Oxford, Feb 13, 2026, 14:28 GMT
- Evri shuffled its Oxford delivery operations after Pedal & Post, its cargo-bike partner, abruptly shut down without warning.
- Some customers said their parcels sat in depots for days, in cases waiting over a week before delivery showed up.
- Roughly 60 staff and contractors lost their jobs after the shutdown, according to Pedal & Post’s chief executive.
Evri deliveries in Oxford are back on track, Motor Transport reported, after the abrupt halt that followed its cargo-bike partner Pedal & Post shutting down. The collapse adds to pressure in the sector: Zedify, another cargo-bike operator, went into administration last year blaming low volumes and steep costs. (Motor Transport)
This episode is significant: major couriers increasingly rely on local partners for that “last mile” stretch—from depot to door—particularly across city centers, where traffic and regulations squeeze van delivery costs. If a small contractor suddenly folds, parcels end up stranded wherever they were dropped.
The timing isn’t great for low-emission logistics. Cargo bikes—with their electric assists and van-sized payloads—are picking up some of the slack as cities clamp down. Still, in several markets, the economics remain shaky.
Pedal & Post, the delivery firm that had been handling Evri’s drop-offs inside Oxford’s Clean Air Zone, abruptly shut down operations “without notice”, according to GB News. Evri confirmed parcels were stuck at depots but said it acted fast to shift local deliveries elsewhere. The company, which moves over 900 million parcels annually, said it had “quickly re-organised deliveries” in the affected region. (GB News)
Oxford’s Carol Leonard saw packages listed as “out for delivery” simply not show up, according to The Sun. After ordering items on Jan. 29 and Jan. 31, she finally received them on Feb. 10—over a week late, the paper noted. (The Sun)
After 14 years in business, Pedal & Post closed its Oxford and London operations, following the loss of a major client earlier this year, Zag Daily reported. Chief executive Christopher Benton confirmed that roughly 60 staff members, including both employees and self-employed couriers, lost their jobs. “Trying to be an ethical employer in a primarily self-employed industry is difficult,” Benton said. (Zag Daily)
Evri goes up against Royal Mail, DPD and Yodel in the UK’s parcel sector, a space where quick turnarounds matter and failed drop-offs trigger complaints almost instantly. Outsourcing is routine in the industry. Trouble starts, though, when the outsourced piece happens to be the sole way into a city centre that’s off-limits to regular traffic.
Evri and Pedal & Post were already working together in Oxford. Back in January 2024, they rolled out a partnership aimed at delivering parcels into Oxford’s Zero Emission Zone, a city center area targeting lower tailpipe emissions. Their toolkit? EAV cargo bikes. At launch, the firms said they’d handle up to 600 parcels daily, scaling that number higher during busier stretches. (Greenfleet)
At this point, it’s not just a single city that’s at issue—the real concern is the business model. Benton points out that smaller operators face real exposure if they’re dependent on just a few major clients; losing one deal can wipe out their cushion overnight. As for bigger couriers, it’s a matter of whether they can swap in specialized, low-emission fleets fast enough to keep up with their service commitments.
Evri hasn’t clarified if it plans to bring in a different cargo-bike operator to fill Pedal & Post’s shoes in Oxford, or if the company is leaning toward sending more jobs to vans and subcontractors for the long haul. Regardless, customers will be measuring the results in real time—no press release will change that.
