Stuart Delivery: accelerating the transition to low emission vehicles is crucial
Stuart Delivery, the tech logistics company specialising in same-day delivery, and Vok Bikes, a Tallinn-based electric cargo bike provider, have partnered to introduce a new on-demand mobility solution to London’s rapid delivery sector.
Stuart, which conducts deliveries across 30+ UK cities, and Vok have agreed to offer couriers on the Stuart platform use of the Estonian company’s eye-catching electric cargo bikes through a short-term rental model with no prior financial commitment needed.
Vok’s unique bike design provides couriers with built-in cargo compartments that allow them to conveniently deliver multiple orders at once and are also weather resistant making it easier to navigate tricky weather conditions. By offering on-demand bike rental in major urban hubs, Vok bikes significantly improve the accessibility and efficiency of courier work.
Stuart’s courier community will be able to take advantage of Vok’s unique short-term rental model and make fast, low emission deliveries. The bikes are now available to couriers in Croydon and the surrounding areas of South London and across London by the end of 2022.
For Stuart, supporting couriers using its platform to adopt more environmentally-friendly transport types is a key part of the company’s strategy to minimise its overall impact on the environment.
Julien Weyl, Head Of Sustainability – Stuart, UK said: “Accelerating the transition to low emission vehicles is crucial to reducing our emissions, however couriers on our platform own their own vehicles and are often constrained in their ability to switch to using electric vehicles.
Through partnerships with companies equally committed to sustainable mobility, like Vok, we are able to combat this barrier and make it easier for couriers to do so. This will not only contribute to lowering Stuart company emissions but also enable couriers to reduce their own personal carbon footprints too.“
In addition to partnering with sustainable mobility providers like Vok, Stuart is also building relationships with charging infrastructure providers as well as financial partners to incentivise and support couriers’ transition process to electric vehicles, which, according to Vok’s research, have proved a 40% higher cost-efficiency compared to deliveries by car.
For Vok, the partnership with Stuart marks the latest stage in the company’s rapid growth. In just 18 months, Vok has moved from the first prototype to operating fleets in its home city of Tallinn, as well as Vilnius. Stuart is the latest name to be added to an increasingly impressive list of clients which includes Wolt, recently acquired by DoorDash.
Indrek Petjärv, CEO and co-founder of Vok Bikes, commented: “Vok Bikes enables delivery platforms to increase efficiency in the booming and super-competitive delivery market, making attracting couriers easier, enabling better working conditions and leveraging a business model that has a great fit with courier lifestyle. We welcome Stuart as an invaluable partner in a mission to make sustainable and efficient last-mile delivery widely available across Europe.“
London is the first major city in Vok’s European expansion, fueled by a pre-seed funding round the company closed earlier this year. The company is backed by some of the leading European cleantech founders like Taavi Madiberk and Kristjan Maruste, top Estonian VC funds such as Superangel and United Angels VC, Pipedrive’s recently exited co-founders Ragnar Sass, Martin Henk and Martin Tajur and the Atomicos angel programme.
