Cargobike Taxi Firm Bans Helmets For Staff Riders Citing Safety Concerns

“Overwhelmingly, our staff experience injuries off the bike, not on the bike,” states Pedal Me cofounder Ben Knowles, who has been fielding comments on Twitter after he confirmed the London-based pedal-powered taxi service has long banned its riders from wearing bicycle helmets.

“People that are taking risks that are sufficient that they feel they need to wear helmets are not welcome to work for us,” Knowles tweeted on 4 February.

“Instead,” he insisted, “we systematically work to reduce risk.”

In a Zoom call, Knowles said the most common injury his riders reported was being “pinged” by bungee cord hooks. The firm now secures loads with recycled bicycle inner tubes.

Other common injuries reported by the firm’s riders include stair trips.

“Or it’s hurting their backs when picking things up,” said Knowles.

Since the firm was founded in 2017, none of its riders have reported head-to-ground injuries.

“If you have a collision, there is no doubt that you are better off wearing a helmet than not wearing a helmet,” admitted Knowles, but he added, “our bikes are three meters long; you can’t go over the handlebars.”

(Knowles sent Forbes.com a video showing a staff rider executing an emergency stop that proves this point, he said.)

“We once had an incident where a member of staff was assaulted with a machete, but that doesn’t mean we’d equip all riders with stab vests,” said Knowles.

Pedal Me transports people and goods on customized electric cargo bikes. The firm has a fleet of 80, with another 75 on order from the Dutch manufacturer Urban Arrow.

(Amsterdam-based Urban Arrow sold more than ten thousand cargo bikes in 2019 when it was acquired by Pon Holdings, a Dutch mobility group. Pon.Bike—with its recent purchase of the Cannondale Sports Group—is now one of the world’s largest high-end bicycle interests.)

Knowles is a former transport planner.

“I worked with schools, getting young people using bikes,” he said.

“I made it my business to make sure I had an excellent understanding of the risks faced by people riding bikes.”

He stated that the most significant risk to cyclists was from motorists and that cycle helmets offer little to no protection against impacts from cars and trucks.

The firm does not provide helmets for passengers.

“We transport people on the front of our bikes,” Knowles stated.

“It’s not practical for us to have helmets on board that can fit every single head size correctly. And I’m not going to carry helmets that don’t fit people properly because that’s more dangerous than not wearing a helmet in the first place.”

He believes cyclists who wear helmets may take more risks than cyclists who don’t, a concept known as risk compensation.

“I do not want our staff taking additional risks because they feel protected, nor imposing that risk on the people around them, including passengers.”

Pedal Me—official company name Bike Taxi Limited—employs 70 staff and is not part of the “gig economy.”

The firm suffered during the pandemic but is now looking to bounce back. Despite revenues of $168,000 in November last year, it remains a loss-making business, said Knowles.

“Startups that are in the growth phase spend more money than they earn,” he said.

“We’re only five years in; our priority is growth and delivering the best possible outcomes.”

Knowles said Pedal Me would soon be looking to raise $4.8m from institutional investors. Current shareholders include hundreds of individuals—many of them are prominent U.K. cycle advocates—who invested via the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.

The first funding round succeeded in 2018 when the fledgling firm raised $477,000. A further $570,000 was raised through Crowdcube in 2019, and there was another round last year, raising an additional $776,000.