Biking the Goods: How North American Cities Can Prepare for and Promote Large-Scale Adoption of E-Cargo Bikes

Cargo e-bikes — electric cycles specially designed for cargo transportation — represent an alternative environmentally friendly and safer mode for delivering goods and services in urban areas. However, lack of infrastructure, legal uncertainties, and a cultural and economic attachment to motorized vehicles has hindered their adoption. Cities play a crucial role in reducing these barriers and creating a leveled playing field where cargo e-bikes can be essential to urban logistics systems. This paper aims to inform urban planners about what cargo e-bikes are, how they have been successfully deployed in North America to replace internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles, and identify actionable strategies cities can take to encourage their adoption while guaranteeing safety for all road users.