EST Scotland: E-Cargo Monitoring and Evaluating Case Study

Background

During 2021, Energy Saving Trust piloted an E-cargo grant scheme available to businesses and charities across Scotland. The grant scheme allows access to funding to loan an e-cargo bike to enable green deliveries.

Research commissioned by the European Union concludes that 25% of all goods and 50% of all light deliveries in urban settings could be services by cargo bikes.

There has been a significant increase in online retailer consumers have the expectations on immediacy has led to an increase in traffic on city streets, however 87% of millennials conduct business with socially and environmentally conscious companies. Therefore, it is commercially advantageous for deliveries to be made in a greener means of transport.

Supporting businesses in trialling e-cargos and evaluating the usage of them is an important step in growing the number of trips, reducing last mile logistics and aiming for greener delivery processes. 

Photo Courtesy of Energy Saving Trust Scotland and Climate Action Strathaven

Partnering with See.Sense 

Energy Saving Trust partnered with See.Sense during the piloting period of our e-cargo grant scheme. See.Sense provide a SUMMIT GPS and sensor tracker, a patented technology providing deep insight into the e-cargo riding experience.

The SUMMIT GPS and sensor tracker provides data on:

• Adverse Braking
• Swerving
• Speed Dwell Times
• Road Surface Conditions

The data insights can be accessed under licence by Energy Saving Trust and can inform us on statistics which will assist on the design and maintenance of cycling infrastructure to support e-cargo bikes.

Process

To monitor and evaluate the pilot, 10 bikes were fitted with SUMMIT GPS and sensor trackers. They were fitted across a range of bikes, which included: Tern GSD’s, Babboe, Riese & Amp; Muller, Ridgeback and Kona models.

The SUMMIT collects data to allow Energy Saving Trust to access near-real time data dashboards to monitor the number of trips, distance covered, average speeds and CO2 savings.

This allowed Energy Saving Trust to gather useful insights into the pilot scheme, without having to manually record and report usage. We can also follow up with the organisations involved post-pilot to offer support.

The Result

The stats to date show that there are 10 bikes currently in circulation and allow a breakdown of key statistics, such as:

• Total Distance Travelled: 12115.96 km
• Total Minutes Active: 44,572
• Fleet Average Speed: 7.93 km/h
• Total CO2 Saved: 1,895.17 kg

These statistics show how valuable the automated and downloadable data dashboard has been during this pilot through using the SUMMIT. It not only benefits the management of the project but also highlights the areas of impact from using E-cargo bikes and will support future funding applications. 

The insights collated during this pilot will enable city planners to understand the importance of e-cargo bikes and how they are being used. This will assist the design of better infrastructure to facilitate the growth in green last mile logistics.

Additional Information

To find out more information on Energy Saving Trust E-cargo bike grant scheme, visit here.

To find out how See.Seese technology and data services can help with your monitoring, evaluating requirements please email team@seesense.cc and a member of our team will be in touch.