Keert

Keert is an e-cargo bike delivery service on the Isle of Wight. 'Keert' is the Isle of Wight dialect word for 'to carry anything in a cart or waggon; to cart'. True to the name, Keert moves things from A to B for the local community, offering reliable services in an innovative way to clients. This impacts local enterprises by leaving them feeling like they are making a difference to the local environment, as well as their business. To do this, Keert uses a fleet of high-capacity e-cargo bikes and micro-hubs set up in key locations on the island in order to offer a flexible, cost-effective and green delivery service.

Keert’s 2024 in Review: Delivering Impact, One Pedal at a Time

Its key successes

Keert sub-contracted some work from a local third-party logistics firm in the run-up to Christmas 2022. In a specific geo-fenced area, Keert riders were able to successfully and consistently deliver as many parcels as one of the logistics firm's long wheelbase hi-top vans. To achieve this, Keert used their micro-hub as a base to refill a bike with parcels. Across 797 packages, they averaged a delivery every five minutes and two seconds.

Keert has also worked with the New Carnival Company to prove the viability of large-scale, dynamic, sculptural art at a carnival on a float without needing a motor vehicle.

Carefully maintained Keert bikes and well-trained riders have notched up more than 20,000 miles with no accidents, and fed back many observations that have meant the organisation's risk assessments and working practices have evolved.

Its key challenges

Keert originally set up the business after a successful funded trial, on the basis of work with specific clients. However, a major client pulled out of the arrangement six months later, leaving a significant hole in the business case. Keert restructured as a Community Interest Company (CIC) and downscaled ambitions to ensure survival.

Keert director and rider

Matt Whittaker explains more:

Our USP

We do lots of the same things as other businesses - Keert delivers goods consistently, safely and efficiently.

The difference is that our team cares about improving things for the local community, and about the quality of service delivered. We operate as an extension of our clients, and we care about the environment we all live in.

We are aware this is only ever a halo effect on top of our cost-effectiveness, but we see more local businesses investing in sustainability and achieving B-Corp status that values this approach.

Our key partners

We wouldn’t exist without the feasibility studies and trials conducted by People Powered. The first was in 2018, and public copies of the reports are available from People Powered directly.

We also wouldn’t exist in the first place without the support from Wight Community Energy.

A small amount of initial seed funding for work done ahead of setting up the business was provided by Isle of Wight Council, which continues to be a client for our services.

We have also worked with the University of Portsmouth as part of the Solent Future Transport Zone, but have not received any funding through this connection.

We really appreciate the partnerships from Vision Yachts and Sean the Cyclist for our depot and first micro-hub, and the business we get as part of those partnerships. We are currently working on similar arrangements for new micro-hubs with Liz Earle and Ventnor Exchange.

Our top tips

It is phenomenally hard to make this a sustainable business - finding an anchor client that 'gets it' and can provide the foundation of the demand is a must-have.
Local networking is almost everything - it is the source of all of our clients, bike storage, and riders. Our team loves being part of the local community.
Everything that is not local networking is networking within the e-cargo bike logistics industry. Literally everyone we have spoken to in the industry has bent over backwards to help us, so don’t be afraid to ask (we have a debt to pay back!).
It is phenomenally fun to deliver stuff to people on a cargo bike.

Our future plans

Today we operate from a depot in one town, and micro-hubs in two others. In the near future, we plan to open up micro-hubs in two more towns. With sufficient demand, two more would follow, and then an e-van to link the hubs together. This would enable Keert to cover deliveries to and from approximately 85% of the population of the island by cargo bike, all of the ferry ports, and almost all of the non-agricultural businesses.

We also have ambitions to further develop our involvement with arts organisations. Getting cargo bikes in front of a wider, more diverse audience is important to us as part of promoting their use more generally.

Matt said:

“We’re proud to be of, from, and part of the Isle of Wight business, community and environment. If anyone is interested in seeing what we do and how we do it, we welcome pre-arranged visits for anyone lucky enough to be visiting the island.”

Resources

Contact Keert to find out more using the links below:

Hello@keert.uk

01983 898055

https://keert.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/keert.uk/

https://twitter.com/KeertCargo

https://www.tiktok.com/@keert.uk

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcETCypK1oWMMYHboQRxEJQ

https://uk.linkedin.com/company/keert