Royal Mail: Britain's pedalling posties are not practical for parcels

Shareholders at Royal Mail's first annual meeting were dismayed to hear that bicycles are no longer practical for parcel deliveries - but approved all 22 resolutions anyway

Postman Gerry Cryer delivers the post on October 22, 2009 in Bristol, England
Royal Mail's focus on parcels means pedalling posties are no longer practical and will be replaced by vans Credit: Photo: Getty Images

Britain's bicycling postmen will finally be consigned to history, the chairman of Royal Mail said in rare moment of controversy at the FTSE 100 group’s first ever annual meeting.

The bosses of the newly privatised company were braced for investor ire on issues ranging from pay, parcels and the French competition probe announced last week. But the demise of the traditional British pedalling postie was about as bad as it got.

Donald Brydon explained to investors at the annual meeting in Birmingham that bicycles, which have been phased out over a number of years, were no longer efficient or practical for the delivery of parcels - the company's fastest growing business. The bicycles still in use will be scrapped and replaced by vans or trolleys, in all but a very exceptional areas.

The chairman said he agreed with investors that "it's sad that bicycles are no longer the most effective way of transporting mail". But he added: "Bicycles are going to be for mail delivery in this company a thing of the past, and we need more efficient ways to ensure that our postmen are kept safe and our customers get their mail."

"Royal Mail is making a number of changes to delivery methods as part of the £2.8bn modernisation of its entire operation," the company said in a statement. "As we deliver fewer letters but more parcels than we did in the past, we are removing the vast majority of bicycles from our operations across the UK. They are being replaced with trolleys that enable us to take the weight off the shoulders of our staff and therefore deliver mail more securely and safely."

Royal Mail, which was privatised in an historic £3.3bn listing in October, secured overwhelming backing for all 22 of its resolutions.

The remuneration report, which includes a £1.5m deal for chief executive Moya Greene, received the highest number of objections, amounting to 3.5pc of the vote. But the remaining 96.5pc of investors approved the deal.

In January Mr Brydon told The Daily Telegraph that Ms Greene was the “lowest paid chief executive in the FTSE100” and that a pay rise was a “necessary part of making sure we keep her.” But in May the company said Ms Greene’s pay would remain at £489,000, plus bonuses, in accordance with her own “views and wishes”.

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary and guardian of the Government’s remaining 30pc in Royal Mail, had privately made it clear that he would not support a hefty pay rise.

Institutional investors remain concerned about Royal Mail’s core parcels division which the company this week said was suffering from “intensifying competition” from rivals, including Amazon. Shares in Royal Mail closed down at 447.9p.