Royal Mail will conduct its first ever trial of zero-emission e-Trikes for letter and parcel deliveries later this month as it seeks to continue reducing CO2 emissions from operations and help tackle London’s ‘toxic air’.

The trial is scheduled to begin in late March in Stratford (East London), Cambridge and Sutton Coldfield (close to Birmingham), and will last for approximately six months. Once the trial period has ended, the company will make a decision on whether to expand the trikes more widely across the UK.

The 1200mm wide x 1968mm high e-Trikes - which are predominantly powered by a combination of pedal, solar, battery and brake technology - are specially designed to help postmen and women to deliver letters and parcels in a secure and environmentally-friendly way.

Pedals assisted by a 250W electric motor power the e-Trikes. The motor itself is operated by a 48V lithium battery, which is recharged by mains power and supplemented by two solar panels positioned on top of the vehicle. Regenerative braking also helps to power the trike.