“This is not the end for cargo bike logistics”: 60 jobs lost as cycling courier firm shuts down after helping “pave the way” for bike-based urban delivery

Pioneering Oxford cargo bike courier company Pedal and Post has shut down, just months after expanding the eco-focused delivery business into London.

In a statement issued on social media, the company – founded in 2013 by CEO Christopher Benton – announced that both its Oxford and London branches have closed following the loss of a major client earlier this month.

Benton also confirmed that Pedal and Post’s entire workforce of 60 people, a mix of employed and self-employed staff in the two cities, have been made redundant.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that Pedal & Post’s journey has come to an end after 14 years,” Benton said in a statement.

“Earlier this year, we lost a major client. Despite exploring every possible avenue to continue – and truly exhausting all options – we have reached the point where we can no longer sustain the business. As a result, both our Oxford and London sites have now closed.

“We want to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported Pedal & Post over the years: our clients, partners, riders, staff, and the wider community who believed in what we were trying to achieve. Your support meant everything.

“Since our founding, Pedal & Post has worked tirelessly to show that cargo bike deliveries are not just possible, but practical, sustainable, and better for cities.

“Over 14 years, we’ve helped remove countless vans from urban roads, reduced emissions, and shown that a people-powered delivery model can deliver excellent service while putting cities first.”

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With its fleet of e-cargo bikes, trikes, and electric vans, Pedal and Post was one of the early adopters of sustainable, emission-free delivery in the UK, going on to win the ‘sustainable medium business of the year’ prize at the Oxford Climate Awards.

The company also took part in Oxford’s first cargo bike trial scheme in 2022, partnered with national parcel delivery firms such as Evri, along with six colleges at Oxford University, launched its own ‘local Oxford supermarket’ to transport groceries to residents during the Covid pandemic, and helped cut NHS delivery times for chemotherapy drugs by half.

After launching a crowdfunding appeal in 2023, Pedal and Post eventually expanded into London last summer, with the aim of completing 100,000 zero-emission deliveries a year.

At the time their crowdfunding campaign was launched, Benton pointed out that if a third of the costs associated with diesel van deliveries were saved from switching to zero emissions cargo bikes – the Department for Transport has claimed that 33 percent of urban deliveries could be managed by cargo bikes – the health and environmental savings could total £4.25bn across England.

“The potential to clean up our air and grow the UK economy is huge,” he said at the time.

In his statement this week announcing the company’s closure, Benton continued: “While this chapter has come to a close, we firmly believe this is not the end for cargo bike logistics.”

“The landscape today looks very different to when we started, with major carriers now investing in low-carbon, bike-based urban delivery models and the cargo bikes themselves being worlds apart from when we started as early adopters. We’re proud to have been part of that shift and to have helped pave the way.

“Thank you, once again, for being part of our story and for helping us imagine – and build – cities that feel fit for the future.”

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Pedal and Post’s collapse comes just under a year after over 100 workers were made redundant after the parent company of fellow e-cargo bike delivery firm Zedify went into administration.

Following the news, Benton spoke of the challenges of running an e-cargo bike delivery firm to our sister site, e-biketips.

“This industry is difficult to make money in and when you’re a more ethical employer, labour costs are higher,” he said. “Although cargo bikes are more cost-effective to operate, it’s a fine balance to make it profitable.”

That sentiment was repeated again this week by Benton, who told Zag Daily that Pedal and Post’s closure “isn’t a reflection on cargo bike use or logistics”.

“Trying to be an ethical employer in a primarily self-employed industry is difficult,” he said. “Lower operating costs of cargo bikes really helped enable this to be able to pay better.

“Our closure isn’t a reflection on cargo bike use or logistics. With simple, small businesses that are reliant on five to six major clients, it happens sometimes that you lose one and can’t sustain moving forward.”

Benton declined to name the “major” client he lost, simply stating that they had “met their contractual terms”, while also keeping the financial details of the company’s closure close to his chest as there was still “a lot to go through with liquidators”.

The Pedal and Post founder also did not confirm whether a sale of the company is currently being considered.

“The support for the business, its team and our mission has been overwhelming since the news and it’s a real blow to everyone,” he said.