Mittens Plumbing, Heating and Bathroom Design

Brighton & Hove City Council leased 13 ecargo bikes to support local businesses in changing the way they deliver goods and services across the city. This is to help contribute to the goal of carbon neutral by 2030.

Mittens plumbing and heating, based in Brighton and Hove, covers areas around Kent, Sussex and London, to resolve domestic, commercial and industrial plumbing and heating faults as well as managing projects and installations for bathrooms.

Mittens Plumbing originally used a large 4×4 diesel ford ranger to conduct approximately ten daily site visits to customers which came with issues of high volumes of traffic, parking and high fuel costs, often being in rush hour traffic and many hours sat inactive driving.

After receiving impartial advice as part of the Brighton and Hove ecargo Accelerator Project, the RIESE and MULLER: Multicharger bike was suggested. The features of this bike included:

• 60KG payload
• Standard handles
• 500 WH battery, keeps running for a full day
• Suspension & wide tires making for an effortless ride

The ecargo bike completes an average of 37.5 miles a week, and is used for nearly all of Mittens Plumbing Brighton and Hove city centre site visits. Since introducing the ecargo bike, Mittens Plumbing has seen:

• £350 monthly savings on fuel, insurance, and parking
• Five weekly staff hours saved as riders spend less time in traffic
• Trips to clients are more enjoyable

Mittens say, “The bike’s electric motor makes riding uphill like riding on the flat, even with my surveyors kit in the cargo bags.” The ecargo bike’s carrying capacity is large enough to transport all necessary equipment to most visits, and Mittens Plumbing plan to expand their bike fleet.