As we all know – most of our post in  Woodbridge is delivered by a dedicated band of bicyclists.  And very nice it is for us, too. I’ve just written to Ms Moya Green – new head of Royal Mail, begging her to  retain these postal deliveries – which had been threatened under her predecessor (need I  say that the dread excuse words ‘health and safety’ were mentioned..)

(You could do so too if you wanted by following this link)

Dear Ms Greene

Please preserve the postie on a bicycle!

Welcome to Royal Mail. I wish you the best of luck in your new role, and I urge you to begin your tenure at the head of Royal Mail by reversing your predecessor’s disastrous policies regarding bicycles.

I am the County Councillor for Woodbridge, in Suffolk and have made it my personal mission to cycle everywhere on council business, come rain, come shine, and come whatever I need to carry. (Much like a postie in fact.) This is no hardship for either of us. Cycling is a wonderfully cost-effective, healthy, fast and carbon-neutral way for post to be delivered and my district the bulk of our post is delivered this way. Taliking to my local postman the other day, he told me that the cycling had actually drawn him to the job.

Indeed, cycles have been used to deliver post in the UK for over a century. During this time, the postie on a bicycle has become a much treasured national institution, particularly as our compact, congested towns and cities do not always lend themselves readily to motor vehicle access.

Therefore, it is with great shock and sadness that I have read recent reports suggesting that under your predecessor, Royal Mail planned to phase out the vast majority of their delivery bikes within the next few years, replacing them with electric trolleys despatched from vans. This plan goes against government policies about the environment, transport and road safety. It also goes against Royal Mail’s own corporate social responsibility policies that call for increasing the health of the workforce and reducing transport-related carbon emissions. It does not reflect the wishes of the public or show respect for a national institution.

I am joining CTC – as the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation – in calling on you to reverse this ban. In the future, the positive effects of this form of post delivery will contribute to reducing congestion, air pollution, carbon emissions and inactivity related illness, while promoting safer roads through the Safety in Number effect, which has found that the more cyclists there are on the roads the safer it is for everyone.

I urge you to reverse your predecessor’s decision to scrap most post delivery by bicycle. Instead, please explore the options for using cargo bicycles and tricycles to carry more post in a more effective and more environmentally friendly way.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Caroline Page

County Councillor for Woodbridge