Maria Ardley works for EcoCarriers Bury St Edmunds, which recently launched a new pedal-powered same-day delivery service for shoppers. Here, Maria explains how it all works
Who are you and what do you do?
We’re a community benefit society, which means that all of our profits have to be used to benefit our local community. We do all sorts of things, all centred around cycling and getting more people in Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding villages to use bikes more, to help tackle climate change. That includes running free cycle training sessions for kids and grown-ups, offering a bike library service and running a Bike Train, so kids can cycle to school as a group, with trained adults assisting them.
Can you remind readers what the background is to EcoCarriers BSE?
Libby Ranzetta, Aaron Tatlow and David Fisher founded EcoCarriers BSE. They met while volunteering for BSE Rickshaw, which gets people out on rides in rickshaws when they have limited mobility and does some local deliveries.
What can you tell us more about the new Shop & Drop service, which was trialled in the summer?
The Shop & Drop service is for people shopping in Bury St Edmunds town centre. It enables shoppers to drop off their shopping in town, at participating stores, and have it delivered by zero emissions cargo bike the same day. You’d need to buy it before 2pm to have it delivered between 3pm and 6pm the same day. It costs £2 if you live in Bury St Edmunds, or £4.50 to surrounding villages. Participating stores include M&S, Vino Gusto, Smoking Monkey Antiques, Crumbs and Clear to Sea.
How could it benefit people – particularly at this time of year?
It’s a great way for people to be able to leave the car at home when they go shopping in the town centre. That means not having to drive around for ages looking for a parking space, especially during the festive period, when car parks are busier.
It also means that in the run-up to Christmas, when you might have more shopping to do than usual, or you want to take your time, soak up the Christmassy atmosphere and maybe stop off for a festive hot beverage somewhere, you don’t have to constantly check the time to make sure your parking ticket hasn’t run out.
How can people access the service/find out more?
There are lots of ways to find out more. Check out our website: Ecocarriers BSE, text or Whatsapp on: 07902 477833, or email us at: hello@ecocarriersbse.co.uk.
Accessing the service is easy too – just look for shops with a Shop & Drop sticker on their door and, when you pay, say you want us to deliver. The cashier will take your contact details and pass them onto us.
What are your hopes for the service?
What we really want is to reduce the number of cars going in and out of the town centre every day, which will mean reduced carbon emissions and cleaner air for us all. Of course, it also enables us to make life a little easier for our fellow residents.
Visit ecocarriersbse.co.uk.
Featured images – supplied
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