Recognising that they already have a more than decent range of e-cargo bikes, Tern have seen fit to package them for businesses looking for quick, efficient, eco-friendly last mile delivery vehicles. The new Tern Business service will give firms the opportunity to customise delivery vehicles with various types of cargo box and can also include fleet tracking software.
Tern lists its three main e-cargo bikes as being available through the service: the GSD, which is suitable for heavy-duty hauling with a max gross vehicle weight (MGVW) of 200kg; the HSD for medium-to-heavy loads with a MGVW of 170kg; and the Quick Haul for “light and fast deliveries” with a MGVW of 150kg. The unpowered Short Haul is also available.
"For dense and crowded cities, e-cargo bikes are often the best way to get things delivered," said Tern business project manager, Michael McManus. "E-cargo bikes can make more deliveries per hour because they aren't as affected by traffic, have more route options, and can park closer to the pick up and delivery point.
“Logistics companies also gain by being able to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint. Benefits to the community include reductions in traffic, noise pollution, and air pollution. E-cargo bikes are a win/win/win and that's why they're such an obvious solution that we're advocating for."
> Electric cargo bikes deliver faster than vans
Tern's new cargo boxes feature anti-theft measures such as riveted metal wall construction and a locking lid. They are also fully weatherproof.
The Cargo Box 300 is designed for the GSD and has a capacity of approximately 300 litres. It is designed for heavy cargo and features internal shelving for packages of different sizes.
The 30 x 40cm Cargo Box 37 meanwhile is designed for the Transporteur Rack and can be fitted to the front of any of Tern's cargo bikes.
Firms can also make use of Carla Cargo trailers if they need to increase load capacity. Tern has designed custom adapters so a Carla Cargo trailer to Tern e-cargo bikes. We actually tested this combination a week or so ago and found it expands the bike’s potential significantly.
The bikes will also be fitted with cargo kickstands known as Tern Lockstand QuadStruts. These feature an additional pair of ‘legs’ to ensure stability when loading and unloading the bikes.
You may or may not be surprised to learn that there’s currently no official kickstand standard. This led Tern to devise a test with EFBE, a leading German testing laboratory. They reckon the kickstand is good for “30,000 engage/disengage cycles” with a 100kg load, equivalent to around three years of daily, commercial usage.
Tern has partnered with WeMo Scooter – a Taiwan e-scooter share company – to offer the fleet tracking software. This is built around a 4G telematics box on each bike and a cloud-based software platform. It’ll provide fleet managers with live tracking for every bike, as well as storing operational and maintenance history.
Tern Business products will become available later this year.
