Royal Mail is reported to have ordered their postmen and women in a Somerset town to stop using bicycles for delivering posts. It insisted that looking into the soaring loads on them; they would now do their work using trolleys and vans.

Royal Mail claims that the decision taken in favor of their staff would assist them eschew from endless back pains. Also, the decision is taken with an aim to reduce cycling accidents involving their staff.

The proposed replacement is reported to be part of the mailing Company’s national modernization scheme worth £2bn.

“Postmen and women have been using bikes for 100 years and by and large we're happy with them. We're going to fight to retain as many bikes in Bridgwater as we can”, Dave Chapple, of the Communication Workers Union.

For most bike rounds, the mail is carried on the front pannier and so most of the time the mail isn't on your shoulder - so “we don't accept the whole shoulder argument”.

Apart from these benefits, the announcement made by the Royal Mail to scrap its fleet of Pashley delivery bicycles reported to number nearly 16,000 will pose some drawbacks, including rise in its carbon footprint.