Goodbye 2022, Hello 2023

As it’s the end of our second full year of operation, it seems like a good time to talk about what we're up to, and what plans we have in store for 2023.

2022 was the year things “got back to normal", whatever that means. Cargodale started as a response to a pandemic, delivering to people who were suddenly unable to get to a shop, or business owners who could no longer sell the way they’d previously done. The shift away from this has meant we’ve had to adapt our service.

In Halifax, we've paused our delivery service for the time being. There has been a big programme of (much-needed) renovation work on the Borough Market, including the unit where our bike was kept, along with reduced demand for deliveries, making it really difficult to operate a commercially viable delivery service. We strongly feel there is a need for a sustainable delivery service there, especially for small businesses that may be trying to do a lot with limited staff, and we’re hoping to work out a new approach and relaunch deliveries there within the next couple of months.

In Hebden and Todmorden, we're out on the road anywhere between five and seven days a week, with two riders, Murray and Alex, employed at a living wage. As shops are shifting back to in-person sales, we're now doing more wholesale deliveries, carrying everything from bread to soap between local businesses, saving them valuable time and helping to cut down their environmental footprint. In a typical week we'll replace around ten van journeys this way, helping to keep our roads and air clearer.

We’re still working with local legends Hebtroco, and any time someone orders an item of their great UK-made clothing, wherever they are in the world, there's a good chance that it will have started its journey on one of our bikes. Two of our former riders have also moved over to working with them in-house and using their own cargo bikes for delivery. As the whole reason for our existence is to get more cargo bike deliveries in Calderdale, we couldn't be happier about this. They also loaned us their posh Copenhagen-made Bullit bikes to make a short film with bike component giant Shimano, extolling the virtues of e-cargo delivery. It’s had over 200,000 views on YouTube alone!

After delivering thousands of veg boxes during the pandemic, we’re still slinging them every week for one of our original customers, Tod Almighty. Another business that’s used us from the start is Calder Cheesehouse - we carry their amazing range to cheeseboards anywhere in the Upper Valley, and we also deliver for Hebden’s newest cheesemongers Goo. If you fancy some beer to wash down your cheese, we can bring you some of the freshest microbrews from Curators of Craft. We can also sort you out with sustainably made soap, laundry and shampoo bars, courtesy of Friendly Soap. Another business who we’ve worked with almost from day one is Weighsted, who sell almost every store cupboard ingredient you can name, as well as a bunch of useful household items.

We’re also still operating our Tod Box scheme, where you can buy a hand-picked box of essentials or treats to get you through the week from a local shop, delivered every Friday by one of our bikes.

After working wiht their volunteers for a couple of years, we’ve taken on some regular delivery rounds with Calder Community Cares, and since October this year, we’ve delivered nearly 500 food parcels to local households in need, using produce which would otherwise go to waste.

The other project we’ve been busy with this year is bringing cargo bikes to the people, thanks to a funding grant from CityConnect. This has enable us to attend events, show off our cargo bikes and give members of the public hands-on experience with them. A highlight was Calderdale’s first-ever e-bike festival back in July, which was attended by dozens of e-bike curious folks, many of whom took the opportunity for a go on one of our machines.

In 2023, as well as restarting deliveries in Halifax, we’d like to expand the services we can offer to the general public to include regular e-bike hire and make more of our unit in Todmorden Market. We’re also going to be working with Hebden Bridge Arts and the local community this July on a project themed around climate emergency - more details to come!

Finally, a cheeky request. Cargodale is run very much as a not-for-profit service with the aim of serving the local community. If we’ve helped you over the last year, or if you’d like to support what we do, we have a donate button on the home page of our website. Feel free to chip in a bit to help cover our running costs, and hopefully we’ll be writing an update just as packed as this one at the end of 2023!