North American Cargo Bike Conference to debut in Vancouver

6th September 2023
Cargo bike use in North America may be lagging behind levels we’re currently seeing in Europe, but if the organisers of a new cargo bike conference get their way, the tide could be turning sooner than we think. Against this backdrop, the first ever North American Cargo Bike Conference (NACBC) takes place this Saturday 9th September in Vancouver. The conference – organised by Our Greenway – a Canadian sustainable mobility NGO and long-time partner of the ICBF – takes place as part of the wider Fully Charged LIVE Canada event and will feature speakers from across the continent.
Diverse programme
The programme features panels touching on subjects as diverse as use of cargo bikes by municipalities, their use by logistics operators and the state of the cargo bike industry in Canada, Mexico and the US. The future state of cargo bikes and cycle logistics will also be explored in a separate session.

Darnel Harris at ICBF 2022
ICBF Cooperation
ICBF organisers Jos Sluijsmans and Tom Parr have offered support to NACBC organisers Darnel Harris of Our Greenway and Sam Starr of Penguin Pickup in the last few years. Harris and Starr also attended the 2022 ICBF as they strove to set up structures that will help the cargo bike to thrive in North America. The ICBF is co-locating with Fully Charged LIVE Europe in Amsterdam this coming November and it was through an introduction via the ICBF that the NACBC team came into contact with, and eventually located the conference at Fully Charged LIVE Canada.
Indeed, the ICBF has gone as far as to allow NACBC to use an adapted version of its logo – with the blessing of original artist Stang. The NACBC’s version includes emblems representing the three North American countries: an Aztec calendar for Mexico, a star for the US and Canada’s maple leaf.
Details