It’s no secret that we want to help more Denverites get out of their cars and out walking, biking, rolling, and taking transit around town. A barrier for a lot of people can be that they have a lot of things (or kids!) to carry, and this is especially true for businesses. Products need to be delivered between businesses and clients, and businesses are usually moving items in bulk. One solution to this need is electric cargo bikes, which can carry heavier loads and go further distances without tiring out the rider.
This is where our new eBikes for Deliveries program comes in. In 2021, alongside Bicycle Colorado, we applied for and received a grant from the City of Denver’s Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency office to provide eBikes and training to a handful of businesses in Denver to use for their business deliveries. A program like this is pretty unique—Seattle and Boston have programs in which the city provides eBike services, but our eBikes for Deliveries program provides the bikes directly to businesses themselves. Recently, our first program participant, Confluence Courier, received their eBikes, and we’re excited to let our community know about how we got here and what’s next.
Program manager Terry delivering an abundance of beer for Bike From Work Day with an Urban Arrow.
Businesses want to have dedicated, reliable access to transportation, without worrying about checking a vehicle out or going to a separate location to retrieve one. To meet this need, we decided to provide ten bikes to businesses directly, with five bikes going to businesses in NEST communities. NEST communities are those designated by the City of Denver as at risk of gentrification and displacement. Terry Breheny, Program Manager, went to work reaching out to businesses and Business Improvement Districts to make connections and find partners. Meanwhile, the Denver Streets Partnership’s Executive Director Jill and her husband Frank ordered in for dinner one night and were delighted to find that their meal was delivered by a local bike delivery company! Confluence Courier has been delivering meals for Denver restaurants by non-electric bike (and one car) since 2014. We realized this could be a perfect partnership.
Order dinner delivered by Confluence Courier from one of their local restaurant partners!
We’re excited to have Confluence Courier as our very first eBikes for Deliveries business. eCargo bikes can help delivery businesses expand their range and make it easier to go car-free. At this year’s Park(ing) Day, we were proud to provide them with two eCargo bikes for their permanent use: an Urban Arrow and a beautiful “dragonfruit” (magenta) Tern GSD. Over the next four months, they will be checking in with Terry to share data about the number of trips, distances, and routes the bikes are used for and other observations. With a final report next summer, we will learn more about how a business with an existing bike delivery model and experienced riders who already gather their own data make use of eBikes for Deliveries.
Hanging out at Park(ing) Day with the two eBikes we gifted to Confluence Courier.
The Colfax Ave Business Improvement District (BID), which stretches from approximately Grant to Josephine (between 14th and 16th), is working with Confluence Courier to support eBike delivery from district businesses. Confluence Courier will facilitate food delivery from local restaurants at Colfax Ave’s upcoming outdoor movie night on October 19. The BID sees the value in the economic and climate-related benefits that delivery by eBike offers and is excited to demonstrate how this program offers businesses an alternative to traditional third party or vehicle-powered deliveries.
With eight bikes left to provide to businesses, Terry is hoping to reach businesses in NEST communities who can speed up deliveries to customers or other businesses using eCargo bikes by avoiding traffic, and reduce damage to the environment by using these emissions-free vehicles. For restaurants, avoiding delivery fees incurred by partnering with large food delivery companies is also a nice incentive. B2B businesses can benefit as well—when transferring products in bulk to clients, for example. As most businesses do not already have bike delivery people and many are located in areas of Denver with limited bike infrastructure, we expect to develop more training resources in conjunction with Bicycle Colorado’s education team.
Bicycle Colorado and the Denver Streets Partnership will work with selected businesses to train employees on safely using and charging the bikes and make a plan for gathering data. Our official bike shop partner, Hardt Family Cyclery, can provide maintenance on the bikes as needed. We are excited to partner with businesses of all sizes and with varying amounts of resources and bike experience to help them use the bikes in the way that is most productive for them.
Businesses who are interested in participating in the program are encouraged to reach out to Terry Breheny at ebikes@denverstreetspartnership.org.