Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
With a precious cargo
share the school-run and bring somebody home with Pansy.
“Our maximum load so far is two four-year-olds, an eight year-old, two scooters and the eight-year-old’s bike on the back. For me it’s like having a small car. As long as I can find safe routes – and I do try to avoid busy roads – I see anything within five miles as totally doable.”
Gavin concedes a major obstacle to box bikes taking off is the cost, with prices start- ing from £1,500, but says the initial investment is quickly paid back. “They are expensive when you compare it to a bike, but when you compare it to a car they’re not,” he said. “There’s no fuel, no insurance, no MOT and they do last.
“I think institutions and organisations who want to promote cycling in town can really play a part. To offset the cost, the council or the universities could create schemes to cover the capital costs and then get people using them.
“Waltham Forest, for example, offers these kinds of cargo bikes on one-week rentals to residents for free just to get people used to riding them.
“That means the council is covering the cost of the infrastructure and really showing people what can be done.
“Whether or not Canterbury City Council will have the vision, and the money, to do something similar would be another question.”
Gavin says another barrier to a box bike boom in Canterbury is the perception that they – and the city’s roads – are not safe. “The bikes themselves are very safe because they have a very low centre of gravity,” he said. “It’s much safer than having your child in a seat on the back of your bike.
“But the biggest obstacle to these really is that it’s dangerous to cycle in Canterbury. What we don’t have is a sustainable alternative for people to want to take their kids to school or go to work by bike, when you have to go through town.
“There should be cycle paths that follow the main transport directions through the city.
“It’s pretty unnerving for my kids to get abuse from car drivers on the way to school, so we try to stay off the road as much as possible.
“It’s risky business and it shouldn’t be. It should be something that’s encouraged and I think that’s down to the inaction of the local council to do something serious.
“I want to encourage people to do it but there needs to be a commitment from the council to support cycling in the town. It’s only when more and more people do it that it’s safer for everyone.”