Green bicycles come to Brussels

Last week, TNT Express Benelux successfully launched its first inner-city ‘green’ bicycle in Brussels. The electric-powered freight bicycle, known as a ‘cyclocargo’, will cut TNT’s CO₂ emission output by 400 kilograms per week.

The bicycle, the first of five to be introduced in Brussels, is being used to efficiently deliver parcels in the city centre in a sustainable way by reducing inner-city pollution, noise and traffic congestion. It represents the first step of a more extensive City Logistics solution to be rolled-out in the coming year.

A mobile depot, to be situated between TNT’s hub at Brucargo and the centre of Brussels, will provide a storage and sorting centre for TNT parcels and the loading place for the cyclocargos. The bicycles will then be used to transport the parcels the ‘last mile’ to the delivery addresses in the inner-city.

“With the introduction of the mobile depot, TNT’s City Logistics concept will soon become the first cost-efficient city distribution concept to operate without subsidies,” said Jan-Harmen Hietbrink, Program Manager Operations, TNT Express Benelux.

TNT launched the cyclocargo together with Ecopostale, Belgium’s first zero-emission logistics company, whose couriers already travel exclusively by cyclocargo. The initiative is also supported by the City of Brussels and BECI (Brussels Enterprises Commerce and Industry), who are enthusiastic about the improvements that it promises to the city’s living environment.

“The Brussels capital region aims to reduce road traffic by 20% in order to make the city comfortable to live in and guarantee its economic strength. Of course, it can’t do this on its own. The TNT Express initiative is a perfect example of how companies can contribute their might,” said Bruno De Lille, Brussels State Secretary for Mobility.

If the Brussels project proves successful, it could be duplicated in other European cities.

Smart and stackable
The mobile depot concept is one of five TNT City Logistics solutions now being launched across Europe. The other four solutions include an optimised delivery service for high street luxury goods customers and a ‘city distribution centre’ service that bundles the inner-city deliveries of third parties into TNT’s existing network.

All five solutions are an integral part of TNT’s environmental programme, Planet Me, and its long-term objective to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 45% by 2020. Each solution is both “smart and stackable”, meaning that it combines efficient distribution with enhanced service to the customer while contributing to cleaner, more liveable cities. The solutions also respond to unique opportunities in different markets but are “stackable” because they can be used in combination with each other.