of forms. You are then given a quick demonstration and you’re good to go.
In a blog post yesterday, London Green Cycles said that half a dozen requests had been made so far, “mostly by ‘chaps’ and mainly during the weekend.”
The news comes a month after Sainsbury’s announced a cargo bike trial in which the supermarket’s couriers will deliver up to 20 items to people’s homes within the hour – the first time the company has used bikes in 130 years.
Sainsbury’s new trial service costs £4.99 per delivery, but for now is only available in parts of South and West London, and only to iPhone users.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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15 comments
It makes a lot of sense in the right location. London has developments which are now built with minimal or even zero parking. That's a planning policy based on them being near to public transport hubs. So that means a generation of new homeowners without easy car access, but still as likely to take carry out DIY tasks as new homeowners do.
Homebase has also moved into the direction of homeware rather than just DIY, so it's probably more with an eye to soft furnishing and flatpack rather than bags of cement.
Not sure about the Finchley Rd choice, that's a fairly motor centric part of London as far as I know the area.
If we get CS11 in this will help, providing local pro-Regent's Park rat-running and wannabe Hampstead tory-mayor Jessica L C doesn't get things diluted or held up).
You would certainly need some good gearing or electric assistance to get up some of the hills though - especially with cement or bathroom fittings.
I should have mentioned CS11, for those outside London it's the same area. Makes it easy for everyone to understand what it's like NOW. Trial is just 12 weeks, hence why I think it's an odd location to use, I certainly wouldn't ride that around Swiss Cottage!
Maybe they know something I don't about the more cycle friendly boroughs, do Hipsters not do DIY?
My Waitrose used to lend out a Bike-hod trailer. For those extra big shops. Don't know if they still do.
And this is good for those who cycle to their local homebase, buy something too big for the bag, borrow this, take it back and pick up your bike. Looks big enough for a toilet, sink and pedestall. All a bit too big for the panniers.
For a moment I thought this was the new Cervelo P5X tri-bike; I'd heard it had on-board storage compartments!
Who walks to their local homebase? What you can fit in there would go in the back of a fiat panda.
Some parts of the UK have public transport.
While I applaud the idea I too can only see it being of limited appeal in that it would double the amount of journeys from two to four. I hope it's a success though as the more of these schemes there are the more normal transporting goods by bike will become.
round our way the traffic on a Saturday is often so bad cycling twice to the store would probably be quicker than driving.
When I lived in Edinburgh I used to regularly walk to 2 different local B&Q branches. Homebase was more cycling than walking distance.
Did most of my shopping on foot and often found myself carrying far more than was really sensible due to impulse buys.
A lot of people in Cambridge, thanks to the idiotic planning decisions that have led to a major [out-of-town] shopping/commercial area being slap bang in the middle of the city.
If you live in Cambridge, your choice is generally to walk, cycle, or spend ridiculous amounts of time sat in traffic jams on the city's dire, single-lane main roads, and crawling through the congestion.
I do. Well, B&Q in my case. I don't have a car and (having carried out lots of DIY over the past year) this would be perfect for me. Carrying a bag of plaster or a 5L bucket of emulsion 2 kms down the road isn't all that fun. Fortunately, I got the jackhammer delivered from amazon, but some building materials you just can't seem to get delivered, at least in my experience. Luckily, the neighbours were gracious enough to offer to help on many occasions, but I don't like taking them up on it too often.
20 bags of cement, a couple of tins of paint and a rotary washing-line. Sorted.
Doesn't say, but I assume it's a pedelec version. Popular here with the seats in the cargobox for taking 2 smallish children to school. IKEA have had free bike + trailer loan for a few years here now.
Class. Sort of thing I'd use. How long do you have to return it?