Is this the end of the road for the postman?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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They have been a common sight on rural lanes and city streets for more than a century, but could the Royal Mail post bike be set to disappear from our roads?

According to reports this week, the Royal Mail has removed as many as 14,000 bikes from its delivery operations over the past three years, while the final 3,000 to 4,000 bikes will be phased out by the end of 2014. The move comes after more than 120 years of two-wheeled postal delivery. In the late 19th century, posties were responsible for providing their own bikes and were paid an allowance towards their up-keep.

Today, the Royal Mail fleet is made up of Pashley Mailstar models. Designed to operate in tough conditions, it has only has three gears, a step-through frame ideal for quick dismounts on short journeys and has been loved by postmen since it became the standard bike of choice for Royal Mail in 1992. The Mailstar has undergone several modifications since then, but today you're more likely to see a postman pushing one of Royal Mail's 38,000 trolleys, as an increase in the number of parcels we send and receive has made the bike less practical. Cycling groups aren't happy, though, and the charity CTC launched a Keep Posties Cycling campaign two years ago to save the Pashley Mailstar. This came after it was contact by cycling posties and noticed hundreds of ex-Royal Mail bikes turning up in Africa after being appropriated by Re-Cycle, the charity which ships second-hand bikes abroad.

The campaign has not been successful, but the organisation's Roger Geffen is calling for the Royal Mail to "reconsider this decision when restocking its fleet and offer staff who wish to cycle, with all health benefits that offers, the opportunity to get back on bikes".

While Martin Key, British Cycling's campaigns manager, accepts that as "shopping habits change, the Royal Mail needs to adapt", he says: "I strongly believe that the withdrawal is indicative of some of the problems with our roads, which are often unfit for purpose. Government investment into cycling infrastructure has long been neglected, leaving our roads heavily biased towards cars and HGVs, despite the benefits that cycling can bring to society."

According to Royal Mail, a few bikes may remain in specific locations, but the recently privatised firm now makes 51 per cent of its revenue from parcels, thanks to internet shopping, so bikes simply aren't fit for the job of carrying bulky packages.

A spokesperson says: "As we deliver fewer letters but more parcels than we did in the past, we are removing bicycles from our operations across the UK. They are being replaced with trolleys that enable us to take the weight off the shoulders of our staff.

"Modernising our delivery methods is helping to drive environmental efficiencies. Every cycle delivery needs vehicles to support it – to provide postmen and women with replenishment pouches of mail, and to deliver their bulkier items. The use of trolleys means we are now phasing out these support vehicles, which tend to be larger, older and therefore produce more carbon emissions."

Many campaigners are not convinced, though. Carlton Reid, the editor of BikeBiz.com, says "Royal Mail will come to rue this decision", which he adds is "ironic" because rival delivery firms are using load-carrying bikes in increasing numbers. TNT Post, for example, now operates 1,000 Pashley Mailstars, though they are finished in TNT orange, rather than Royal Mail red.

Matthew Hammond, who has been a postman for 28 years, is trying to convince his manager in Battle, East Sussex, to let him keep his bike, which is set to be replaced by a trolley. "My route is semi-rural without pavements for a trolley so a bike is the most efficient form of transport," he says. "They say it's a struggle with the weight of the bike and the parcels but the weight isn't on my back. I'm just pedalling. After hundreds of years delivering by bike, I'm not sure why we have to change it now."

Back in Warwickshire, where Pashley bikes are manufactured, managing director Adrian Williams has mixed feelings about the end of Royal Mail's association with the company, pointing to other firms making use of bicycles in their operations, expanding exports to new markets and a booming retail market for the company. "It's sad that it has come to an end after 35 years, but I don't want to pass judgment on Royal Mail," says Williams. "What I will say is that we thought we had a product that was extremely useful and highly cost-effective."

Lovers of the 26.6kg bike face a challenge getting hold of a Mailstar even as they come out of service. A few are available on eBay and GumTree, but Royal Mail refuses to pass on former post bikes to the public and, until the Re-Cycle scheme was launched, they were cut in half and scrapped. Though, if you can stretch to £750 a "civilian" version of the Mailstar, called the Pronto, is available from Pashley's website

[cyclemech1]

Every cycle delivery needs vehicles to support it – to provide postmen and women with replenishment pouches of mail, and to deliver their bulkier items. The use of trolleys means we are now phasing out these support vehicles, which tend to be larger, older and therefore produce more carbon emissions."

Can't speak for other offices, but in my old DO we had ONE van covering TEN cycle duties. Now they have FIVE vans on P&L!

How's that LESS carbon emissions?

As for old and larger inefficient vans, RM could have bought new, more efficient large vans?

[axeman]

Less carbon emissions is that because the dpf's need regenerating continuously so are in the workshops more often ? come off it there must be thousands more vehicles used by royal fail now ....never mind we'll buy a few more trees from the money we managed to acquire from your pension fund & phantom share issue that will fudge the figgures

[Mr_Pink]

We still have replenishment duties for the HCTs.

[mark_e]

We still have replenishment duties for the HCTs.

ditto

[Godric]

We still have replenishment duties for the HCTs.

correct ... the usual spin and lies from the Royal Fail propaganda service

[Brain Fury]

How many times do we have to replenish an HCT delivery which can carry c. 70 kilos of mail compared with a bike that can only carry a maximum of 32?
How many HCT delivery routes do we have compared with former bike routes?
How many bike routes were actually done with private cars?

[Godric]

How many times do we have to replenish an HCT delivery which can carry c. 70 kilos of mail compared with a bike that can only carry a maximum of 32?
How many HCT delivery routes do we have compared with former bike routes?
How many bike routes were actually done with private cars?

You are a manager Brain Fury

answer me this then Mr Manager what is the mail capacity of a Mk2 HCT that requires to be pushed up hill or downhill ?? is it 30 kilos, 40 kilos, 50 kilos, 60 kilos or 75 kilos

[Brain Fury]

How many times do we have to replenish an HCT delivery which can carry c. 70 kilos of mail compared with a bike that can only carry a maximum of 32?
How many HCT delivery routes do we have compared with former bike routes?
How many bike routes were actually done with private cars?

You are a manager Brain Fury

answer me this then Mr Manager what is the mail capacity of a Mk2 HCT that requires to be pushed up hill or downhill ?? is it 30 kilos, 40 kilos, 50 kilos, 60 kilos or 75 kilos

What's the relevance of the 30 kg limit when using a Mk2 HCT on steep sections of a delivery route (not just uphill or downhill)? Oh surely you aren't trying to argue that just because in one specific circumstance the cycle can technically carry 2kg more mail than a Mk2 HCT that the wider point about the amount of replenishment is invalid? No, that would just be plain stupid.

The facts are that overall the HCT can carry more mail than a cycle so needs less replenishment. There are about half the number of HCT routes than there were cycle routes so again the demand for replenishment is reduced. Evidence of this is the number of pouch boxes and safe drops that are being removed because of the fall in demand for replenishments. And because we know a good proportion of cycle deliveries were actually done in private cars the removal of this option has also served to reduce carbon emissions. In fact in 2012/13 our overall carbon emissions per £ of revenue fell by about 4.5%.

[Godric]

How many times do we have to replenish an HCT delivery which can carry c. 70 kilos of mail compared with a bike that can only carry a maximum of 32?
How many HCT delivery routes do we have compared with former bike routes?
How many bike routes were actually done with private cars?

You are a manager Brain Fury

answer me this then Mr Manager what is the mail capacity of a Mk2 HCT that requires to be pushed up hill or downhill ?? is it 30 kilos, 40 kilos, 50 kilos, 60 kilos or 75 kilos

What's the relevance of the 30 kg limit when using a Mk2 HCT on steep sections of a delivery route (not just uphill or downhill)? Oh surely you aren't trying to argue that just because in one specific circumstance the cycle can technically carry 2kg more mail than a Mk2 HCT that the wider point about the amount of replenishment is invalid? No, that would just be plain stupid.

The facts are that overall the HCT can carry more mail than a cycle so needs less replenishment. There are about half the number of HCT routes than there were cycle routes so again the demand for replenishment is reduced. Evidence of this is the number of pouch boxes and safe drops that are being removed because of the fall in demand for replenishments. And because we know a good proportion of cycle deliveries were actually done in private cars the removal of this option has also served to reduce carbon emissions. In fact in 2012/13 our overall carbon emissions per £ of revenue fell by about 4.5%.

one difference Mk2s cost £500 quid to buy and they had a £300 upgrade ... total £800 .... Pashley bike £500 .. pashley bike had 16 kilo bag and two panier bags or roughly 30 - 32 kilos and with Hcts you cannot backtrack like you could with a bike and our bikes lasted 10 years I can't see our HCT's last more than 2 years

health and safety Hcts are causing more problems with injuries than bikes ever done ie, back, legs, knees and ankles and the only time their was injury with a bike was when it was either not maintained properly or the person using the bike was not fit to use it properly or they were hit by a third party ... Royal Mail brought in HCTS without asking the postmen's opinions that is the guys that have been delivering the mail and haves years if not decades of doing the job and not some jumped up prick sitting in a office that has never done our job or ever likely to do our job

[Brain Fury]

How many times do we have to replenish an HCT delivery which can carry c. 70 kilos of mail compared with a bike that can only carry a maximum of 32?
How many HCT delivery routes do we have compared with former bike routes?
How many bike routes were actually done with private cars?

You are a manager Brain Fury

answer me this then Mr Manager what is the mail capacity of a Mk2 HCT that requires to be pushed up hill or downhill ?? is it 30 kilos, 40 kilos, 50 kilos, 60 kilos or 75 kilos

What's the relevance of the 30 kg limit when using a Mk2 HCT on steep sections of a delivery route (not just uphill or downhill)? Oh surely you aren't trying to argue that just because in one specific circumstance the cycle can technically carry 2kg more mail than a Mk2 HCT that the wider point about the amount of replenishment is invalid? No, that would just be plain stupid.

The facts are that overall the HCT can carry more mail than a cycle so needs less replenishment. There are about half the number of HCT routes than there were cycle routes so again the demand for replenishment is reduced. Evidence of this is the number of pouch boxes and safe drops that are being removed because of the fall in demand for replenishments. And because we know a good proportion of cycle deliveries were actually done in private cars the removal of this option has also served to reduce carbon emissions. In fact in 2012/13 our overall carbon emissions per £ of revenue fell by about 4.5%.

one difference Mk2s cost £500 quid to buy and they had a £300 upgrade ... total £800 .... Pashley bike £500 .. pashley bike had 16 kilo bag and two panier bags or roughly 30 - 32 kilos and with Hcts you cannot backtrack like you could with a bike and our bikes lasted 10 years I can't see our HCT's last more than 2 years

health and safety Hcts are causing more problems with injuries than bikes ever done ie, back, legs, knees and ankles and the only time their was injury with a bike was when it was either not maintained properly or the person using the bike was not fit to use it properly or they were hit by a third party ... Royal Mail brought in HCTS without asking the postmen's opinions that is the guys that have been delivering the mail and haves years if not decades of doing the job and not some jumped up prick sitting in a office that has never done our job or ever likely to do our job

You seem to know a lot about the the "facts" and figures for someone who has never been involved. You're wrong on nearly everything of course but as you consistently show not knowing what you're talking about has never stopped you having an opinion.

[Chitchat]

The reason they are removing the bikes is to improve the productivity per head of each postman? On a bike, postman were unable to take large parcels, tracked items or large quantities of packets. With the vans they can merge multiple delivery offices together. Increase walks, deliver to companies (previously done by separate duty), take tracks, specials, large parcels o and lets not forget lapsing becomes easier when people can drive to the lapsed duty. Which will be common place in most DOs for pretty much all of the year.