Like most workers, the artisans are motorists and must regularly travel downtown for their work. As a result, these artisans are also directly affected by the congestion in city centers, resulting in delays and missed appointments. And to compensate for this loss of income, and the nuisance of delays to the company’s image, some craftsmen have recourse to other mobility solutions to free themselves from the constraints of city centers. Among these solutions, there is the cargo bike, ideal for transporting equipment and using bike lanes, a solution that is as practical as it is ecological since the cargo bike does not emit any greenhouse gases.
Among other things, the cargo bike can carry about 80% of the equipment for a tour, “the necessities” according to some plumbers, one of the professions at the forefront of the cargo bike because of the very frequent interventions in city centers. Plumbers who have already succumbed to the charms (and especially the practicality) of the cargo bike are unanimous: it removes an additional source of stress: that of arriving late or not finding a parking space for the van. Some plumbing companies go even further in this reflection and consider creating depots in the heart of big cities, allowing them to make their rounds with the minimum of necessary material and, in case they forget tools or unforeseen events happen, the depot will never be far away to make a round trip. In Bordeaux, for example, there are already several plumbing companies that have switched to “all-bike” transport, abandoning their vans for cargo bikes to take advantage of the new bike lanes that punctuate the city and thus avoid traffic jams.
