Tony Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Royal Mail currently uses 25,000 bicycles on 25% of their deliveries but as the rest of the world is turning to more environmentally friendly transport (including bikes) the Royal Mail is scrapping its bikes. What a shame that they don't 'get it' despite their expensive looking environmental policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonofAna Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Royal Mail currently uses 25,000 bicycles on 25% of their deliveries but as the rest of the world is turning to more environmentally friendly transport (including bikes) the Royal Mail is scrapping its bikes. What a shame that they don't 'get it' despite their expensive looking environmental policy. I'm not a cyclist but I would imagine that it's pretty grim cycling about in the rain and snow carrying a blooming heavy bag of mail. Not to mention posting letters that have become soggy wood pulp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 The real issue is the rubbish they deliver. More and more people have online access to bills, bank statements and such like, and there are very few handwritten letters from real people. The vast majority of mail is either junk, or it certainly wouldn't hurt if it arrived a few days late. I would keep push-bikes and have mail three times a week, with a mechanism to pay much more (like £2 for special delivery) and have those letters sent by van on a much larger round once a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unuspromulti Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 One of the papers earlier in the week said the change is driven by the H+S bods. I've just found the below also on a biking website link: An exchange in the House of Lords on 29 March quotes a letter from (Outgoing Chief Exec) Crozier to Lord Berkeley which says: "These bicycles pose the wider safety risk associated with busy street networks, where the rider is exposed to greater risk than other vehicle users." Previous statements from Royal Mail indicated efficiency savings were behind the move. However, further comments from Crozier reiterated this motivation: "We expect to see a reduction in the number of delivery accidents as a result of our rollout of the new delivery technology, as a substantial proportion of accidents are linked to the use of bicycles on busy road networks." On Royal Mail's own website, bicycle accidents come in fifth behind: 1. Slips, trips and falls 2. Animal attacks 3. Stepping on/striking against something 4. Lifting and handling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 So it would be more effective to stop posties walking? The H&S excuse frankly sounds like a load of rubbish. I'm guessing that the real truth will be something like vans need less staff and so are cheaper. In one action Royal Mail have demonstrated their environmental 'committment'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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