PORTLAND, Ore. – There’s no denying that Portland has been one of the leaders in the United States when it comes to innovation, and many companies have been eager to launch services here which will help lower carbon emissions, including UPS who announced last month that they were bringing an electric bike delivery service to Portland.

About The UPS E-Bike

Launched on 11/21/16, the UPS electric bike comes at an important time in our nation’s history because carbon emissions remain one of the country’s top problems, especially in the delivery industry because companies like UPS, USPS and Fed Ex drive mostly older carbon producing vehicles that should have been removed from service decades ago.

There already are companies offering bicycle courier delivery services in Portland so UPS considered our city to be the right choice to try this pilot program out with the hope of bringing low carbon transportation to other cities around the world.

Don’t Call It A Comeback

Although UPS originally launched their delivery service via bicycle over 100 years ago, they never really abandoned bike delivery completely.

The e-bike comes at just the right time in history as electric vehicles and bicycles are quickly becoming the transportation of choice as cities like Portland, Los Angeles and New York search for ways to lower their carbon emissions.

It you sit behind a UPS truck while you are in traffic and watch the pollution these vehicles cause, it’s easy to see the need for e-bikes and electric vehicles as a whole in the delivery industry and one can only imagine the impact green vehicles would have on the world if more companies adopt similar standards as UPS with a goal of cleaning up the environment.

Although this e-bike pilot program from UPS consists of just one electric delivery bike at the moment, it’s quite possible that it could lead to a more comprehensive roll-out of cleaner local delivery options by the company. And if Big Brown can make it work, more companies may be prone to follow.