Cargo Cycles in Urban Freight Transport : Obstacles and facilitating factors for utilising cargo cycles in urban freight transport in Stockholm, Sweden

Cargo cycles can play a considerable role in mitigating the negative impacts of urban freight transport while still ensure that the material needs of the city are fulfilled. Their small size, lower operating costs, smaller carbon footprint, lack of tailpipe emissions, and manoeuvrability in congested areas are considerable advantages over traditional urban freight vehicles. However, the advantages of cargo cycles are not inherent in every urban environment and under all conditions. This problematics is in general insufficiently researched and more context specific knowledge is needed. Thus, this study investigates the obstacles and facilitating factors for utilising cargo cycles in urban freight transport in Stockholm, Sweden. To investigate these context specifications, case study approach was employed and consisted of qualitative content analysis, semi-structured interviews, and observations. This study argues that in Stockholm, contradictory forces affect the utilisation of cargo cycles in urban freight transport. On one hand, the facilitating factors are mostly associated with measures of sustainable urban freight transport and sustainable development in general: reaction to traffic situation; strategic orientation of the city; public-private partnership; and bicycle infrastructure. On the other hand, path dependence of the city connected to traditional urban freight vehicles (vans) symbolises obstacles: the absence of direct planning for cargo cycles; lack of recognition; and inconsistency of bicycle infrastructure