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Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming says a cargo e-bike hub will help to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
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The B.C. government is launching a new e-bike micro hub pilot project in Vancouver in response to the growing demand for home delivery.
Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming says it will also help to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
“Investing in green transportation is an important part of our CleanBC plan, and a necessity to tackle climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Fleming, in a statement Thursday morning.
“With COVID-19, there has been a surge in online shopping, same-day shipping and home delivery, increasing the number of delivery trucks on B.C.’s roads. This project will support efficient last-mile delivery that does not add congestion, noise or air pollution to Vancouver’s busy downtown core.”
The government says at the hub packages can be transferred from trucks, stored and then delivered by cargo e-bike to the final delivery point.
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The Vancouver-led, province-funded project for a shared micro hub will begin in June 2021 and run for 14 months.
A project evaluation in spring 2022 will focus on productivity, capacity, cost, incidents and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions achieved.
The government says in addition to emission reductions, the cargo e-bike micro hub will ease issues, such as double-parking, circling to find loading/parking and related congestion, and improve road safety by reducing cargo vehicles.
Mayor of Vancouver Kennedy Stewart said they must ways to deliver goods and services more sustainably because of the climate emergency.
“Cargo bikes have the potential to replace vans or trucks for many types of urban deliveries. The city is excited to partner with the province and to work with businesses to encourage more emission-free last-mile deliveries,” he said, in a statement.
The B.C. government is providing $200,000 in funding, while the city will provide a full-time employee to manage the project, including co-ordination and outreach to businesses.
The ministry grant will contribute funding for co-ordination, building rental and maintenance, data collection and analysis.
Results will be used to develop a business case to assess the value of supporting future micro-hub projects.
ticrawford@postmedia.com
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