{"id":59781,"date":"2023-05-23T11:38:46","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T18:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energi.media\/?p=59781"},"modified":"2023-05-23T11:38:46","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T18:38:46","slug":"carbon-free-and-cost-effective-fedex-express-e-bikes-deliver-the-goods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energi.media\/news\/carbon-free-and-cost-effective-fedex-express-e-bikes-deliver-the-goods\/","title":{"rendered":"Carbon-free and cost-effective, FedEx Express e-bikes deliver the goods"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was published by Pembina Institute<\/a> on May 18, 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Victoria Foote<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a no-brainer,\u201d recalls Jeff Gilbert, FedEx Express Canada senior manager of operations-Metro division. Gilbert was describing his initial response to the idea of piloting a cargo e-bike program in downtown Toronto based on feedback from his team after they attended an\u00a0Urban Freight conference<\/a>\u00a0hosted by the Pembina Institute early in 2020.<\/p>\n

Several e-bike models were on display at the conference and, after speaking with the company representatives and researching some of the options available, the rest is history.<\/p>\n

Gilbert and his team were inspired by the idea of using e-bikes for last-mile deliveries in the busy Toronto core.\u00a0 By the end of July of the same year, FedEx-branded bikes were navigating the city\u2019s congested streets, delivering parcels that had been packed in the cargo boxes (315 litre carrying capacity) of the three bikes.<\/p>\n

Much thought had gone into the choice of bicycle. After a thorough assessment of the cargo e-bike marketplace, FedEx went with the Bullitt, manufactured by Larry vs Harry in Denmark, for the pilot. Light and agile, the bike has three settings, the lowest being \u201ceco\u201d which allows the rider to pedal up to 150 km before needing to re-charge.<\/p>\n

Within three to four months, the bikes outperformed early expectations with respect to service in the volume of deliveries \u2013 couriers were covering 25 to 26 kilometres a day along high-density routes.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t long before word got out and FedEx locations around the world started contacting the Toronto team for updates on the how the e-bikes were performing in Canada\u2019s largest city. The head office in the U.S. paid close attention to the e-cargo bike fleet\u2019s performance. FedEx offices in Mexico, India, London and, not surprisingly, Amsterdam all reached out for more information from the Toronto team. Everyone wanted to learn how to get onboard for the ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the program launched,\u201d laughs senior communications specialist Stephen Anderson, \u201cthe riders were like rock stars. People would wave to them and cheer. They still do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stop and start<\/h3>\n

Less than six months after launching, FedEx decided to expand the program, grow its e-cargo bike fleet, and hire more bike couriers, all in the midst of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

As was the case for many delivery services, the lock-down brought both opportunities and challenges. E-commerce skyrocketed. But so did bike sales. Sourcing additional bikes was a bigger headache than originally anticipated as was hiring staff to ride them. Plans for growing the program stalled.<\/p>\n

Even so, there was a silver lining to the bike scarcity. While the surge in popularity made it more difficult to buy a bike, the ballooning number of cyclists also encouraged the city to loosen restrictions on permissible bike sizes and to improve bike lanes.<\/p>\n

By August 2021, the FedEx team had managed to add 40 more bikes to the fleet and launch e-bike delivery programs in Montreal, Ottawa, Mississauga, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. Many of the bikes are stored in \u201cmicro-hubs\u201d \u2013 there are two in Toronto \u2013 where they are loaded with packages before hitting the streets, returning to the hub for more cargo and to re-charge.<\/p>\n

Even the hubs are evolving. FedEx recently announced that they will operate some e-bikes out of a new shared micro-hub in Montreal.<\/p>\n

Canadians don\u2019t mind the cold<\/h3>\n

But wait. What about deliveries during the long winter months and the season\u2019s decidedly un-bike-friendly conditions? \u201cNot a problem,\u201d Gilbert says. As evidence, he points out that Calgary was the first Canadian city to join Toronto in offering cargo e-bike service, in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to say, \u2018there\u2019s going to be six inches of snow, pull the bikes,\u2019\u201d Gilbert adds. \u201cBut the couriers got mad at us. They said it was fine. So now we leave it up to them to decide whether to ride or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

It turns out that weather is a deterrent only under rare circumstances, which bodes well for FedEx to continue expanding in Canada, adding to the locations dotted across the country providing cargo e-bike deliveries.<\/p>\n

Vision quest<\/h3>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see e-cargo bike fleets grow globally,\u201d says Gilbert. Indeed, as one of its sustainability goals, FedEx has set 2040 as the company goal for its entire fleet of pickup and delivery vehicles to be electrified.<\/p>\n

Gilbert says that bikes can be helpful wherever they encounter difficulty using a vehicle due to parking constraints, congestion and the like.<\/p>\n

It all adds up<\/h3>\n

Since the first Larry vs Harry cargo e-bike pedalled into the heart of Toronto on a hot day in July 2020, the FedEx e-bikes in Canada have made more than 130,000 stops, delivered more than 145,000 packages, travelled more than 50,000 kms, and averted more than 14 tonnes of carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

\n

Electrifying delivery service<\/h3>\n

For the past six years, the Pembina Institute has been actively engaged in promoting regulations that support and encourage cargo e-bikes for personal use and urban deliveries in the City of Toronto and province-wide.<\/p>\n

Cargo e-bikes for last-mile deliveries are expected to play a large role in the movement of goods in the densest and most congested urban centres. Provincial and municipal governments will need to accommodate this increasingly popular mode of transportation by making sure that regulations and infrastructure are designed for the safe use and integration of cargo bikes with other road users.<\/p>\n

Currently, Pembina is working with the City of Toronto, Purolator, FedEx Express, and DHL on a monitoring monitoring pilot project scheduled to launch in spring of this year, thanks to CityCity Council Council recently approving to opt-in to the provincial approving to opt-in to the provincial pilot passed city bylaw permitting the expanded use of bigger e-cargo bikes. This summer, all three delivery services will be operating cargo e-bikes in the city\u2019s downtown core, displacing fossil-fueled delivery trucks.<\/p>\n

With input from Pembina, the use of the e-cargo bikes delivery system will be monitored and assessed at regular intervals, noting any challenges that come up, such as how far a bike can travel on a single charge, as well as the many benefits of using the bikes including the amount of greenhouse gas emissions avoided.<\/p>\n

How long the program runs is an open question. In all likelihood, cargo e-bike numbers will continue to increase well into the future, eventually becoming a regular part of Canada\u2019s urban delivery systems.<\/p>\n

Read more about the Pembina Institute\u2019s research and recommendations on cargo e-bikes and last-mile delivery solutions:<\/p>\n