There is a straightforward way to test the suggestion that tradespeople should replace their vans with cargo bikes, come to work with us.

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Start with loading up. Look at the tools, equipment and materials a job requires. Follow the journey to the customer, the trip to the supplier and the clearing up afterwards. Then work out which parts could realistically happen on a bike.

That would be a more useful conversation than the one prompted by the debate around Hina Bokhari’s LBC comments saying just that.

'How can you carry a ladder on a bike!?' @FestAKINBUSOYE isn't convinced by @HinaBokhariLD's suggestion that builders could use cargo bikes to help tackle high fuel costs... pic.twitter.com/FI4UKnkaIn— LBC (@LBC) October 1, 2026

'How can you carry a ladder on a bike!?' @FestAKINBUSOYE isn't convinced by @HinaBokhariLD's suggestion that builders could use cargo bikes to help tackle high fuel costs... pic.twitter.com/FI4UKnkaIn

It is easy to understand why the suggestion has attracted jokes and backlash. For people whose livelihoods depend on moving equipment between jobs, it touches a nerve. A van is a substantial business expense. If we could do without one, many of us would happily save the money.

But we buy and........

© LBC