ExeCargo: E-cargo Bike for the Exmouth Community

ExeCargo: an eCargo bike for Exmouth

Now that our fundraiser has succeeded ... 

 Which bike/s  should we buy ? Please help us choose by filling in the ExeCargo survey 

We have successfully raised funds to buy an electric cargo bike for Exmouth.  Local businesses, community groups and residents can use ExeCargo for deliveries, transporting sports equipment, doing the school run, or the shopping; the possibilities are endless! How could you use ExeCargo ?

ExeCargo: a Transition Exmouth project

Transition Exmouth works with local charities, community groups and businesses, and sits on the Climate and Ecological Emergency Working Party of Exmouth Town Council, helping move Exmouth towards a zero-carbon future.  The pictures above came from Our Exmouth Our Planet , a community brainstorming event held in November 2019. This is where the idea of a community ecargo bike first arose. 

There is a growing network of projects linked by the Transition Exmouth umbrella, including OurPlaceOurPlanet.org,  Tidelines, Plastic Free Exmouth, the Exmouth Tree Project, Litter Blitzers, Active Travel Exmouth and the recently opened Library of Things.

ExeCargo: the Pilot

In December 2020, we launched a pilot e-cargo bike delivery project, with £500 funding from a Transition Network Bounce Forward  National Lottery grant.   Exmouth Cycles did us a brilliant deal on bike hire,  Exmouth Town Council chipped in to brand the bike, and some amazing volunteers started pedalling.  In March 2021 ExeCargo was born.

We learned a lot in the three month trial . ExeCargo did deliveries for 3 independent businesses (TotalTee , Mother Earth , & The Pet Stall at Exmouth Indoor Market) as well as food collections for Exmouth Food Bank. We saved a whopping 90,000 kg of carbon dioxide emissions, as these deliveries would otherwise have been done by petrol or diesel vehicles.  Mother Earth told us, "ExeCargo is brilliant ! We don't do enough deliveries to justify buying our own e-cargo bike , so being able to use this a couple of times a week is perfect".

Having an e-Cargo bike for use by local businesses, groups  and individuals enables them to make their collections & deliveries in a more eco-friendly way.  There is long term potential for self-employed delivery riders to use the e-Cargo bike instead of a car.  This project supports the development of the green economy in our town.

The pilot was so successful that we are now crowdfunding to buy our own e-cargo bike - or eventually even a fleet of them! 

ExeCargo: the Future 

This is where you come in ! How could you use ExeCargo ?  Here's a range of e-Cargo bikes used by Co-Delivery in Exeter - which sort do you think we should buy first, and why?   Eventually we'd like a fleet of community-owned ecargo bikes. 

Which bike/s  should we buy ? Please help us choose by filling in the ExeCargo survey 

ExeCargo : The Funders

ExeCargo made a winning bid to #BackTheFuture: Devon Climate Challenge,   and Devon County Council have contributed  £5000 in match-funding.  Exmouth Town Council chipped in £1000, EDDC contributed £3000 towards secure  storage and over sixty individuals, businesses and community groups pledged amounts from £3 to £500.  Every pledge was hugely appreciated, as they all contributed to showing how much support ExeCargo has from  the local community 

We plan to apply for a  40% grant for e-Cargo bikes from the Energy Saving Trust when it re-opens . (This fund has been swamped by applicants and is temporaily closed)   

ExeCargo: Why a new ecargobike?

The trial 3 month period used a 10 year old e-cargo bike , which , considering the many hills in Exmouth, showed its age.  A new-generation e-bike will have more power, built-in lights, and secure  watertight storage. The original e-cargo bike has re-joined the stable of hire bikes at Exmouth Cycles  for leisurely jaunts along the seafront. 

Execargo: Where will it be stored?

Exmouth Indoor Market  have kindly made a free stall available to Transition Exmouth.  Our town's Climate Action Network  can put display materials here, run workshops and fundraisers and meet people. It will be the perfect charging place for the bike when it's not in use, accompanied by advertisements for ExeCargo.   

ExeCargo: Who else is involved ?

Ordaloca is a brand new app and website designed exclusively for local businesses and communities being built in Propeller:Exmouth (a not-for-profit co-working space with a community of start-ups, creatives and engineers in Exmouth). Co-Founder Jim Hill told us , "Our ambition is to provide a powerful utility for the future of running local businesses, and a part of that means creating the space for local e-delivery companies to use the platform too. So we’d love to get involved  and help you out however we can with ExeCargo”. 

ExeCargo: What's in it for me ?

By helping us get ExeCargo pedals turning you're contributing to building the local green economy, reducing carbon emissions, helping local community groups & independent businesses AND getting a share in our very own eCargo bike!  You can use the ExeCargo bikes for your own business, family  or hobby, or to help a community group.   From the school run to delivering equipment , anything that uses the ecargo bikes instead of fossil fuel driven vehicles is a step towards a more sustainable future.