Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
E-bikes

UPS to Test E-Bike Deliveries in Seattle

Photo: UPS

Get ready for UPS in the bike lane — in a good way, finally. The global shipping company is testing out special e-bike cargo delivery in downtown Seattle and near the Pike Place Market.

The pilot program will use a specially made detachable trailer that can hold up to 400 pounds, using a bike that will powered by both pedals and electricity.

In a news release, the company said it is pursuing the experiment for both for sustainability and business reasons. Bike delivery is aimed at helping achieve climate goals and also reducing "dwell time" — idling in traffic — a nod to the efficiency of bike lanes, especially in crowded urban areas.

"It’s exciting to return to our roots – UPS started in Seattle in 1907 as a bicycle messenger company," Scott Phillippi, UPS’s senior director of maintenance and engineering, international operations said in the statement.

The University of Washington and UPS will study the pilot to determine if it is worth continuing and expanding to other neighborhoods.

Cargo delivery by e-bike is common in Europe, but still pretty novel in the United States. However, in the last two years UPS has also operated e-bike delivery service in Portland and Pittsburgh, where it is still operational. Expansion to a new city suggests that the company's early experiments in the U.S. have been encouraging.

Moving from vans to e-bikes could help UPS be more bike friendly in one key way. The company is notorious for parking its vans in bike lanes in New York, Denver and around the country. In 2015, a New York City cyclist named Alex Bell sued the company to try to "annoy" it into compliance with the laws, but it remains a problem.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Remain Incomplete

Cities and states aren't devoting enough funding to Complete Streets to put much of a dent in the problem.

November 8, 2024

Friday Video: Would Our Cities Be Better Off Without Public Hearings?

Is the way America does public hearings making our cities more democratic, or obstructing the kinds of human-centered projects we need most?

November 8, 2024

Talking Headways Podcast: Thinking Bigger About Regional Economic Development

Waymaker Group CEO Julie Huls on economic development strategies for mid-sized cities, the impacts of the pandemic on regional thinking, and what a future of mega-regions means for cities trying to attract talent.

November 7, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines, Election Results Edition

Election Night brought bad news for federal climate policy, but mostly good news for local transit and environmental initiatives.

November 7, 2024

N.Y. Gov Twiddles Thumbs on ‘Unpausing’ First-in-Nation Congestion Pricing Before Trump Takes Office

New York Gov. Hochul is showing no urgency to "un-pause" congestion pricing before Donald Trump takes charge of the federal government.

November 7, 2024
See all posts