End of the road for Royal Mail bicycles is no longer Africa

The decision by the Royal Mail earlier this year to decommission its fleet of 16,000 Pashley delivery bicycles is having a detrimental effect on a charity that reconditions unwanted bikes before shipping them to Africa.

Bicycles are used by postmen on over 16,000 routes and the service has been in operation for nearly 120 years.

Historically, as bikes have completed their term of service they have been donated to one of a number of charities for refurbishment.

In 2009 Re~Cycle shipped 2,781 bikes to Ghana, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Kenya. However, of this number only 200 were former postman’s bikes, compared to over 2,000 in previous years.

Bicycle supply will dry up

The charity is expecting to receive a flood of bikes over the next two years as the Royal Mail fleet is broken up, but it will then lose the regular supply of strong, reliable bikes so favoured by its African partners.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “As urban areas wake up to the environmental, financial and health benefits of cycling, the Royal mail is putting its people into thousands of diesel vans.”

“The knock-on effect is that a valuable supply of bicycles for people in the developing world will dry up.”

The benefits of cycle insurance

Cycle insurance from the ETA includes new-for-old replacement, third party insurance, personal accident cover and if you breakdown, they will even come out and recover you and your bike.