La Petite Reine, a pioneer in ecological transport in the urban environment, has decided to help young people

The Cargocycle, the main working tool - developed in-house by the company - is an electrically powered three-wheeler capable of transporting 180 kg with a payload of 1500 liters, equivalent to a small van, with 3 hours battery life.

The ecological services approach is based on using entirely non-pollutant vehicles and pooling of the logistic flows of the major transporters on their "last kilometer" to deliver mail and packages, including home delivery of customer shopping for neighborhood businesses.

The Cargocycles are also available for advertising displays and other public events.

Compared to conventional delivery systems, 3 tons less CO2 per year and per cycle are released into the environment. They can deliver in an ecological way around 700,000 parcels a year !

Target: Create 200 back-to-work jobs and cut CO₂ by 1000 tons in 3 years

The trade of a Cargocycle deliveryman, which requires the ability to carry heavy loads and pinpoint addresses, is accessible to a young unskilled public, pushed to the sidelines, the aim being to inculcate the work ethic demanded by conventional employers. To achieve this goal, each employee is monitored socially by a single supervisor familiar with the problems of persons in difficulty; simultaneously, at the professional level, a team leaderis alwaysavailable to teach them the ropes.
Together, they staff and progressively empower the employees into a back-to-work momentum, toward a fair degree of self-sufficiency (jobs under short term contracts, fixed terms of over 6 months, and skills training).

Realizing the project of opening 7 new sites in Paris and in the rest of the country requires a total investment budget of 1042 K€ over 3 years, to equip the premises, the purchase of Cargocycles (5 as a start, then 30 in full-time operation for each site), and the installation of a computerized package tracking system.

The value of this non-profit project led private partners like the Veolia Foundation and the local authorities, to help La Petite Reine (whose capital is up to now wholly owned by ARES) to develop its activities.

The backing of Veolia Transport attests to a sponsorship of skills in several areas: consultancy of sales teams, technical assistance in order to get energy conservation certificates, as well as aid to the employees of La Petite Reine at the end of the integration period, in order to train them in a permanent trade, like driving a bus, for example.

In 2010, the company, which opened two new sites in Paris (Saint-Germain-des-Prés) and in Lyon, can rely on five implantations in France and two abroad -London and Geneva-, followed by the opening of six additional platforms between 2010 and 2011.