Trying to navigate a busy city on four wheels can often feel like an impossible task—especially when what’s being delivered isn’t just dinner or parcels, but crucial medications or health equipment. In recent years, electric and cargo bikes have quietly revolutionised urban logistics, and their impact on healthcare is one of the most exciting developments yet.
Why Cities Needed a New Solution
Urban areas, particularly in places like London, are notorious for traffic congestion, pollution, and limited parking. For healthcare providers and pharmacies, these challenges have historically meant delayed deliveries, unreliable access, and frustrated patients. In a sector where time and trust are everything, traditional delivery models were no longer fit for purpose.
Enter electric and cargo bikes—a sustainable, nimble, and highly effective alternative. Initially popular with boutique grocery and e-commerce brands, these bikes have now found a new and vital purpose: transforming the last-mile delivery of healthcare.
Speed, Flexibility, and Access
Electric bikes can often cut through traffic using cycle lanes, taking more direct routes than vans or cars. This makes them ideal for timely deliveries of urgent prescriptions or medical equipment. Cargo bikes, which are designed to carry heavier or larger loads, offer a practical solution for transporting multiple items securely, even to areas where access by vehicle is restricted.
This flexibility ensures quicker delivery windows, especially within city centres, and allows patients to receive their items exactly when and where they need them—whether at home, in a care facility, or at work.
Reducing the Healthcare Sector’s Carbon Footprint
Healthcare is one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions globally. With growing awareness around climate change, the NHS and other health organisations are under pressure to adopt greener operations.
Electric and cargo bikes offer a powerful step in the right direction. According to a study by Transport for London, cargo bikes can complete delivery routes up to 60% faster than vans during peak hours and reduce emissions by up to 90% per kilometre. For healthcare providers, this translates into greener, smarter services with no compromise on care quality.
Supporting Community-Based Care
The shift toward community-based and home-based healthcare has accelerated over the past few years. Electric and cargo bikes help make this shift possible, enabling medical professionals and delivery partners to reach patients quickly and efficiently without relying on a centralised clinic or hospital.
This not only empowers patients to receive care in a more comfortable setting but also helps reduce pressure on busy healthcare facilities.
A Growing Trend
More pharmacies, private clinics, and health tech companies are embracing this change. As more local and independent providers join this movement, patients are benefiting from a more responsive, eco-conscious healthcare system—one delivery at a time.
Onelivery: Leading the Way in Sustainable Healthcare Delivery
At Onelivery, we’re proud to be part of the movement transforming healthcare logistics in urban areas. By integrating electric and cargo bikes into our fleet, we’re not only reducing emissions — we’re delivering smarter, faster, and more responsibly.
Our riders are equipped with GPS-optimised routes and insulated compartments to ensure that time-sensitive and temperature-critical medications arrive safely, securely, and promptly. Whether it’s urgent prescriptions, repeat medications, or specialist items, we bridge the gap between pharmacies and patients with care and precision.
Sustainability, reliability, and accessibility are at the heart of what we do — because we believe that better deliveries lead to better care.
Join us in shaping the future of healthcare logistics — with Onelivery, patient care really is just around the corner.
