Estonian e-bike maker Vok Bikes is keeping a close eye on potential changes to the road rules in New York.
At the moment, it’s illegal to use an e-bike modified to transport cargo. It only allows e-bikes with operable pedals that can’t go faster than 25m/h (40km/h). Any bikes with four wheels aren’t allowed on the public road.
The new proposed changes to the road rules could have a promising impact on e-bike startups like Vok.
Proposed new road rules for NYC
The New York City’s transport department proposes pedal-assist bicycles that may be up to 48 inches (122cm) wide instead of the current 36 inches (91cm).
The department’s commissioner, Ydanis Rodriguez, told reporters that allowing cargo bikes in the city could help “dramatically reduce carbon emissions.”
“Just two cargo bikes can replace one box truck, increasing safety and reducing CO2 emission by 14 tons per year—equivalent to 30,872 passenger car miles traveled,” says Rodriguez.
What is a Vok Bike?
A team of former engineering students founded the company. In 2019, Vok Bike was established. The team created the cargo bikes to develop an environmentally friendly solution to the global climate change crisis the world is facing.
Founders Indrek Petjärv, Riho Koop, and Siim Starke built these heavy-duty cargo bikes. They now rent the bikes out to on-demand delivery companies and couriers. The Vok bikes are active in Tallinn, Vilnius, and London.
Vok has raised €6.4 million ($6.7 million) in six funding rounds; the latest was in June 2023. It has 12 investors at the moment.
Vok extra large bikes
Earlier this year, Vok added the Vok XL to its fleet to make work lives easier for fleet managers and business owners. The 2m3 cargo space carrier offers a massive 200kg payload capacity. Vok XL shows off when it comes to loading heavy cargo.
It also boasts wider rims and longer-lasting tires, making the trip safe and ideal for cities.
The Vok XL also has a 4WD system, which allows equal power distribution when you need it the most. It comes with a 5-year warranty, which could be a game-changing cargo bike for many delivery companies.
Benefits of using e-bikes for delivery
The University of Washington found that delivery trucks spent 28% of their delivery time idling, looking for a parking spot. e-Bikes also save thousands of dollars by not needing to refuel large diesel tanks. e-Bikes deliver cargo quicker in dense parts of cities while reducing congestion, noise, and pollution.
It has many other benefits, like being more affordable for delivery drivers who can’t put down a deposit on a car or van. This results in high monthly installments and high insurance costs. The maintenance of an e-bike is also significantly lower and affordable.
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Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
