The positive ecological and social consequences of substituting cargo cycles for delivery vans are obvious: important fuel savings, less pollution, less noise, more space in a more enjoyable city, less congestion, and less serious accidents. However, this is not all. There are as many economic benefits as there are ecological and social benefits, though they are not so obvious at first sight.To begin with, cargo cycles operating in the city are as fast as, or even faster than, vans and trucks (4). This is because they are less affected by traffic congestion, and because they can often take faster routes where trucks and vans cannot go, such as pedestrian streets, alleys or bicycle paths. Because cargo cycles are less affected by variable traffic conditions, journey times are more reliable. Moreover, they are able to enter the city 24 hours a day, while many Europeans cities have set very strict time windows for loading and unloading of trucks and vans. Cargo cycles have generally no difficulty finding a place to load or unload and can often stop right in front of the door or even enter a building.