August 15, 2023 - A new proposal by New York City’s Department of Transportation could see local laws amended to allow four-wheeled, four-foot-wide pedal-assist mini trucks reports the Gothamist Daily.
Use of delivery services like Amazon have skyrocketed since the pandemic and the city is motivated to make last-mile of deliveries greener and more efficient. “The freight industry sees cargo bicycles with pedal-assist as an opportunity to test consolidation and smaller-scale deliveries in constrained urban spaces, with the concomitant benefits of avoiding tickets and reducing negative impacts on traffic and street safety,” said NYC DOT in an announcement released Monday according the report.
In April, NYC announced the use of “microhubs” where trucks unload packages to e-bikes and e-cargo bikes for the last leg of deliveries – read more here. Current city rules do not allow cargo bikes larger than 36 inches wide, and they must also have fewer than four wheels.
The NYC DOT released its own pedal-assist, four-wheeled e-cargo bike named “Cargi B” in May.
Read the full report here.
