Petitions.number10.gov.uk/Royalmailbikes/response

[POSTMAN]

http://www.hmg.gov.uk/epetition-respons ... kes#detail" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Signatures: 649

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to guarantee the right of Royal Mail postmen to have the option to use bicycles to deliver post.

The sight of a postman pedalling down the street will become much rarer under plans by the Royal Mail to phase out thousands of bicycles and replace them with vans.

Environmental groups have queried why the Royal Mail would replace a sustainable form of transport with one that causes congestion and is dependent on fossil fuels. Bicycles have been used to deliver post since 1880 and the Royal Mail has more than 16,000, made by the British company Pashley.

Until recently, bicycles are used on a quarter of the country’s 65,000 delivery routes.

The bicycle is ideally suited to the job of delivering mail. You can park them anywhere and they don’t cause any congestion. Even during this winter’s severe snow, the post continued to be delivered by bike.

Sign this petition asking Royal Mail to: 1. Guarantee the right of Royal Mail postmen to have the option to use bicycles to deliver post. 2. Commit to not destroy the unwanted bicycles (tax payer’s property) but send them to charities such as Re~Cycle.

Government response

Thank you for your e-petition regarding guaranteeing the right of Royal Mail’s postmen and women to have the option to use bicycles to deliver post.

Since Royal Mail’s transfer to a plc company the Government has adopted an arms length relationship as shareholder, leaving the management directly responsible for operational matters, such as methods used for mail delivery.

As the level of packets and parcels in delivery rounds increases, due to growth in goods ordered online, the daily mail bag may not in many cases be suitable for carriage on bicycles. Given also that the global letters market is declining (in the UK, it fell by 7.3% in 2009/10 and is expected to continue to fall) and in light of the very real challenges facing the business, it is vital that the company continually looks at ways to deliver the mail as efficiently and effectively as possible. By necessity this will mean a reduction in the number of bicycles used and their replacement by trolley or van will depend on the physical characteristics of the round (e.g. topography or demographics).


Royal Mail already uses in excess of 10,000 trolleys on its rounds and recently announced an investment of £120 million in its fleet and technology, which includes adding another 14,000 trolleys, plus 2,400 electric powered trolleys. These better handle the type and size of mail that people now send. The company’s aim has to be to help its postmen and women safely take everything on their rounds and take the weight off their backs, as well as allowing them to complete the round without needing to return to the delivery office to pick up extra mail.

Royal Mail aspires to be the lowest carbon postal operator in Europe and always considers the environmental impact of any operational changes it plans to make before reaching a final decision. They have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12% since 2004-05 (transport related emissions have reduced by 9.8%) and are wholly committed to achieving even more stretching reductions in years to come. They will work with the Department for Transport over the next 5 years to further develop low carbon vehicle options. The Royal Mail Group achieved a reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions of 26,797.1 tonnes in 2008/09.

The company has confirmed that for more than a decade now it has donated delivery bicycles it no longer needed to Re-Cycle.

[mclovin]

So there you have it, the government couldnt give a flying frogs arse.

[TeeferTiger]

So there you have it, the government couldnt give a flying frogs arse.

Did they ever?!

[CTCUK]

If you care about delivering post by bike please join some of your cycling colleagues and CTC campaigners on 27 August at 8:15 am in front of 100 Victoria Embankment EC4Y 0HQ London, to deliver hundreds of protest letters to Moya Greene's office. Come along on your delivery bikes, bring friends and colleagues! Let us know via email: campaigns@ctc.org.uk
You can also still send letters via the CTC website: http://www.ctc.org.uk/royalmail" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[fly-catchers]

When I read that yesterday I thought the "Goverment" reply sounded strangely as if it had come from Royal Mails mouth!!

[POSTMAN]

When I read that yesterday I thought the "Goverment" reply sounded strangely as if it had come from Royal Mails mouth!!

Near enough exactly the same as Tolly the tool's statement.