Driving a full-sized panel truck into crowded urban areas such as the Chicago Loop, the St. Louis Flats, or midtown Manhattan is just asking for trouble.
Not only can heavy traffic cause it to take nearly an hour to travel just a few blocks but once you arrive at your destination there’s usually no place to park.
Plus, the emissions from the thousands of vehicles all packed into a small geographic area can cause environmental problems ranging from smog to a hole in the ozone layer to global warming.
European Solution
In Europe, governments have mandated that emissions be decreased substantially, causing businesses to scramble to find new ways to get improved productivity with fewer greenhouse gasses.
UPS’s European division has struck upon a possible solution: Electric-powered bicycles.
These special bicycles aren’t the kind of bikes you would take for a ride in the park on a sunny afternoon. Instead, they are specially designed tricycles with oversized beds that can carry up to 330 lbs of packages.
Coming Soon to a City Center Near You
The bikes are powered by a rechargeable 250-watt battery. And despite its large cargo bay — each bike has nearly 5 cubic feet of cargo space — the bicycles are only a little more than 38 inches wide, making them maneuverable in busy city streets and simpler to park than a full-sized cargo van.
Currently, the bikes are being used in Hamburg, Germany, and are scheduled to be tested in a four-week trial in other cities, including Basel, Switzerland.
The bikes are part of UPS’s commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, as well as find better and more efficient ways to serve its customers in busy urban centers, according to Philip Healey, UPS marketing manager for Switzerland.
By using cargo bikes in a targeted manner, UPS aims to reduce inner city congestion,” Healey said in a news release. “This form of urban delivery also offers a distinct advantage to UPS itself, as it reduces the time spent on searching for a suitable parking position, saving valuable time.”
Delivery Packages, Save the Planet
The company’s tactics seem to be working. In 2013, UPS reduced its total CO2 emissions by 1.5 percent over the previous year. Over the same period, the delivery company increased its total global transport volume by 3.9%.
How successful the program is will be assessed by a Swiss public-private group focusing on city logistics in Basel. Once the insights from the trial are analyzed, UPS may expand the pilot program to other urban centers, including those in the US.