French cargo bikes embark on international expansion

When we covered La Petite Reine this past spring, it had already expanded beyond Paris to offer business deliveries by cargo bike in Bordeaux, Rouen and Dijon. Recently we learned that the company is in the process of expanding once again, this time beyond French borders. To recap our earlier story, La Petite Reine’s Cargocycles are available for hire to make small and medium-sized urban deliveries. With a cargo space of 1,400 liters, each 80-kg Cargocycle can transport about 180 kg of merchandise over distances of up to 30 km. Advantages of the man-powered vehicles are that they are faster than trucks in urban congestion, highly maneuverable, less expensive to operate and completely nonpolluting. Now, after receiving numerous international inquiries over the years since its founding in 2001, La Petite Reine just recently extended into Switzerland with a franchise in Geneva. Early next year, it plans to begin operations in London. Through a collaboration with Office Depot, the bikes will undergo a trial in Camden by which they are used to deliver stock from a central depot to nearby clients, according to a report in the Evening Standard. There are few things more gratifying to us here at Springwise than seeing a good idea spread, and La Petite Reine continues to seek additional franchise partners. How about bringing a fleet of cargo bikes to the congested urban roads near you….?