Building a Better World, One Delivery at a Time
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 06.24.08
We learn from Green Daily about The New Amsterdam Project in Boston. It's not just a cargo bike, it's a movement:
"New Amsterdam is what we were. New Amsterdam is what we can become. New
Amsterdam can be American cities that are strong, cohesive, clean, safe,
healthy, and vibrant. New Amsterdam can mean movement that is mindful,
fun, sensible, clean, healthy, and constructive."
They also pick up and deliver.
Currently serving Boston businesses and universities, founder Andrew Brown sees it expanding into a national alliance. "we can create a green infrastructure, and, in so doing, build a stronger, more resilient, self-reliant America." Which is a lot to ask of a cargo bike, but you have to start somewhere.
They design and built them too, making it a truly local enterprise. And where most couriers just have mottoes, they have a mission:
American dependence on fossil fuel is correlated with:
a) potentially disastrous environmental transformations
b) adverse economic impacts
c) profound social problems
d) compromised physical and emotional health
e) reduced security
f) problematic and destructive foreign policy
…
The New Amsterdam Project aims to improve the transportation experience by encouraging and facilitating movement that:
a) is less destructive to the natural world
b) enhances economic security
c) is pro-social
d) optimizes physical and emotional health
e) is consistent with American energy independence
f) repairs the credibility of the American people and the nation at home and abroad.
::New Amsterdam Project via ::Green Daily
Cargo Bikes in Treehugger
Five Cool Cargo Bikes And The Return Of The Long John
Dutch Cargo Bikes Coming to Canada
Bakfiets: Move it, Move it
Xtracycle: Like An Xtra-cab For Your Bike
TreeHugger on Bike Moves
Green Blogger Does Winter Bike Move. Sort Of.
Bike Move: Friends Move Entire Household With Pedal Power
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Meet Green Business Consultant Tyler Moorehead, of GreenUnlimited
- Green Glossary: Planet Bike
- Green Glossary: Nature Deficit Disorder
- Is School Food Harming Kids? Enlist a Labor Day Eat-In To Promote Fresh, Healthy Food
- Spare Yourself from Road Raging Bike Haters: How to Avoid Anti-Cyclism
- Choosing Hearty, Healthy Ingredients with Emeril (Video)
They might design and build but the show said they shipped from England. Which is it?
I've been strongly considering purchasing a vehicle such as this for a university-based catering operation I run in western Oregon. The only hesitation relates to price. My hope is that these technologies will take hold in a way which creates more options and better pricing in the marketplace.
Thanks for hyping this up!
Farmer
www.farmerdeville.com
Peace Coffee has been doing bike delivery for a few years already, and biodiesel when they have to use the trucks:
http://peacecoffee.com/pedaling.htm
So, this is a nice feel great story and all, but please do some real reporting as well. How do their prices compare to the competition? Are they lower? The same? Higher? If higher, what is their marketing strategy to address this gap, and how has their penetration been so far?
As we've seen time and time again with the environmental movement over the last few decades, everyone likes to talk green, but if it doesn't make economic sense, then it'll stay niche. Doesn't mean it isn't a great idea and won't work, but I want to know if it's truly transformational or not.
This is a fabulous idea and I really hope it spreads to other cities in the US and Canada! It would seem Treehuggers would want to encourage good ideas like this: local, non-polluting and with impressive growth potential. Instead there's a consistant pettiness and finicky nattering that's discouraging.
Kenz, the cost issue of delivery is addressed in the video -- it's higher than standard, but is expected to even out as fuel prices rise. Marketing & growth is also addressed in the video; her business is growing over 100% and she's stopped on the street daily for information as she works. Niche market or not, that's impressive growth & interest.
I haven't watched the video because I am at work with no headphones. But isn't it New York, not Boston, that used to be New Amsterdam?