The sleek four-wheeled carts look familiar enough, but not even UPS knows how to accurately describe the delivery giant’s latest way of getting packages to your door.
UPS unveiled a four-wheeled battery-powered cycle on Tuesday to transport cargo more efficiently on some of the world’s most congested streets and reduce its carbon footprint. The company is with the goal of carbon neutrality for 2050.
The reduced vehicles feature the firm’s gold and brown logo and look like delivery trucks. But eQuad, as the company calls it, was fun for passersby.
Read all about it! ⁇ @UPS EBikes hit the streets of Manhattan testing a pilot program for UPS deliveries @fernhay eQuad. It is an electrically charged bicycle that allows more #sustainable deliveries in urban areas. Full circle for a company over 100 years old that started as a bicycle messaging service.🚲 pic.twitter.com/HLRd8Cbg5g
– UPS Public Affairs (@UPSPolicy) June 14, 2022
Ian Lagowitz had never seen one before and came over to take a look.
“It’s fun,” he said, “but it’s probably good for the city, isn’t it?”
Mohammad Islam called the vehicle “interesting cools” and wished for the best program.
“Big trucks always block traffic,” he said, “so if they do that kind of thing, it’s 10 times better for everyone.”
The pedal vehicle was overshadowed by one of the company’s most traditional delivery trucks, which rumbles through traffic and sometimes angers motorcyclists trying to pass by with trucks parked on narrow streets.
Delivery companies have tried all sorts of ways to deliver packages, from traditional vans to drones. The company now has a fleet of more than 1,000 electric vehicles and thousands more that do not run on traditional gas engines.
Test fields in New York
UPS said one test focuses on New York City and several European cities.
“New York is a tricky city, when we look at density,” said Nicole Pilet, UPS’s director of industrial engineering. “So if we can be successful here in the city, then we can see how we implement it in other US cities.”
The company started in Seattle more than a century ago and the first deliveries were made on foot or by bike. As the company grew, so did its motorized fleet.
“That’s right at my helm,” said Dyghton Anderson, a 22-year-old UPS delivery man and avid cyclist who is helping pilot the program. “I went back and forth from work, from the Bronx to the 43rd, so I feel very comfortable.”
Announcing the pilot on Twitter, UPS said it had ended the circle after starting as a bicycle messaging service more than 100 years ago.
UPS has partnered with Fernhay Partners, a van-free logistics company that offers sustainable last-mile transportation solutions, such as the vehicles UPS is testing, to cities around the world.
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