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Postmen and women using bicycles to on their deliveries is set to be a thing of the past, according to this story from the Daily Telegraph.
The Royal Mail is to cull bicycles used by its staff for deliveries, reportedly because of the risks of using bicycles on Britain’s streets.
Outgoing Royal Mail chief exec Adam Crozier said cycles “posed a wider safety risk associated with British street networks where the rider is exposed to greater risks than other vehicle users”.
He added that by scrapping bikes, the workforce would be far safer: “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 currently liked to the use of bicycles on busy road networks.”
The Royal Mail won’t scrap bikes entirely, but the amount of cycles affected is not yet clear.
Keen cyclist and Labour peer Lord Berkeley criticised the plan, but business minister Lord Hunt said the move was intended to make the Royal Mail more efficient. Vans are set to replace the cycles, increasing the load that posties can take on their rounds.
The move indicates that a petition to save postie’s bicycles earlier this year has failed.
